Bigelow

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drank Lemon Lift by Bigelow
2955 tasting notes

This is the grocery-shelf lemon tea I was craving. Found it at a King Cash Saver, one of those sneaky grocery stores with a 10% upcharge, but I was there, it was there, and it was worth the extra 30-ish cents just to grab it and go.

Bigelow has kept this in its rotation for a very long time, and it’s been reviewed fairly favorably pretty consistently since it first appeared on Steepster. It differs from the echinacea/vitamin C version I recently tried (subtract licorice, add “a dash of spice”). The addition appears to be a trade secret, but I wonder if it’s similar to the cinnamon/clove combo that’s the hallmark of their Constant Comment blend.

At any rate, I’ll confirm what 13-ish years worth of reviews largely agree on. It’s a decent tea on a light base. For whatever reason, this week, that hit the spot.

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Not sure why, but I have been craving bog-standard black tea with lemon. Bigelow’s Lemon Lift is my favorite cheapie, but it’s only on a few shelves at stores off my normal shopping route. So, any port in a storm, I grabbed this at Walmart last night.

Of course, I didn’t read the fine print until after we were home. There’s some licorice root in the blend, which made me approach it very cautiously this morning. But at a sloppy 4-minute steep, the citrus balances out the licorice so it’s smooth but not sticky.

Final judgment call: performs as advertised—black tea with lemon. A vitamin C boost never hurts, either—school opens next week, and I am drowning in close-proximity people events over the next few days.

blueeyedsurprise

I hate it when tea has undercover licorice root, glad it wasn’t too powerful. Why is it always hidden in the fine print?

gmathis

Amen! I’m not knowledgeable enough to say this with confidence, but I wonder if blenders pull it in as a filler in order to pad their finer ingredients… Hey experts, am I way off base?

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75
drank Orange & Spice by Bigelow
10 tasting notes

No notes yet. Add one?

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 8 min or more 5 g 12 OZ / 354 ML

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15
drank Earl Grey Decaf by Bigelow
1598 tasting notes

One last round of Bigelow torture for today?

Its brewed aroma smells fermented like the Bigelow decaf black. I wonder if it’s the same tea. Before today, I had zero experience with decaf teas. The bergamot is decent quality, though, and somewhat overrides that funky smell. A few sips — all good, I can endure this light lashing. Until the tea after a few more sips feels like chemical burn on my throat. Swollen and so, so dry, like I swallowed a spoon of drywall mud. Please! Please! My uvula can’t take anymore!

Is this the punishment for pocketing a handful of teas from the hotel?

Flavors: Bergamot, Bread Dough, Chemical, Dry, Drying, Flat, Malty, Woody

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML

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55
drank Premium Black Decaf Tea by Bigelow
1598 tasting notes

From a Holiday Inn Express. Smells like shou puerh, like it has a little bit of that fermentation. Taste is dry, malty, woody, coppery, earthy, mineral, with a hint of vanilla sweetness on the back of the palate. It’s not too bad despite being decaffeinated and packed in a paper envelope.

Flavors: Copper, Dry, Drying, Earthy, Malty, Mineral, Tannin, Vanilla, Woody

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML
Mastress Alita

Decaf Bigelow… you are braver than I, Derk.

derk

It was a tea yoinked from the coffee bar out of spite. What do you mean the only caffeinated tea you have is Bigelow Green?!

Mastress Alita

Okay, Bigelow Green is arguably maybe the only thing I’d rank worse than a Bigelow Decaf Black.

Martin Bednář

Uh. Well, I would drink it just because that paper envelope. But shu-puerh flavoured decaf tea?

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51

Another from the tea swap…This is a backlogged session from Monday morning. I had the intentions of sitting at the computer type my thoughts as I sipped, but I began playing Palworld on Steam and caught up on a letter to a tea friend.

I had hoped for this tea to taste wonderful on the account orange and spice mixtures are one of my favorite mixes in a tea blend. This was too weak in the spies and orange, and nowhere close to the Orange and Cinnamon that Twining’s offers; which is favorite during the Fall/Winter seasons.

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Backlog, Friday April 26, 2024

I obtained this one during the tea swap a couple of months back. I’m finally starting to make my way through these teas. I figured it’s easier to throw a bag into the water during work, instead of making tea in a gaiwan, forgetting it, and tossing the leaves out due over brewing and bitterness. This cup held some idea of the peppermint bark. I’ll note that this isn’t too terrible for tea bag tea, but it’s nothing comparable to Teavana’s White Chocolate Peppermint (maybe no tea will ever hold that title). I tasted notes of white chocolate and peppermint, but it was light.

Flavors: Peppermint, White Chocolate

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70

A few weeks (months?) ago, I was invited to go to a tea swap at a local town nearby. However, there were 4 people that showed up, and one of them being the host. I dropped a ton of loose leaf samples there and swapped them for some bags of tea I’ve not tried – this being one of those teas.

While I typically drink my tea loose leaf, I’m not too big of a snob to avoid bags. I was surprised by the strength of peach flavors this bag produced. I drank it hot, but thought how perfect this would be as an iced tea over the summer. It was quite refreshing and I finished the final dregs at room temperature.

Flavors: Peach

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drank Mint Medley by Bigelow
6 tasting notes

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85

Not really a traditional tea, but a great beverage for those of us trying to stop drinking more caloric things like soda. I steep mine at 4x strength overnight and then use 1/4th tea, 3/4th sparkling water for a colorful and refreshing drink.

Flavors: Hibiscus

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drank Mint Medley by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

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drank Cozy Chamomile by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

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83
drank Perfect Peach by Bigelow
103 tasting notes

I need some herbal for today, any more caffeine and I’ll be vibrating.
Perfect Peach is heavy on the rosehips and hibiscus, but does have a distinct peachy flavour (both natural and artificial, according to Bigelow). I also get a slight hint of apple as well.

It’s pleasant and the rosehips and hibiscus are not too overwhelming or sour. It’s a nice blend for those times when you want an herbal without that “Sleepytime” taste of chamomile and mint. I’m a big Sleepytime fan but my brain is programmed to believe it’s bedtime when I drink it.

Flavors: Apple, Hibiscus, Peach, Rosehips

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
ashmanra

I thought their peach flavored black tea was well done, and it made a smashing sweet iced tea as well.

ashmanra

Nope, just remembered that Peachy Peach is by Charleston Tea Garden which is owned by Bigelow!

blueeyedsurprise

Thanks for the heads up, I’ll have to try that once I’m in the market for another peach!

ashmanra

Midsummers Peach by Harney is decaf black and is good! Lupicia has good peach flavor, too!

blueeyedsurprise

This could be dangerous to my tea decluttering mission! ;)

gmathis

This one’s popular around the lesser-steeped at our workplace.

blueeyedsurprise

Ooh, decaf black peach- I think I can justify that as I have nothing like it in my stash! May we all live long enough to drink all our tea.

Kaylee

amen. what a beautiful wish to start the new year with.

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2

After learning my lesson about free tea left in the breakroom at work from the stinky feet Cinnamon Horchata tea (which I finally managed to finish), I only grabbed one bag of this instead of the whole box. So glad I did. The ginger is waaaaaaaaaay too spicy for me, making it one of the few cups that was simply undrinkable for me. And the flavor just tasted like one of those medicinal honey cough drops. Bleh.

Flavors: Ginger, Medicinal, Spicy

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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22

Terrible. I don’t know what’s so off but the spice blend just doesn’t taste right.

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML

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drank Spiced Chai by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

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drank Pumpkin Spice by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

This is ok seasonally, for variety, but it’s not great.

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drank Darjeeling by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

I thought Bigelow English Breakfast and Darjeeling tasted the same when I first tried them, but this was when I was new to tea and my palate was even less refined than it is now. I have since moved on to loose leaf, but this is an acceptable fall-back plain black tea.

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I thought Bigelow English Breakfast and Darjeeling tasted the same when I first tried them, but this was when I was new to tea and my palate was even less refined than it is now. I have since moved on to loose leaf, but this is an acceptable fall-back plain black tea.

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This WAS my favorite tea until I tried loose leaf teas then went back to this and it doesn’t taste nearly as good anymore, not sure why because I didn’t originally think loose leaf tasted better. This is a dark oolong, which I liked, I thought it tasted similar to black tea but more flavorful. But not anymore which is a major bummer. Maybe I just got a bad batch.

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drank Cozy Chamomile by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

This is an acceptable plain no-nonsense chamomile tea. Dislike the yellow packaging though, it messes with my bedtime vibes.

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drank Green Tea by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

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drank Vanilla Chai by Bigelow
9 tasting notes

I don’t particularly like chai but this one is ok on occasion for variety, especially during the holidays

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