Bigelow
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Well, if I remembrer correctly, this blend (caffeinated) is loved in winter of many of you?
I got a decaf version in my Advent calendar from Devon. It made me a little sad, as but shortly after I realised I had strong caffeine intake today already, so it won’t hurt that it is “flat”. Energy drink, two big mugs of black tea — well watching hockey in night hours takes its part.
This is indeed well blended. Quite strong fruity and juicy orange, very nice mix of spices, what one can ask more. I see why it is so popular in winter.
While it is not best tea with winter spices I ever had, it is indeed a good one. Of course, the base was flat. That makes sense, because the green strip.
Preparation
It seems my love of gourmand perfumes is not replicated in a great many dessert teas. This is no exception. Kind of “funky” or off, it’s drinkable and “ok” but I will not repurchase. Something about the strong black tea with the sweetness gives a “stale” vibe. I tried it black and with cream/sweet, but either way a “meh” experience. I also tried it mixed with a chai, for a slight improvement. Makes an interesting iced tea. But overall, not my thing.
Flavors: Dirt, Sweet, Tea
Preparation
Day 24 of my advent calendar from Kelmishka! I love the idea of this flavor profile, and this blend is enjoyable, but the hibiscus and lemon are strong enough to make it not very mango-y. If the blend had a different name, or those notes weren’t quite so strong, there might be better alignment. As it is, with all the tart, sweet, fruity flavors going on, this might make an interesting cold brew.
Friend was at the store asked if I wanted anything and I said box of chai tea cuz it’s winter…took 2 bags and boiled some water let steep for a while. Added some sugar and stirred. Pulled out the bags. Added some milk as I always do with chai. Worst chai experience ever. Tasted like vanilla which I could not get used to. Poured it out 3 quarters of the way full. Very little actual chai flavors like cinnamon cardamom black pepper etc,etc. Will never buy this again nor will I recommend it. If you see this don’t buy it ever.
Preparation
I purchased a ton of this last year to make Tea Trees (trees made out of tea bags) for a Christmas Swap. I finally am getting around to having a mug myself. I’m positive I’ve had this out at a restaurant or at a friend’s home. Bigelow is very common in the grocery stores and discount stores.
I steeped it for just over 2 minutes, probably closer to 4 minutes. It reminds me of Wrigleys Spearmint Gum. Which makes sense as this tea bag is black tea and spearmint. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a stick of it before. I also am not sure when else I’ve had spearmint aside from tea and that gum.
I feel like I should have used it this summer to make sun tea with some of my fresh peppermint. Pretty sure my oldest kid will like this one. The others in the home don’t care for mint flavoring. I know that visitors would recognize it and pick it out of the tea stash. Pretty sure it’s a favorite of my mother in law’s too. It’s not a favorite tea but a “make do with what you have tea” for me.
Flavors: Spearmint
Preparation
This was a pleasant surprise. I don’t normally love teas with spearmint. I find it too strong on the menthol and unable to taste anything else, but in this case, this tea seems to have layers. The spearmint, the peppermint, and I think lemon, all work well together. At this point it’s quite a few years old, but it still tastes lovely.
Flavors: Lemon, Menthol, Mint, Peppermint, Spearmint
Preparation
… this green supermarket tea on the other hand, is terrible. I’m not sure if this box that I got (from work for free) was just super stale or old, but it was awful. Flat, watery, burnt-tasting. I really did not enjoy it at all and it truly had no redeeming factors. Could be that it was old and stale, but it was an unopened box and very disappointing.
Edit: the tea expires in July of 2023, so 8 months away from now.
Flavors: Burnt, Dry Leaves, Flat, Green
Preparation
Sipdown September is off to a strong (albeit easy) start with a sipdown of this tea. We had to get this when we both had a bad case of covid, were too weak to make anything else, but really needed tea to help with the coughing and sore throat. We plowed through whatever bagged ginger tea we had on hand very quickly, so we added this to a grocery order to replenish. I held on to a handful of bags after we got better because it’s convenient for sick days, but at this point there’s only one left and I’m trying to make a dent in my stash so it was time to say goodbye.
I actually chose this tonight because a) I was craving something lemony and b) I’ve got a migraine, which the ginger helps with. So this was a perfect send-off for this tea, whose purpose in this household has largely been dedicated to health and recovery. That said, I really like the flavor too! It’s very heavy on the lemon, a bit sweet, and not especially tart. At first I thought the sweetness came from hibiscus, but there isn’t any in this blend – I’m probably tasting the licorice root. The ginger is gentle, mostly at the end of the sip, and lingers long after. I would enjoy this as a refreshing blend even if I didn’t need a get-well boost.
By the end of the conference, it was this and a sleepytime Bigelow blend as the remaining options. I figured a sleep blend wouldn’t be great as I was trying to make it through a full day of lectures. So, ended up with this.
This is not good. This is abysmal. I cringed everyt ime I took a sip. I’m not really sure what I was tasting, but I know it wasn’t good.
I feel your pain. Bigelow does a decent black tea for when nothing else but Lipton is available but the bagged greens are just the worst..
I’ve been in New Orleans over the last few days for an “immersion weekend” for the law school I’m attending. The tea situation was dreadful. No coffee pot or kettle in the room, and the only source of hot water available was in the overpriced restaurant in the lobby of the hotel (which was only open from 7am-11am)…which I had to pay $4 for. So, for the most part, I ended up just drinking whatever was available at the event itself, which was exclusively a range of Bigelow blends.
This was…fine. It was orange, it was spice. It was pretty unremarkable, but it was tea.
I’m sorry. This is why I want to become a traveling tea consultant. To bring these atrocities to an end! hehe
Luckily I’m home with my collection now! I’ll have to bring my kettle on trips going forward…giving up that space is worth it if I don’t have to go without a decent cup of tea again.
Thank you for the recommendation, I’ll have to give it a try!
DECAF! This is a mild tea, which like any, gets stronger the more it is steeped. Bigelow’s package describes it as “A gentle blend with a lovely lemon finish”. That’s accurate enough. It’s not particularly distinguished as a flavored tea. The lemon predominates. It does blend well with other teas, which is how I primarily use it. I’m only sampling it individually now, so I have a record of it here at Steepster.
As it cools, I can see it would be a good tea to chill for a hot day. Do I like it? Yes. But I will still use it to blend with other, stronger teas, to make a milder pot. I like lemon, so this works for me—especially if I happen to be out of lemons, this will work to fill out that flavor.
I neither recommend ‘yea’ or ‘nay’. It’s decent; one can enjoy it.
Flavors: Green, Lemon Zest, Lemongrass, Tannin, Tea
Preparation
I taste the apple and some caramel, though it’s not too sweet. It’s mostly apple and doesn’t need milk, but is better with sweetener. I wouldn’t really choose this again, but the apple is quite authentic and clear. I would have enjoyed a stronger caramel though. Thanks tea-and-cats!
The coconut here is super strong. I don’t taste that much beneath it, but maybe a little black tea. The coconut has a toasted quality, which I’m enjoying. It’s good warm or cold with milk. It’s surprisingly decent, though maybe a little one-note. I do think it’s one of the better coconut teas I’ve had in a long time. Thanks tea-and-cats!
I can definitely taste the caramel here, but the black base isn’t very good. Once it cools, the caramel flavor becomes quite strong and tasty at first, but then it settles into a sort of weird fake tang. It’s still decent with milk, and it genuinely tastes like salted caramel. Thanks tea-and-cats!