Stash Pumpkin Spice Decaf
Nice aroma, but a little light on flavor. Just the slightest hint of ginger.
Stash Christmas in Paris Herbal Tea
A little minty, a little chocolatey. Will make you crave Andes mints.
Builders British Tea
For all the weird macho messaging on the box, this tea is weak as shit. Like Tetley weak.
PG Tips Premium Black Tea
This one has been my number 1 go-to in recent years. It’s not fancy, but it does everything you want from a black tea: Nice tannic hit, medium strength caffeine-wise, strong enough flavor to satisfy without milk or sugar. Plus you can get hundreds of bags to a box, so you’ll never live in fear of going without.
Harney & Sons Vanilla Comoro Decaffeinated
A very subtle and pleasant tea. Nice vanilla flavor without being cloying or overwhelming.
Alwazah Tea Pure Ceylon
An excellent black tea with a rich flavor. That said, there’s something slightly “musty” about it, and it’s probably inferior to (and more difficult to find than) Twinings’ Ceylon Orange Pekoe.
Twinings English Breakfast
A fairly tepid and disappointing variety. Never brews up quite strong enough. Fairly pleasant (if, again, subtle) aroma, though.
Stash Chai White Tea
A very satisfying chai that I’ve gone through many a box of. It’s spicy, so if you were hoping to taste any hint of the white tea, you’re mostly out of luck. The spice blend gives this one almost a pickley sort of flavor, but in a very pleasing way.
Stash Chocolate Hazelnut
A good aroma, but a very, very minute chocolate flavor to this one – mostly an aftertaste. I added milk and sugar and it still wasn’t enough to satisfy my chocolate craving. Maybe just get some hot cocoa?
Bigelow Green Tea With Lemon
I’m not sure whether it’s the quality of the lemon peel or what, but the lemon really tarnishes an otherwise acceptable green tea, lending it a flavor that tastes more and more off the more you drink it.
Twinings Green Tea
Neither outstanding nor terrible, this is a pretty squarely Acceptable green tea. You can find better.
Celestial Seasonings Authentic Green
I will refrain, for the moment, from complaining about Celestial Seasonings’ dedication to the stringless tea bag, necessitating the need for a Secondary Dunking Implement. Instead, I will say merely that this is a good green tea. Satisfying, and a little grassy.
Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile
A decent chamomile tea that’s warming and subtle, with a very slight licorice taste. While good, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed, considering the sweet, citrusy aroma is markedly better than the taste.
Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer
I’m gonna be real with you, folks. This smells like hot Coke. Probably something to do with the alchemical combination of cinnamon and a slight fruitiness. The actual taste is less jarring – like a regular chamomile tea with a strong, minty finish. It’s pretty good…if you can get over the Coke thing.
Stash Spice Dragon Red Chai
Great smell, good taste. A pronounced cinnamon flavor with a lingering sweetness. I didn’t even notice the rooibos, which I typically despise. You’ll like it, but maybe not several-cups-a-day like it.
Wangderm Authentic Thai Iced Tea
Oh baby. Oh baby, yes. A beautiful vanilla aroma to this one. The tea is absolutely delicious, too, with a heartiness that makes it stand out as a top shelfer. Recommended for anyone making the switch to tea from coffee – or maybe just for anyone, period.
Lipton Enticing Chai
It’s fair. Good if you like a subtler chai where the spice doesn’t overwhelm the tea.
Irresistible Lady Lipton
Lipton’s answer apparent to Twinings’ Lady Grey, this tea is a one-two punch of bergamot and a certain floral…something (jasmine?). I am not a tremendous fan of floral teas, but this one admittedly started to grow on me by the time the box was empty.
Natural Garden Ginger Tea
While not technically a bag tea (this comes in sachets of powder), this is perhaps the best ginger tea I’ve ever had. The ginger is deliciously spicy, and the brown sugar gives it a nice depth of flavor. Folks, I drank so much of this my lips hurt. You need to try this.
Bigelow Pomegranate Pizzazz
A nice and fruity herbal tea. I was initially put off by the smell (think peat moss), but the combination of fruit and hibiscus gives this tea a good, tart flavor that’s reminiscent of cranberry juice or your standard agua de jamaica.
Bigelow Green Tea with Mango
Not much to say about this one, other than that it represents its stated flavors well – certainly better than the Green Tea with Lemon, which I’m still mad about.
