My Lipton Hypocrisy

If there is one tea that I bash more than any others, it would obviously have to be Lipton.

But there may be a slight confusion as to what I am truly bashing.  I do have one product in mind.  The one that most uncultured establishment offer.  You know the situation between you and your waiter, too.  The one where they ask if you would like coffee or tea after your meal and you excitedly inquire as to what teas they offer and their response is simply "hot tea".  

There is no greater disappointment than that response to a tea lover.

This is the typical offered choice:

The hotdog of the tea world.  You know, because it's made of all other teas left over bits.  Or at least that's the only reasonable explanation.  They don't really specify much other than stating that it's black tea so it keeps you guessing at to what actually fills the bag.  Hence another reason for the hotdog comparison.

Lipton does have a grouping of redeeming teas, though.  Their special pyramid bagged teas.  These are the ones currently in my tea cupboard:

The first one I ever tried was the Island Mango & Peach (not pictured).  A friend gave me a bag to try and I really enjoyed it so I got my own box.  Then, sadly, after a couple of cups I grew tired of it and gave it away to another friend that used to drink it everyday.

Then I moved on to Vanilla Caramel Truffle.  I have gone through a few boxes of that one.  Even my most snobbish of tea friends enjoy this one.  To me, it's a perfect tea for after dinner to be enjoyed either with a dessert or by itself as a dessert.  It has these little white vanilla pieces that melt when you brew it.  It's not overly sweet but it's as sweet as I'll go with teas - and this is the only sweetish one I enjoy.

After than, I bought their Chai Tea, and while it's not my favorite chai, it's not all that bad.  It's the only one I know of in my collection that adds black pepper and you can really taste that once you start getting to the bottom of the cup.  You wouldn't think that would work but somehow it does.

The newest one I bought yesterday is the Black Pearl tea.  I read the words Sri Lanka on it and knew what to expect.  It's a ceylon tea.  Not as strong as the loose Ceylon by Ahmad Tea of London which I prefer, but the leaves seem to be very similar in quality.  Maybe I just usually add more to my tea strainer than what they stuff into a bag.  It's good for when you just want just a quick, no-fuss cuppa.

While I do recommend passing over the regular Lipton, I would say don't turn these down just because of the logo.  You might be surprised.  I know I was.

Cheers!

Wisdom of the Ancients Verba Mate Chai

You know when you're in the dollar store and you see a toy and you know that there's something off about it but you can't place your finger on it straight away?

And you do a double take and then realize that it is just a terrible excuse for the original?

Well, here is the tea form of that:

My husband is creating two tea-oholics at his job.  It's a thing us tea drinkers do.  Kind of like Jehovah Witnesses but with a delightful beverage and none of that annoying door bell ringing and bible thumping.  We simply say, "You there?  Yes, you!  I never see you drinking tea or talking about how great tea is.  Let me pour the contents of this tea pot down your throat and show you what you've been missing!"  And then we wait with baited breath for the receiver of our tactics to get that dazed-out, crack-head look and thank us for opening up their world.  It usually never happens to that effect, but a gal can dream.

Among my husband's two tea grasshoppers, is one that brought in some tea he took from his mother.... who apparently lacks taste buds.  He traded one of his teas for one of my husband's delectable Darjeeling teas - being sure to emphasize that it is indeed the champagne of teas.  The one that he traded for was this chai.  Now, my husband does not like chai, so this one came to me with absolutely no warnings.

Upon steeping, I could tell there was something off about the smell, but couldn't pin point it.  Then the taste - it was off and contained a thickness of something but I couldn't tell what it was.  I chugged it like one would a medicinal liquid and then went on the interwebs to try to find what it was that was so awful about this tea.  Then I saw it.  If I had seen the box before drinking, I would have known.  And not being the type to vandalize my delicious tea, I wasn't adept at recognizing the horrific treatment that this tea received prior to packaging.  

It contains stevia leaves.  

The apparent Wisdom of the Ancients lack all respect for tea and its drinkers by poisoning it with sweetness.  This may be well and fine for some who take sweeteners in their teas - those whackadoodles.  But I for one am a puritan, only drinking my tea plain.  No milk.  And absolutely NO sweetener.  To take away the tea drinkers choice in such delicate matters of the palate is a crime that should be punishable by something very unpleasant.

So if you are on the search for a good chai, I implore you to steer clear of these tea blasphemers!

Constant Comment

Most proper tea cupboards have them.  Those little random tea bags that you've picked up along your lifes journey or that have been gifted to you, patiently waiting hidden between your boxes of tea for you to remember they exist so you can give them a try.  This one was from my last place of employment before the company closed down and I embraced my life as a housewife.  I have sampled many new teas that they supplied and the ones I didn't get a chance to try, I stashed.  It's almost been a year since I became a full time housewife, and my last employers switched hands about a year prior bringing these new teas with them so it's been nearly two years that I've had this one hidden in my tea cupboard.  I finally decided to budge and give it a try.  

It's a blend of orange rind and sweet spices so I thought perhaps it would taste a bit like Earl Grey.  I was very wrong.  The smell and taste are like a warm blend of orange and chai.  This is such a great tea to drink when it's cold out and you want to warm up while pumpkin candles are burning and the smell of pine from the tree is wafting through the house.  Makes me a little upset that I didn't wait until it got colder out.  I do live in Florida, so who knows when and if that will actually ever happen.  I would compare it to Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai, which is one of my winter wonderland favorites.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one, since it is a Bigelow tea.  I've had very few experiences with Bigelow, but I do know of their reputation.  Some have even gone to such lengths as to say "Bigelow is for people who know nothing about tea", which is a pretty harsh statement.  I would say that Lipton is for people that know nothing about tea, but that's a given.  That being said, while I did enjoy this, and it does taste like my Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai, I wouldn't be purchasing this since I have my Twinings.  Now if Twinings stops making Pumpkin Spice Chai, then I know where to go for my substitute.