Best Bagged Tea Brands?

[Jadore]

Just wondering what all you tea aficionados feel are the best brands of bagged tea? Thanks!

[EM23]

Wow! 106 replies and no one likes Lyons? Well I do! Lyon's Gold Label - strong with 1 sugar and milk (1/2 and 1/2 is even better).
I am curious to try the Trader Joe's Irish and English breakfast teas. Has anyone tried both for comparison purposes?

[Jay F]

I have never heard of Lyons.

I tried TJ's English and Irish Breakfast teas, preferred the English and have bought it ever since. It's too long ago for me to remember any specifics about what I didn't like about their Irish Breakfast. I prefer it generally: Twinings EB is better, too.

I bought a different kind of TJ's EB this time. It's 80 bags for $2.99 instead of 48 for $1.99. I haven't opened the box yet, so I have yet to taste the new one.

BTW, I only use this for iced tea. I drink Twinings Ceylon hot.

[Ruthie789]

There are so many good boxed teas, Bewley's is another that I like very much. Another favorite at our house is King Cole Tea which is very popular with Canadian maritimers.

[EM23]

Ruthie – It’s been years since I tried Bewley’s, but I may have to switch as my local store has stopped carrying the Lyons Gold. Is it strong like the Lyons? No King Cole Tea around these parts. Do you enjoy it with those lovely Cape Breton oatcakes?

[Ruthie789]

I like the Bewley's Gold, which is medium in strength, but there are a few categories of tea in that line. If you like strong tea you might keep an eye out for Typhoo tea, I find it quite tannic as is the King Cole. I enjoy my tea with any sweet especially pie! As well the Yorshire teas are fairly strong. I didn`t realize how much tea I drink until I started to comment in this thread. How can they stop carrying your favorite tea, tell them to order it for you!

[terlin]

TJ's Irish is pretty good but EB is nothing much. Can't beat the price

[Candy]

Red Rose

[alkapal]

the owner of my car shop is vietnamese, and he uses the kirkland brand (costco) green tea bags (he uses an expensive loose green tea from vietnam, also).

i've found "mighty leaf" jasmine tea to be lovely -- very "jasmine-y."

i love celestial seasonings "red zinger" and also their "tension tamer." it makes wonderful iced tea!

i like earl grey teas from tazo and twinings. i think i've also had the stash version once at a restaurant and liked it very much.

[Breadcrumbs]

Tetley for bagged black tea.

Clipper Blackcurrant Acai Berry for bagged herbal fruit tea.

I prefer loose green tea.

[koshergourmetmart]

harney Paris tea is a favorite. President's choice from canada mulled apple cider is great. hubby likes numi assam. Revolution tea makes a great orange chocolate green tea. For a gift or special occasion, Tea Forte is wonderfully packaged and delicious too

[Ruthie789]

I love Tea forte but it is quite expensive to purchase. In particular they have a caffeine free tea which is quite exceptional and also love the black tea flavoured with blackberry. A gift box with about ten teas is about $14.00 at Chapters-Indigo in Canada.

[melpy]

I like Bigelow Orange Spice. However my favorite is Persian tea. The brand I have is Sadaf.

[Ruthie789]

I just bought a brand of tea called Dilmah. It is such a lovely tea. Link below:
http://www.dilmahtea.com/

[sandylc]

great website

[Ruthie789]

Yes it is very informative. The teas are really good. I have tried the Ceylon black tea and I really enjoyed it.

[AmyH]

There may be a lot of general information about tea growing and drinking, but it's impossible to find a list of their products! Last year I sat next to a woman at a dinner who was British but living in New Zealand. She was raving about one particular Dilmah tea. *Something* reserve. It is the only tea she will drink. If I could find a list of their teas I might be able to remember what it was. But apparently their web designers were so busy with flash and music, they forgot to put a product list. Ugh!

[Ruthie789]

Yes I agree with you but on the link provided the last option on their headers has an indication order Dimlah and that is where you will find selections for products. It is there but not evident, they should have a header with the title products. The reserve tea is in the order Dimlah.

[AmyH]

Thank you! I would have never found that. I think the one she raved about might have been the Ceylon Supreme or the Supreme Ceylon Single Origin. Not that I intend to pay $50 or $75 to find out. It looks like their prices include international fedex shipping. Maybe I can find a local tea store that carries the Dilmah line.

[Ruthie789]

Hi Amy. I paid $3.79 on sale for 20 bag box of black ceylon, and also bought orange pekoe and English breakfast and Earl Grey, for the same price at a local market here in Montreal. I wrote the company and mentioned that the product header was not user friendly, waiting to hear back from them. I can tell you that the Ceylon black was my favorite, I found it exceptional.

[AmyH]

Glad to hear that you liked it, Ruthie. If I can't find it in a store here, I may just have to drive up to Montreal for it. I live in upstate NY so it would still be cheaper than ordering it from their website.

[AmyH]

I did some more searching and it looks like they have it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dilmah-Ceylon-S...
THat's not a bad price for 6 boxes.

[Ruthie789]

I hope you like it if you do order. The Ceylon Supreme is the best of all that I have tasted. I went back to the store today and they do not have anymore of this type so I may well be ordering from amazon as well.

[Jaz Cooks]

Trader Joe's teas are really quite good. I love the Mango Black tea, and the Earl Grey, especially. They are cheap too!

[Jay F]

I use Trader Joe's English Breakfast for making ice tea. Love it. And it's so much cheaper than Twinings (.17 per pitcher rather than .53).

[eclecticsynergy]

Of the massmarket brands, I prefer Twinings Ceylon Breakfast Tea, which has become harder to find on the shelves where I live in recent years. For mailorder teas, I agree that Harney & Sons has many truly excellent teas indeed, though some of their very best are not available in bagged form, only loose leaf.

[Jay F]

<<Of the massmarket brands, I prefer Twinings Ceylon Breakfast Tea, which has become harder to find on the shelves where I live in recent years.>>

I buy it through Amazon's Subscribe & Save program.

http://www.amazon.com/Twinings-Ceylon...

[jumpingmonk]

On weekdays, I usually drink a mixture of Foojoy's (avaialble at most Chinese/Asian supermarkets) Royal Kwan Yin/Tiegunayin (As far as I can tell they are the same Teabag, and the fact you can find one or the other (or both) at the same stores is due to us being in a transition between the names and the stores having a mixture of brand new and older stock). with some Republic of Tea Earl Greyer. There is actually a Teabag called Fujian Butterfly Oolong that is even BETTER than the Foojoy, but that is SUPERn rare to find (I only know of one shop around me that carries it, and even they only normally have it once in every six months or so)
Weekends are a little more varied, as I tend to use those to test out new tea combinations/brands. But one I drink fairly often is Ten Ren (again avialable at Chinese/Asian supermarkets) Ten Wu Teabags. They're rather expensive at about $5-6$ for a box of 20 bags (somewhat tellingly, the Ten Wu is one of the few flavors Ten-Ren doesn't offer in a box of 100, probably becuase no one could afford one on a regular basis). But I like it, as it is as close to a high mountain/"jade" oolong as I have been able to find in a teabag (teas that high grade are usually loose leaf only).

[amazinc]

Had the best tea ever at Drew's American Restaurant in San Antonio, TX. Asked the chef the brand and was told Walker's Bay 100% Ceylon Black Tea. Ordered it on line and it is still (imho)
the best I've ever tasted. As most of you will know, Iced tea is the "house wine" of the South, so I grew up drinking that (not soda) and still love it year round.

[Leepa]

This is tea intended to make iced tea?

[Puffin3]

Just wondering why you would use a tea bag instead of loose tea? It's pretty well known the best quality teas are always loose while tea bags are basically just 'tea dust'. Hence the reason this 'dust' needs to be put into bags otherwise you'd never be able to filter out the leaves.

[sunshine842]

because while loose tea makes a really lovely pot of tea, many people only drink/need/have time for one cup, which makes the whole brewing/steeping process time-consuming and pushing the limits of being more trouble than it's worth.

I brew loose tea when I have time, but if I'm busy or at work...bagged it is.

I can also throw a few tea bags in my purse to enjoy somewhere else. Try that with loose tea/a strainer/a teapot.

[soytoy]

I make single cups of loose leaf tea for myself every day. I use a small, stainless steel mesh tea ball (ex. http://www.tealaden.com/product/perso...).
Although I enjoy my tea at home, a small tea ball and 1 tsp of loose leaf tea could easily be put into a ziploc bag for enjoyment at work.

[Ruthie789]

I really like the Twinings Lady Grey.

[thistle5]

I drink a lot of iced tea, I usually purchase Lipton decaf tea, to blend w/ either Lapsang Souchong (Wegman's, since I'm not doing mail-order right now), or green tea (Luzianne, & since I made a mistake this week, Lipton's peach passion green tea- which thoroughly repulsed me at first, but now I sorta like it (because I wasn't going to throw it away)....

[Ruthie789]

I just bought a tea on sale at Chapters, LOV, organic black tea with cinnamon. It is quite nice but I drank it at 10 pm the other night and that's it could not fall asleep. It was a strong tea.

[Ruthie789]

I have discovered a line of teas at a Lebanese market called Ahmed teas. They come in loose teas, as well in teabags, and smaller boxes of individually wrapped teas. Black, green and flavoured teas are available and are very good. They are also affordable.

As well I absolutely love TEA FORTE, but have only seen them in gift boxes at Chapters. You can purchase on the internet but my my they are too expensive for my budget. I especially love the Blackcurrent blend and do not usually like black teas with a flavour.

[escargot3]

I order tea from Murchie's in Vancouver. They have a large selection of black teas.
I get it in bulk for use at home, and tea bags for when I'm not.

[GraceW]

I do not care for coconut, but STASH mango coconut wuyi Oolong is good.
(I know this thread is old--but I love tea.)

[Jetgirly]

I drink ten or more cups of tea every day. I have an entire drawer of tea in my desk at work! Things I buy again and again:

- Lipton Green Tea with Honey, Lemon and Ginseng. I brew it until it's really bitter and l-o-v-e it.
- Lipton Vanilla Earl Grey. With milk and sugar, and cookies dunked in. Requires self-restraint.
- Revolution Acai Green Tea (again, brewed to bitterness)
- Twinings Blackcurrant, Ginseng and Vanilla (herbal- I became addicted to this during an extreme elimination diet when it was my only source of "sweet" flavor)
- Lipton Superfruit Green Tea with blackcurrant and vanilla (captures a bit of blackcurrant and vanilla flavor without what I'd describe as the hibiscus notes of the Twinings... it's a green tea, so brewed strong!)
- I don't mind Starbuck's Tazo tea in China Green Tip... again, overbrewed.
- And it's noted above, but when I'm sick I like Celestial Seasoning's Honey, Vanilla and Chamomile tea too.

[iliria]

I wasn't able to read all the posts in her and am not sure of it has been mentioned or not but South African Rooibos (Redbush) tea is absolutely fantastic. Caffeine free too.

[DonShirer]

Stash makes several good teas, including a chai spice that is my current favorite. For Earl Grey I prefer Twinings. Tetley's for a cheap quick fix when I can't take the time to really enjoy my food, or when I'm watching TV. For premium or exotic teas I tend to go to the tea shoppe a couple of towns away.

[LeoLioness]

Barrys Irish Tea for black; Stash lemon-ginger for herbal.

[Ruthie789]

The decafinated black tea is the best I have had, and tastes like regular tea.

[sandylc]

It should be noted that herbal "teas" are not tea! Also, flavored-up stuff should go away, IMO.

[Jay F]

>>It should be noted that herbal "teas" are not tea!<<
+1

>>Also, flavored-up stuff should go away, IMO.<<
+1 more

[pdxgastro]

I like Tetley British Blend. Most supermarkets carry it.

[AmyH]

Harney and Sons makes some great teas. You can buy it loose, in regular bags or in those silky sachet bags. Lots of different kinds of teas. The one I had and loved was "hot cinnamon spice" flavored. Amazing.

http://www.harney.com/index.cfm

[benbenberi]

Hot Cinnamon Spice is a great tea - very strong cinnamon flavor, and a hint of sweetness. Love it!

[AmyH]

The first time I tried it was at a meeting at a hotel. I had 2 cups I loved it so much. I wasn't nodding off during that meeting!

It's also available on Amazon.

[Val]

STASH brand green and white fusion is a new love of mine now also...white tea has more antioxidants than green, I believe...

[sandylc]

PG tips for me!

[sunshine842]

Me, too.

I like Typhoo when I can get it, too.

[gator28]

I love Good Earth's Original Sweet & Spicy tea. I also like Tazo's Passion Fruit and Orange Blossom for herbal teas.

[DiningDiva]

The Good Earth product makes a really nice iced tea

[NorCalEats]

+1 for Good Earth's Original Sweet and Spicy tea! Made with roobius tea leaves and various spices like cinnamon, cloves, etc. Very strong but soooo good.

[masha bousha]

I am a huge tea drinker (black tea w/ caffeine) and though I've tried PG tips, Twinnings, etc my favorite is Tetley British Blend (tagless).

[Leepa]

I love Tetley's British Blend as well. It reminds me of the tea I grew up drinking.

[chefschickie]

Twinings Earl Grey and Twinings Lady Grey

[ericthered]

Tazo makes a good Earl Grey and I also like their Zen. Adagio Teas makes a concotion called Jasmine Pearls that is also pretty good.

[DiningDiva]

Did you know that the Tazo Tea sold in the Starbucks stores is often not the same Tazo Tea sold retail? Not with all flavors, of course, but Tazo has some varieties that it will only sell in the Starbucks stores and others are only sold retail.

My mother LOVES Tazo Refresh which is only available retail. I, on the other hand, am partial to a seasonal Tazo called Joy which is only available at Starbucks and only during the holiday season.

P.S. You're right, their Earl Grey and Zen are nice teas.

[sunflwrsdh]

+1 on Twining's Earl Grey

[DiningDiva]

I really enjoy the line of Zhena's Gypsy Teas - http://www.gypsytea.com/

I drank Cocnut Chai all winter and my mother drank their Firside Chai. I also like the Ginger Peach and some of their more exotic flavors.

[JEN10]

Celestial Seasoning's has a very large selection of teas. Right now I am hooked on the green tea with dragon fruit, greeen tea with raspberry, and the Africian mango red tea. At night time I like to have a cup of the honey, vanilla, camomile tea.
www.celestialseasonings.com

[nooyawka]

I drink tea with milk (half-n-half or light cream, where available) and sugar. I much prefer Tetley to Lipton.

[vafarmwife]

Hot- Constant Comment or Earl Grey
Iced Tea- Tetley or Luzianne

[terlin]

TJ's Irish Breakfast is a good value tea. Their English Breakfast is not that good.

[buzzardbreath]

TJ's Irish Breakfast is my favorite when I cannot get Yorkshire Gold. I agree about the English Breakfast Tea, not so good.

[Val]

I've been buying and enjoying TJ's organic green tea lately..(they just opened a store here in SWFL last year)...$2.69 for box of 20 bags, good flavor!

[soytoy]

Mighty Leaf, by leaps and bounds.

[DougRisk]

I am surprised that you are the only one who has mentioned it. I have tried many brands and think that Mighty Leaf is very good.

[escargot3]

I especially like Mighty Leaf herbal teas.

[Ruthie789]

I also bought some Mighty Leaf and loved the Earl Gray.

[RedTop]

Funny to find this thread...

I've been drinking Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea for years, no adds. But I recently became a TJs slappy and have a package of their branded Irish Breakfast Tea in the cupboard side-by-side the Twinings. Plan to do a comparison of the two when I can sit on my patio and watch the sunrise without freezing.

[mrbigshotno.1]

For hot tea "Constant Comment" is for me.

[terlin]

Dittos!

[tastycakes]

i really enjoy the yogi tea line, particularly the mayan cocoa spice. it's a great substitute for a cup of cocoa or a chocolate treat if you are trying to eat more healthfully.

[jackbauer]

I love Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey. Absolutely delicious straight up, hot.

[CodCakes]

I agree 100%! Sometimes the regular Earl grey isn't quite (Early?) enough. Have you ever found any other brand that makes the double bergamot? I have yet to.

[Ruthie789]

As a lover of Earl Gray, I have found that the flavour of bergamot varies per company. You might not have to find a double flavour just a tea that has more of it in its composition. It is such a lovely flavour.

[Ruthie789]

http://www.englishteastore.com/dobeeagrtea.html
http://theteashop.com/viewitem.php?gr...
Two links for the double earl and for those who do not want as much bergamot there is a Twinnings tea called, Lady Earl Grey.

[sciencediet]

Upton (mail order loose tea) has an Earl Grey with extra bergamot, I'm pretty sure.

[Ruthie789]

I just bought a box of this the other day and loved it!

[thymeoz]

me too! I like most Stash teas, but that's a favorite.

[amyzan]

Do you know that the tea aficionado you're buying for prefers tea bags? I'd be rather cautious myself, because tea fans can be picky. I'd stick with a company that makes pyramid bags, often called sachets. The tea inside will be better quality than what you generally find in tea bags, which is nice for a gift.

Try to find out what types of tea your friend enjoys--black, green, oolong, flavored, and from what growing region, or perhaps there are particular characteristics they enjoy--maltiness, winey or fruity qualities, that sort of description. Some people adore jasmine tea, for instance, while others abhor scent or flavoring. Sometimes you can draw them out by asking when they drink tea, and whether they add anything, prefer a strong cup in the morning or a more delicate or subtle flavor later in the day, or maybe they like an eye opener in the afternoon.

You can't go wrong with Harney for presentation. The tins are beautiful and can be reused for bags or loose tea. They do some nice samplers, too. http://www.harney.com/ I buy my everyday tea from Upton, but their tea is exclusively loose leaf. http://www.uptontea.com Two Leaves and a Bud has been recommended to me, but I have yet to find a tea of theirs I like all that well. I believe they're more common retail than Harney, but Harney really is worth searching out where you live. Here, Harney's is carried in local tea shops, coffee roasters, and restaurants as well at some unexpected places like Russell Stover Candy shops. You might have some luck searching here, too: http://ratetea.net/

[Ruthie789]

Tea forte has pyramid teas and an extensive line.

[cocosarah]

No one yet mentioned Yorkshire Gold.. slightly less acidic than PG Tips. Now croppping up in several NY/ MA area supermarkets, e.g. Hannaford and Big Y

[agoodbite]

I'm a Yorkshire Gold fan as well. I actually prefer Lifeboat for a good, strong cup of black tea, but I can't find it anywhere anymore.

I don't really care for PG Tips or any of the Twinings black teas. They're just too weak for me.

[buzzardbreath]

LOVE Yorkshire Gold! I found it a small shop called All Things Bright and British in La Mesa, CA near San Diego, CA. Now I have to order it online. It is my favorite tea, good, smooth and strong.

[pinkprimp]

I love 'T' TeaLeaves, particularly their silk pyramid tea bags. It always feels like such a treat when I use them! In particular, I enjoy:

-Energy (gingseng/mint/citrus)
-Monsoon Chai (it's not very spicy, more floral-y, so if you like your Chai teas full of spice, you may not enjoy this)
-Earl grey with lavender

http://www.tealeaves.com/c-9-teabags....

[Jay F]

Twinings Ceylon Orange Pekoe. Drink it all day, black.

[tanker64]

Twinings English or Irish Breakfast in the mornings. Orange Pekoe, Prince of Wales or English Afternoon for the PM.

[jmckee]

Second the motion for Twinings Irish Breakfast. For iced tea, Luzianne is still the gold standard at our house.

My wife is a fan of Twinings Earl Grey.

[Kelli2006]

I agree with your Mrs.

[bushwickgirl]

Luzianne is my favorite for iced tea, milky Irish Breakfast with oatmeal on a cold morning, and the Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey, mentioned downthread, is the best.

[Jadore]

Thanks for all of your replies! I'm interested in buying some tea as a gift for a big tea fan, and I just wanted some ideas. I appreciate your feedback!

[LauraGrace]

Just a note of caution -- I am a tea drinker to the bone, but I really only enjoy black teas and prefer strong, Yunnan or Assam based teas drunk with milk. A former roommate of mine is also a tea afficionado, but prefers whole-leaf green or white teas and drinks them pretty exclusively. Just make sure you know what kind of tea your friend enjoys before buying! :)

There are a bunch of other tea-related threads on the Gen. Topics board -- see the links below this thread for some more good ideas.

[Jay F]

>>>>I really only enjoy black teas and prefer strong, Yunnan or Assam based teas

Any recommendations?

[LauraGrace]

Upton's Yunnan TGFOP is fantastic -- one of my all-time favorite teas, and very affordable.

[benbenberi]

Yes! That's my favorite drink-it-all-day black tea, esp. good with milk. I'm having a fresh cup of it right now!

If I'm in a tea-bag environment (office, hotel, etc.), I like Twinings Irish Breakfast or Darjeeling, or PG Tips.

For cold-brewing ice tea, I usually use PG Tips.

[LauraGrace]

A kindred spirit! :)

[sciencediet]

Me too! I drink loose Assam from Upton at home, but at the office I confess to loving Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast. It's a fine substitute for Barry's, which I can get here, if I want to pay $8 a box.

[Val]

Such sage advice, LG!!! Not everyone loves green tea...truth be told, I have come to like it but did not at first. Lots of folks find it too astringent!

[amyzan]

I may be interjecting unnecessarily, but have you tried brewing green tea with water at 180 degrees F? Many green teas will become bitter when brewed with water above 180. Boiling water can make an overwhelmingly astringent brew, all but eliminating the more delicate flavors.

[Val]

Hi, amyzan: yes, I know about NOT using boiling water on green tea...at work, I don't have time to be testing the temp of the hot water but at home on weekends, it's fine and I do take the time to make sure my water isn't too hot. Thanks for the reminder though...and it's true that many boxes of green teas sold don't say anything about NOT using boiling water on green tea!

[BobB]

If you're friend is really a big tea fan, (s)he will be more likely to appreciate loose leaf teas, which when purchased from a reputable importer are almost always fresher and tastier than anyone's prepacked bags (plus you can control exactly how much is used for each cup). Check out the selection at a place like Upton Tea Imports: http://www.uptontea.com

They also have tea-related gift items.

EDIT: just finished the thread and realize I'm not the first to point this out. Oh, well - still good advice.

[Val]

No way am I an aficionado BUT I really love Archer Farms Organic green tea in pryamid bags. I use them at work during week and on weekends brew up loose Japanese green tea but the Archer Farms green tea is very very nice. $3.99 for 15 bags.

[stilldontknow]

PG Tips, Tetley and Nambarrie are all good everyday teas. Lovely.

[Leepa]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Archer Farms tea. Been drinking a lot of green tea lately so I'll give this a try right away.

[Val]

Leepa...there is a Purdue study out there on the 'net reporting that lemon juice added to green tea increases the bioavailiablity of the catechins in the tea...so you may want to add some lemon to your green tea if it suits...I go through about 3 lemons a week for this reason.

[Leepa]

Thanks, I will do just that. I'm a lemon in tea drinker anyway.

Picked up some of the Archer Farms green tea this afternoon and am looking forward to trying it.

[pine time]

I'm not a tea drinker and know nothing about teas, but Indian friends swear by PG Tips. BTW, had a marvelous tour of the tea plantations in Munnar, India a few years ago. Never knew tea was such a pretty 'crop."

[LauraGrace]

Depends on what you're looking for. For plain black tea (to be drunk with milk), I like Twinings Irish Breakfast and PG Tips, as well as English Tea Store's English breakfast tea in bags.

[alkapal]

how would you compare the english breakfast tea from twinings to that of the english tea store?

also, what makes english and irish breakfast teas different?

[colfaxBee]

I am a big fan of the Harney and Sons dragon pearl jasmine. Am eager to hear what brands others like, as I have yet to find one brand that is consistently good quality for many varieties.

[jeanmarieok]

Harney and Sons is my go to brand. I like the cinnamon tea a lot.

[bdachow]

+1, I just discovered the Harney and Sons Dragon Pearl Jasmine which is a really nice jasmine tea bag.

[BananasFoster]

For hot tea, it's always Constant Comment. However, Lemon Lift makes great iced tea and is a personal favorite.