Twinings

Sipped on a mug of this last night and found it to be fairly relaxing. I like that the strawberry is more mellow but fresh tasting, like the lingering sweetness after eating a particularly juicy and ripe berry. I also like that the chamomile is quite gentle since that’s a flavour I often find pretty offensive. It makes for a pretty balanced feeling blend. Nothing to turn your nose up at, bagged tea or otherwise.

This needs two bags to be good; with just one the black tea base is so, so incredibly thin and lets the whole thing down. With two, it’s malty and robust enough to take milk if you want it, and sweetly supportive of the cinnamon, clove, and orange flavouring. Christmas in a cup!

Apple and chamomile with a hint of cinnamon. For something called “winter spice” the spice is very subtle. Whilst it’s pleasant enough, it’s also a flavour combination I feel I’ve seen at least 100 times from Twinings in various guises. Not a unique “holiday” tea by any means.

Surprised at the low rating – I thought this was a decent chai french vanilla.

Nice, light fruity tea; definitely taste the strawberry and raspberry, light on the pomegranate, but it’s a nice blend. Green tea taste almost completely hidden under the fruity flavors.

I spend yesterday at a “playdate” with my friend Helen and her son. I’m really working hard at being the cool, favourite fun Aunt. I always bring a new tea to try when I see her, and this time around I brought this EG that I snagged in person at the Twinings shop in London earlier this year. I’ve literally only ever seen it at the Twinings store, so I needed to try it even if I’m not a hugggeeeee EG person.

Honestly? I think it gets a check yes from me. The bergamot is surprisingly pretty mild and while I think that would probably be a turn off for most people, for me it’s actually a selling point. The “plum” could be stronger, but there’s definitely a bit of a deeper and more dense/jammy fruit note that comes across that I quite like with this rich and more brisk and citrusy black tea base. It’s pretty decent, and with a spot of milk and sugar I could see it being really good.

We split the difference between holidays and made a trip to see to the wellbeing of octogenarian mom-in-law earlier this week. One of the perks of that particular road run is the opportunity to shop at World Market, at which I may have gone a little overboard. “We need to grab that because we can’t find it at home” is a stro-o-o-o-ong retail motivator.

So this box sort of just jumped into the basket while we were there. I have recently fallen in love with Twinings’ Lady Grey, which is a highly respectable Earl Grey with a lovely orange twist. The opportunity to enjoy the same flavor profile caffeine-free just puts buttercream on my cupcake.

So much better with two bags. Now the black tea base doesn’t let down the really rather lovely gingerbread flavouring.

This one does actually taste of gingerbread biscuits, which is a pleasant surprise. I just wish the black tea base was a bit maltier and more robust, because as it stands it’s quite thin-tasting and that’s the only thing that lets this one down. The flavouring is on point.

Added 1tsp of vanilla syrup today and enjoyed this one so much more as a result. Now it’s the vanilla-peppermint delight I imagined!

Trying a couple of the Twinings Christmas blends today. This one smells so delicious even through the wrapper, minty and creamy as the description promises. Once brewed, however, I find this to be mostly peppermint with just a hint of vanilla. Barely there, really. I was hoping this one would be at least similar to, if not better than, Buttermint but unfortunately it’s not. Nice enough, but not quite what I was hoping.

Herbal and Decaf Traveling Tea Box, Summer 2025.
Winter Spice. Twinings.
This was a string-tag paper teabag in a sealed foil pouch, which I prepared as directed. I started out thinking it was pretty mild, as others have said. But then I started nibbling on some peanut brittle, and the residual sugar in my mouth really made the flavors pop! It was a nice blend, inoffensive, with a good long chamomile finish. In the mouth, it was not overpowered by cinnamon and, instead, it was rounded out with subtle notes of clove. I did not distinctly taste cardamom, but I don’t doubt that it was in there. The apple flavoring gave it a sweetness and fullness on the tongue without the bitterness of apple skins or seeds, although it may have been the origin of the green rooibos-like aroma that I perceive— almost like sweet pickles. I would recommend this tea, and give it a rating of 74.

Lots of citrus, but quite pithy. A fair hit of hibiscus also. There is nothing sweet about this one, and it’s also quite tart, but not in a way that’s displeasing. I feel this one may fair better iced, but there’s something quite bright and sunshiny about it which I’m quite enjoying on this cold, wintery afternoon.

Work tea. Unfortunately this one is mostly just hibiscus; despite the pretty packaging there is no mango or strawberry flavour to speak of. I do find it too tart straight, even after only 3-4 minutes, so I added a spoonful of sugar and that’s softened it a bit. Definitely not great, though.

The raspberry in this one is a little sherbet-like, which is nice, but overall a touch too bitter and metallic tasting to really be pleasant. I assume it’s the valerian since it’s in all three of the Twinings sleep teas I’ve tried and they all have a similar base profile that isn’t quite overcome by the differing flavourings. I added a spoonful of honey to my cup, but it’s not enough to change things significantly. This one I probably wouldn’t seek out again; the spiced apple is way better.

Felt like an evening treat, so made up a Butter Pecan Chai inspired by a Twinings UK Supper Club recipe. It involves toasting chopped pecans in butter, warming almond milk with spices (star anise, cardamom, cinnamon), straining, and then combining with a concentrate made from this tea (2 bags, 100ml water, 2 minutes). Got to say, it’s delicious! Sweet, creamy, and perfectly spiced. The ideal thing for a cold autumn evening!

Classic Chai is also fab just as it is, of course. I typically drink it with either almond milk or whole milk, plus a spoonful of honey.

Tart and jammy, as you might expect from a blend with hibiscus and rosehip as its main ingredients. The raspberry is just about there, but by no means a prominent flavour. The blackcurrant comes off quite nicely, however, and gives a taste akin to hot ribena. It’s very smooth, more so with a spoonful of honey. Probably not a blend I’d actively seek our for its flavour, but I do appreciate the wellness aspect (added echinacea & vitamin D) at the moment with this killer cold.

Another sore throat/cold relief saviour, great for helping to ease stuffiness and congestion. A little more basic than my tea tastes usually allow for perhaps, but definitely a classic for a reason! I tend to leave the bag in so it becomes quite strong by the end of the cup, and inhaling the steam whilst it’s still hot helps too. I shall survive this thing, with tea to help!

I had a craving a while ago for a “Chinese restaurant” teabag oolong… The only bagged oolong I could even find at my local grocery was this one, so I figured I’d try it out. Sadly, it just isn’t quite what I was hoping for. It has a bit of that roasty note and a subtle florality in the background, but its just so flavorless… It comes out really bland tasting. Adding an additional teabag helps the flavor substantially, but then it also gets a bit bitter/tannic at the end of the sip, which isn’t ideal either.

It’s a shame I live in an area that just doesn’t really have foreign speciality grocers around, which would probably have what I’m looking for in regards to a simple bagged tea oolong that gives that classic Chinese restaurant flavor… but this Twinings offering is not it. I won’t be purchasing again.

Backlog note from Sunday evening, which was a chilly one. I fancied a warming cup of something to snuggle with under the duvet on the sofa. This one fit the bill, it being fairly late evening already. The overall flavour is dominated by valerian, delicately accented with orange blossom and sweetened just a touch by chamomile. Not a flavour-first kind of tea, perhaps, but pleasantly palatable nonetheless. I feel like it did help me sleep a little better too, although the dreams of course were funky (thanks, passionflower!)

Iced! I added 2 bags to 100ml boiling water for 4 minutes, poured over ice, and then topped up with lemonade. Brewed hot I tasted the blueberry very prominently. Cold, the blackcurrant predominates instead, and comes across very jammy; real ribena vibes going on! There is also some tartness from the hibiscus, which gives a thicker mouthfeel than I expected. All in all really quite refreshing, although the juiciness of the blueberry when brewed hot means that method wins overall with me. This would be great in summer though!

So fruity and juicy! I could both taste and smell blueberry a lot more than blackcurrant (which is fine, as I adore blueberry…), and for once the hibiscus didn’t lean too tart/sour. The second tea today that impressed me more than I thought it would, and one I’m also looking forward to experimenting with a little more.

Today’s choice for a post-work wind down tea. The strawberry here is instantly recognisable, and very natural tasting. It pairs fabulously with the chamomile, which gives it an extra hint of honeyed sweetness. The lemon balm adding a soft hint of citrus which pulls the whole thing back from being too sweet. One of the best natural strawberry teas I’ve tried in a while.