Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Lu-Lin Teas
Tea Description:
8 Tea Cubes containing our bestselling Single Estate Ginseng Oolong. It is made by rolling Oolong leaves into tight balls and coating them in a thin layer of ginseng and liquorice grass. When brewed it is fairly sweet and has a hint of liquorice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been a long-time advocate for loose leaf tea, and while I do occasionally drink tea made with bagged tea leaves, I rarely find a bagged tea that offers as good a tea as loose leaf. The reason is that the bag or sachet seldom offers enough room for the tea leaves to expand fully, so that the leaves can release their full flavor. The tea leaves need lots of room … and this is especially true with Oolong teas which I have found often expand up to six or seven times their dry volume. If an Oolong tea is confined to a bag or sachet, it simply does not have the room it needs to offer you – the drinker – the best flavor possible.
Well, this is the FIRST bagged tea I can stand behind with confidence. It is a “cubed” bag, and these sachets offer more room that the tea needs to expand fully. Now that’s what I’m talking about! If you MUST have a bagged tea because the convenience is important to you … this is the bagged tea that offers you BOTH convenience and the full flavor of loose leaf.
This Ginseng Oolong from Lu-Lin Teas a pleasant enough Oolong. I don’t usually get excited over Ginseng, it isn’t my favorite herb … but, I am not hating it when it’s brought together with the smooth, sweet flavor of Oolong tea. The overall cup tastes sweet, earthy, and there is a hint of spicy licorice. Pleasant … not something I’d drink everyday, but, something that I’d find enjoyable on occasion.
And if Ginseng Oolong doesn’t make you jump through hoops, there are many other teas that Lu-Lin Teas offers in their cubed sachets. These cubed sachets are the perfect option while traveling or at the office. They offer the convenience of a bagged tea and the flavor of loose leaf. A win-win!
Lifeboat Tea from Williamson Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Williamson Tea
Tea Description:
Lifeboat Tea is a lovely full-flavoured, family-owned tea that has been created to provide sustainable funding for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) – the charity that saves lives at sea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I had my misgivings about this – especially since I did recently have another Kenyan black bagged tea. I didn’t want to compare the two, because they are two separate teas, from two separate tea companies. Even the bags look different – these are the round tea bags without a “fetch-string” or tag on it, looking a bit like a rescue ring buoy. No, it’s not colored bright orange or anything, it just kind of evoked that image given the name of the tea.
This really isn’t so bad, though. I find it to be quite robust with a pleasant malty tone. A nice sweetness to it too. It is not unpleasantly bitter, but I suspect that had I oversteeped it, it might be. It has just a hint of bitterness to it, suggesting to me that if the teabag had been left in the water a few more seconds I might have a bitter cup of tea. But as it is, it is certainly not unpleasant, and I find the slight bitter tone to it gives a nice contrast to the overall cup.
This is not a bad cup of tea – but again, I must say that I’d rather it be a loose leaf tea rather than a bagged tea. But, because it is bagged, it does make a great choice for cold-brewing for iced tea. Even though it’s getting cooler (autumn is finally here!) I do still enjoy a glass of iced tea in the afternoon and with my meals, and this tea – iced – is really lovely. Particularly nice with a thin slice of lemon.
Yorkshire Tea from Taylors of Harrogate
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Assam, African
Where to Buy: British Isles
Tea Description:
A proper tasting cuppa. Pure and simple.
Founded in 1886, Taylors of Harrogate is an independent family business, dedicated to the pleasures of good tea and coffee. The family business has been buying and blending fine teas for over a century.
In every cup of their tea you can taste the skill, creativity and craftsmanship of Taylors’ tea blenders. Taylors’ employees visit tea estates personally to select only the finest seasonal hand-plucked teas.
By investing in long-term partnerships and paying fair prices, Taylors is able to make a positive difference to the quality of the teas and the lives of the growers. The company is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership and is committed to the ethical sourcing of tea.
Every year Taylors donates at least £100,000 (approx. $190,000) to environmental and community projects overseas. Since 1990 Taylors has planted over 3 million trees across the world with the charity Oxfam.
Taster’s Review:
This is quite simply the perfect English tea! 
A very dear friend of mine, from the UK, sent me a huge box of this tea awhile back and I was surprised when I discovered it was not just some regular ol bland black tea! Imagine my shock and horror that a bagged tea could be so rich, malty, and delicious!
This tea also does come in loose leaf so I provided links to both, but if you look around the site a little you will find you can get it in different quantities as well. My b
ox has 160 bags and on those days when I just can’t seem to navigate my tea stash, let alone, proper brewing, I grab a bag of Taylors and Harrogate Yorkshire and all is right with the world!
This tea is rich, complex enough, and has just the right amount of malty flavor to kick me into high gear in the mornings. It has a rich full mouthfeel and the tea itself is quite robust! Yet, it is not bitter whatsoever and the astringency that exists within the cup is the right kind of astringency that should be there in a fine black tea!
Of course being a good bold tea it can take well to cream, milk, sweeteners, anything you may want to add to it.
Now I did link one of many places to purchase this tea, however it can be found in many places both online and in stores. I have seen it in many of my local markets, as well as at our local British Shop.
If you are looking for the perfect English style tea to sever for a tea party, a cream tea, high tea, ANY kind of “tea” situation or celebration, get some of this. Its just as they say, “A proper tasting cuppa. Pure and simple.”
Superb Black Tea (from Rwanda) from The Excellent Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Excellent Tea Company
Tea Description:
The Excellent Tea Company’s Superb Black Tea is a pesticide-free, Fair Trade Certified,* single-estate tea bag from the Mountains of the Moon in Rwanda, East Africa, where the high altitude, clean air, and fertile volcanic soils produce exceptionally smooth and highly prized tea without the use of pesticides or artificial fertilizers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm… I like this. It’s a decent black tea, rich and malty, and I like that it’s pesticide-free and Fair Trade.
I do find myself wishing it was not a bagged tea. Perhaps it’s just me, but, I could swear that I taste a “wet paper” kind of taste in there. It isn’t a strong taste, and it isn’t off-putting enough so that I want to stop drinking it … but I do still wish it wasn’t there, and I wonder if it is indeed from the filter paper bag.
But despite this one misgiving about the tea, I must say that it is a tasty tea, and it is quite economical too. The fact that it is bagged means that it’s convenient – ideal for one of those days when you don’t have time to go loose leaf (and we all have those days on occasion, don’t we?) And even though it is a bagged tea, it’s one of the better tasting bagged teas I’ve had in a while … even with that faint “wet paper” taste that I am detecting.
Overall, this is an enjoyable tea. I don’t know that I’d go so far as to call it Superb … but, I enjoyed it.
English Breakfast Tea from Revolution Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Revolution Tea
Tea Description:
Revolution Tea’s English Breakfast is made from the finest quality Ceylon and Assam black teas available. Enjoy this hearty, robust tea that stays true to the exacting standards of the popular original. This tea is truly a great way to start your day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When it comes to English Breakfast blends, there are a few characteristics that I look for; qualities that I consider “standard” in an English Breakfast. Among these are a rich, even tone. I want it to be strong. I don’t want it bitter. I want it to be delicious enough to stand on its own with no additions, but able to take additions such as milk and sugar if I want that.
This English Breakfast blend from Revolution has those qualities I look for in an English Breakfast blend. It is really quite tasty, with a pleasing, honey-caramel sweetness to it, a touch of malt, and a richness that stands alone well, but also would remain flavorful if some milk were added for a latte.
This is actually one of the most flavorful bagged (sachet) English Breakfast blends that I’ve yet to encounter. It has a good amount of gusto to it – this promises to invigorate me this morning and that’s a good thing! – and it is pleasantly sweet and has that delicious, bake-y, chewy kind of flavor that makes breakfast blends so satisfying.