piculet32 wrote:
I visited the Twinings shop in the Strand this past summer and stocked
up on tea to bring back home to the States with me. There seems to be
a much more extensive selection of Twinings blends available in the UK
than what we get here, but there were also the familiar popular
favorites such as English Breakfast and Earl Grey.
I have been a happy Twinings customer many years. I was surprised when
I got home to find that the tea I had purchased in London tasted much different than the Twinings I was used to getting here in America. The British version seemed to have a much richer flavor, but I thought at
first it might just be my imagination.
Therefore, I decided to do a taste test. I ordered some of the US
Twinings English Breakfast tea bags from their website, figuring that
it would be fresher coming directly from Twinings rather than from the supermarket. I made two 20 oz. pots of tea. The first pot contained
the British tea, using two tea bags. The second pot contained three US
tea bags (because there is less tea per bag in the US version). I
figured that would allow for any differences in strength.
I concluded that the British version is much better than its US
counterpart - which I cannot understand, because although the US tea is packed in North Carolina, it is, according to the label, blended in
London. Therefore, Twinings English Breakfast should be the same
throughout the world, except perhaps for the packaging, right? But I
am more convinced than ever that these are two different blends of tea.
I also tried the same experiment with Twinings Earl Grey, and while the difference is less prounounced, there IS still a difference. As a
result, I seem to have lost my taste for Twinings' US offerings and
when my supply runs out will probably only purchase the imported
versions online.
Has anyone else noticed this or am I just crazy??
piculet32 wrote:You're not crazy!! I lived in the UK for years and find that the US Twinings >Earl Grey teabags make a pot that tastes of paper. DISGUSTING!!! And the loose >tea blend is only so-so. I'm having to shop about to find something decent.
Therefore, I decided to do a taste test. I ordered some of the US
Twinings English Breakfast tea bags from their website, figuring that
it would be fresher coming directly from Twinings rather than from the
supermarket. I made two 20 oz. pots of tea. The first pot contained
the British tea, using two tea bags. The second pot contained three US
tea bags (because there is less tea per bag in the US version). I
figured that would allow for any differences in strength.
I concluded that the British version is much better than its US
counterpart - which I cannot understand, because although the US tea is
packed in North Carolina, it is, according to the label, blended in
London. Therefore, Twinings English Breakfast should be the same
throughout the world, except perhaps for the packaging, right? But I
am more convinced than ever that these are two different blends of tea.
I also tried the same experiment with Twinings Earl Grey, and while the
difference is less prounounced, there IS still a difference. As a
result, I seem to have lost my taste for Twinings' US offerings and
when my supply runs out will probably only purchase the imported
versions online.
Has anyone else noticed this or am I just crazy??
replying to Piculet, Alexandra Brunel wrote:
piculet32 wrote:
I visited the Twinings shop in the Strand this past summer and stocked
up on tea to bring back home to the States with me. There seems to be
a much more extensive selection of Twinings blends available in the UK
than what we get here, but there were also the familiar popular
favorites such as English Breakfast and Earl Grey.
I have been a happy Twinings customer many years. I was surprised when
I got home to find that the tea I had purchased in London tasted much different than the Twinings I was used to getting here in America. The British version seemed to have a much richer flavor, but I thought at
first it might just be my imagination.
Therefore, I decided to do a taste test. I ordered some of the US
Twinings English Breakfast tea bags from their website, figuring that
it would be fresher coming directly from Twinings rather than from the supermarket. I made two 20 oz. pots of tea. The first pot contained
the British tea, using two tea bags. The second pot contained three US
tea bags (because there is less tea per bag in the US version). I
figured that would allow for any differences in strength.
I concluded that the British version is much better than its US
counterpart - which I cannot understand, because although the US tea is packed in North Carolina, it is, according to the label, blended in
London. Therefore, Twinings English Breakfast should be the same throughout the world, except perhaps for the packaging, right? But I
am more convinced than ever that these are two different blends of tea.
I also tried the same experiment with Twinings Earl Grey, and while the difference is less prounounced, there IS still a difference. As a
result, I seem to have lost my taste for Twinings' US offerings and
when my supply runs out will probably only purchase the imported
versions online.
Has anyone else noticed this or am I just crazy??
You're not crazy!! I lived in the UK for years and find that the US Twinings Earl Grey teabags make a pot that tastes of paper. DISGUSTING!!! And the loose
tea blend is only so-so. I'm having to shop about to find something decent.
--
The suppliers likely give much lower quality
leaf to the American Twinings.
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