Would it surprise you to know that this is my first experience with Twinings Everyday tea? I know that it’s one of the most loved from their range, along with English Breakfast and Earl Grey, yet for some reason, I’ve just never tried it before. But now, our worlds are about to collide.
I brewed this up to have with my breakfast crunchy nut cereal – but don’t worry, I reviewed it with and without milk for my lactose-hating readers too!
Twinings Everyday Tea Bags at a Glance
- Blend: Black tea from China, India, and Africa
- Flavour: Very simple, warm and rich black tea
Best served with a good splash of milk, Twinings Everyday Tea is a pleasant yet very simple blend of black teas from around the world. It’s comforting but nothing special!
Full Review - Twinings Everyday Tea
- Type: Tagged paper filter tea bag
- Tea: Black tea
- Origin: Yunnan China, Assam India, Africa
- Flavour Notes: Rich, warm, simple, full-bodied, hint of bitterness
- Aroma: Bold, malt, classic, rich, warm
- Milk or Lemon: Milk
- Where to Buy: Twinings Official Teashop or Amazon
Opening the packet (I’m reviewing the single serving, individually wrapped tea bag version from Twinings) I’m impressed with the aroma. It’s not going to knock your slippers off but it’s certainly appealing. A warm, bold and malty aroma assaults me and immediately has me guessing that there’s some Assam tea involved. It’s a good smell!
I brewed it rich and dark. Black, it has a notable bitter edge with malty and typical black tea notes. It’s quite one dimensional, albeit full-bodied and rich.
You’ll enjoy it so much better with milk (dairy milk or soy would go well) as it pushes down the bitterness and brings out the rich malt warming notes. It’s simple and pretty hard to get wrong. After taking my slow sips, swirling around the tea in my mouth and writing down my thoughts on the flavour notes and aftertaste, I downed the cup.
If you ever needed a cup of tea in a rush, this is perfect. It goes down smooth and fulfils my caffeine needs in the morning.
How to Brew Twinings Everyday Black Tea
On the packet Twinings state that it will be ready in just 1 minute. I was right not to believe that. I gave it a sip at 1 minute but the flavour had barely developed. I ended up leaving it for a full 2 minutes and 30 seconds, using boiling water.
You definitely want to drink this with milk. It just isn’t complex enough to have black – there’s no floral notes or depth to admire without milk.
It goes really well with sweet breakfast foods. Jam on toast, crunchy nut cereal, maybe even beans on toast.
Honestly, it just does what it says on the tin. It’s an everyday blend that you can chug down when your dinner is a bit dry. It goes with anything at any time of day.
Why Twinings UK?
Twinings are the top-of-the-range in the supermarket, they rule the tea bag industry in the UK… but having experienced a world of whole leaf teas (both in pyramid sachets and loose leaf format) I know that there’s better out there.
Nonetheless, this isn’t bad tea. The leaves are dusty and very finely chopped, which helps the tea brew as quickly as possible. Furthermore, the mix of African (that’s a bit vague, isn’t it), Chinese and Indian teas is well-balanced and work together in harmony.
It’s blended and packed in Hampshire – packed well because it certainly tasted fresh. If I were to buy this tea again I’d get the larger box that has the perforated square tea bags rather than the individually wrapped to save paper waste.
Summary
Overall, it’s a good tea for those that aren’t that into tea. It’s basic, simple and easy to brew. I could probably do it in my sleep. But it isn’t special, it’s not something you go out of your way to buy. Fans of loose leaf or those that like to explore luxury tea bag options will find this too generic to really savour.
Tea Recommendation
I recently reviewed BOH English Breakfast tea and I believe it would be a nice alternative to Twinings Everyday Tea – it’s a single origin blend with a bit more character that works well both with milk and without.