Bigelow’s Eggnogg’n Tea Is A Flavorful, But Inaccurate Seasonal Tea Well Worth Trying!

The Good: Nothing terrible in it, Easy to make, Smells like delightful spices, Caffeinated
The Bad: A lot of extra waste, Tastes more like egg nog’s spices than like actual egg nog.
The Basics: Bigelow’s seasonally-available Eggnogg’n tea is one of the best teas that does not quite taste like it is supposed to!


My wife and I have taken a shine to Bigelow’s Eggnogg’n tea. The flavored tea is an enjoyable one, but not one that truly lives up to the implications of its name. Eggnogg’n is not an egg nog-flavored tea; instead, it is a tea that tastes like all of the wonderful spices added to egg nog and in that regard, the tea is a rousing success. Still, as one who hoped for egg nog-flavored tea (which admittedly seems like an ambitious goal!), the Eggnogg’n is an initial letdown.

Fortunately, what the tea is more than makes up for what it is not!

Basics

Eggnogg’n is an all natural tea from Bigelow. It is a hibiscus-based tea that is caffeinated and richly spiced. It is inviting from the moment it comes out of the box and tea bag through the final sip. Eggnogg’n comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, which means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Eggnogg’n reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Eggnogg’n comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Eggnogg’n is marketed as a winter tea that implies the flavor of egg nog and it lives up very well to mimicking the spices one associates with egg nog, while providing a decent caffeine kick!

Ease Of Preparation

Eggnogg’n is a tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea and reusing the tea bags works fairly well with this flavor of tea. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even with a second pot. Eggnogg’n is a great tea to reuse with a second pot coming out about 3/4 as strong as the original pot, though it is a little drier than the first pot!

To prepare Eggnogg’n, simply boil some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take two to four minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with truly boiling water, the tea is ready at the three minute mark. Letting the tea steep more than four minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

The Eggnogg’n smells primarily like nutmeg and cinnamon. The scent is very inviting.

On the tongue, Eggnogg’n tastes like a dry black tea. The flavor is pleasantly spicy, but not distinct to egg nog. With a teaspoon of sugar, the tea flavor dissipates and is replaced by a sweet and spicy flavor, which is nice, but not at all the flavor of egg nog. Milk overwhelms this tea, save for the generic spice flavor.

This tea has a very dry aftertaste, which sugar cuts some.

Nutrition

It is not surprising that the dominant flavor of the Eggnogg’n tea is tea, considering that the primary ingredients are: black and green tea, eggnog flavor, and cinnamon. There is nothing unpronounceable in this tea’s ingredients.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Eggnogg’n, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value, save 1% of one’s RDA of Potassium. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, protein. This tea is about as caffeinated as half a cup of coffee and it does invigorate the drinker. As well, this tea is gluten-free and Kosher.

Storage/Clean-up

Eggnogg’n is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. If composting, though, one needs to remove the string and staple in order to insure that everything being put in your garden is actually biodegradable. This tea is very dark, especially at full strength, and it will stain light-colored fabrics. However, mug that holds the tea rinse clean. Spills ought to be cleaned up quickly to prevent this tea from staining fabrics, though that's a pretty good general rule not just limited to the Eggnogg’n tea.

Overall

One of the few entirely worthwhile seasonally-available teas, Eggnogg’n tea from Bigelow might not be purely the promised taste, but it is an extraordinary and delicious tea in its own right. Anyone who loves spicy teas will enjoy this one!

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Peppermint
Apple Cider Tea
Fruit & Almond

8/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bigelow Perks Near Perfection With Its Peppermint Tea!

The Good: Decent ingredients, Good taste
The Bad: Caffeine free, Additional tea bag garbage
The Basics: With twenty tea bags, Peppermint is a good herbal tea from Bigelow that realistically portrays a strong, peppermint flavor!


My new local grocery store in Michigan is pretty wonderful for me as a reviewer. For inexplicable reasons, the local grocery store keeps discounting items for clearance when they are not expiring mor are seasonal items. Go figure. That allowed me to get a box of Bigelow Peppermint tea at half price! In addition to being surprisingly good, I discovered that this was only the second Bigelow mint tea I have reviewed, right behind Mint Medley (reviewed here!). The Peppermint tea is even better!

Basics

Peppermint is an herbal tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that is naturally caffeine free and it is one of the stronger herbal teas Bigelow makes. Peppermint comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use three to four bags and making a steeping pot of Peppermint reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Peppermint comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Peppermint is marketed as a mint-flavored tea and in that regard it lives up exceptionally well. If one wants something that is flavored like peppermint this is a great way to go.

Ease Of Preparation

Peppermint is an herbal tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a barely minty beverage. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 5/8 strength and has a more potent menthol aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Peppermint, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the three minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Peppermint smells powerfully like it is supposed to; peppermint. This has a sinus-opening menthol scent that is strong and instantly attractive to anyone who loves anything mint-flavored!

On the tongue, this tea tastes like liquefied peppermints, though it is drier than one might expect if they are used to only peppermint candy. The flavor opens up the nostrils and throat and asserts a cool, minty flavor in every space the fluid and steam penetrates. This is a pure peppermint flavor without any hints of other herbs or tastes to it.

With a teaspoon of sugar, the tea tastes like a liquid version of a standard, traditional, peppermint candy and anyone looking for a sweet, dessert tea is likely to enjoy this. This tea, surprisingly enough, leaves almost no aftertaste, but it does leave the mouth feeling cool and clean!

Nutrition

It is utterly unsurprising that the dominant flavor in Peppermint is tea as the only ingredient is peppermint leaves. Peppermint tea is all natural, kosher and does not contain caffeine. It is also gluten free.

Unless one adds sugar (which I think is unnecessary given how flavorful this tea is on its own), the Peppermint tea is devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Peppermint is a fairly light tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out, but the steeping pot ought to be rinsed fully after the tea is gone as the mint flavor will linger in a steeping pot to corrupt the next pot, if it is unrinsed. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Peppermint is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Peppermint is a pretty wonderful mint tea and a worthwhile Bigelow tea that requires no additional garnish.


Raspberry Royale

9/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Getting The Holiday Dollars While They Can, Bigelow’s Apple Cider Tea Does Not Stand Up!

The Good: Nothing terrible in it, Easy to make, Smells like delightful spices
The Bad: Caffeine free, A lot of extra waste, Tastes far less like apple cider than it ought to!
The Basics: Bigelow’s seasonally-available Apple Cider tea is not flavorful enough to make it worth hunting down, even on clearance after the season!


It always surprises me, I’m not sure exactly why I am so easily surprised by it, when I discover a new to me apple flavored tea from one of the major tea manufacturers. I suspect my surprise comes from the fact that I enjoy apple flavored teas, so when I first started reviewing teas, I was eager to try a number of different apple teas and I thought I hit most of the major flavors from all of the major tea manufacturers. So, after Halloween, when I was out shopping, when I discovered the Apple Cider tea from Bigelow, I was pleasantly surprised.

My surprise quickly turned to disappointment when I tried the tea and found it to be thoroughly underwhelming on the taste front. At its best, it rose to the scent of spiced apple cider, at its worst, it had a sour aftertaste that made one forget the pleasant scent that the drinking experience began with!

Basics

Apple Cider is an all natural tea from Bigelow. It is a hibiscus-based tea that lacks caffeine and has a fair apple scent when steaming. Apple Cider comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Apple Cider reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Apple Cider comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Apple Cider is marketed as an apple and cinnamon flavored tea and it lives up to that though it is a bit weaker than other brands of apple cinnamon tea I have tried.

Ease Of Preparation

Apple Cider is a tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, though a second pot is pretty bad. Indeed, Apple Cider is not a great tea to reuse with a second pot coming out about 1/2 to 3/8 as strong as the original pot, and the sour aftertaste amplified!

To prepare Apple Cider, simply boil some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with truly boiling water, the tea is ready at the three or four minute mark, but it reaches its full flavor at five minutes. However, letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Bigelow’s Apple Cider tea was shockingly light on the aroma front. The scent of cinnamon is faint coming off the steam in the mug and there is almost no scent of apple in this tea. That made me concerned as the smell of this tea is more of apple cider spices than spiced apple cider.

Feeling trepidations from the lack of fruit in the bouquet, I was unsurprised when the tea tasted almost nothing like apple cider. The dominant flavor is fruity, but it never becomes strong, flavorful, or distinct enough to actually be apple-flavored. In fact, the fruit flavor is cut by an unfortunately unpleasant sour aftertaste that makes the tea taste like it might have been Granny Smith apples used to make it! Either way, the unpleasant aftertaste lingers while the primary flavor of cinnamon, spices, and generic fruity sweetness dissipates.

With a teaspoon of sugar, the aftertaste is cut and the overall tea sweetens to where it is, at the very least, palatable. It never becomes truly better than that.

Nutrition

It is surprising that the dominant flavor of the Apple Cider tea is not actually apple, considering that the primary ingredients are: apples, hibiscus, and cinnamon. There is nothing unpronounceable in this tea’s ingredients.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Apple Cider, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value, save 1% of one’s RDA of Potassium. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, protein or caffeine. As well, this tea is gluten-free and Kosher.

Storage/Clean-up

Apple Cider is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. If composting, though, one needs to remove the string and staple in order to insure that everything being put in your garden is actually biodegradable. This tea is surprisingly light, especially at full strength, though it will probably stain light-colored fabrics. However, mug that holds the tea rinse clean. Spills ought to be cleaned up quickly to prevent this tea from staining fabrics, though that's a pretty good general rule not just limited to the Apple Cider tea.

Overall

Seasonally-available teas are a real catch-22; they offer tea connoisseurs something limited that is either worth hunting down, but one invariably pays full price, or else is available at clearance prices after the holidays, usually indicating that those who might actually appreciate such things rejected it as unworthy. The Apple Cider tea from Bigelow falls into that latter category; the novelty the name promises is not lived up to in the execution of the tea, making it impossible to recommend.

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Fruit & Almond
Raspberry Royale
Earl Grey Decaf

3/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Great Aroma, More Average Taste, Perhaps That Is Why Bigelow Fruit & Almond Herb Tea Is No Longer Available!

The Good: Naturally caffeine free, Does not taste bad (save cold), Nothing bad in it, Amazing aroma
The Bad: Dry aftertaste, Extraneous tea garbage
The Basics: One of Bigelow's more intriguing flavors, "Fruit & Almond" Herb Tea has an interesting taste, but not as fruity a flavor as one might anticipate.


Sometimes by the time I get to reviewing something, it appears to no longer be on the market. Frequently, I can find a pretty easy reason why the product might have been pulled. In the case of Bigelow Fruit & Almond Herb tea, I am at a bit of a loss. After all, one of my main critiques of many Bigelow teas has been that they do not taste like what they claim - i.e. lemon flavored teas that are dominated by the tea flavor instead of the lemon one - but Fruit & Almond tastes strongly like almonds and has a pretty impressive aroma. Unless someone was once poisoned using this particular tea - bitter almond is the supposed taste of cyanide and/or arsenic - and Bigelow stopped producing it to prevent further herbal tea homicides, I'm at a loss as to why this one is not still in wide circulation.

As it stands, I was cleaning out some cupboards at my family's home and I came across an inordinate number of these tea bags, so I figured they would not be missed. To date, they have not, though I have been enjoying my now out-of-production purloined tea!

Basics

Fruit & Almond is an herb tea from Bigelow. It is a tea is naturally caffeine free and it appears to no longer be on the market. Fruit & Almond comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Fruit & Almond reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Fruit & Almond comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Fruit & Almond is marketed as a fruit-flavored tea and it very much lives up to that, despite the way almonds and cinnamon dominate the fruit flavors. This is an intriguing blend which is much more flavorful than many of Bigelow's other teas.

Ease Of Preparation

Fruit & Almond is an herb tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Fruit & Almond is designed to be steeped for three to five minutes and I was surprised that the package did not specify boiling or not boiling water. I found no significant change in taste when the tea was brewed with boiling vs. near-boiling water. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even if only for a single pot.

To prepare Fruit & Almond, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Fruit & Almond has a powerful, robust aroma to it. Bigelow seems to go all out in creating an herb tea that one may smell from a nearby room. The scent is strongly that of cinnamon and currants. In fact, the biggest surprise to me with this tea was that there are no currants or raisins in the ingredients. And yet, the bouquet is unmistakable. This teas smells powerfully inviting.

On the tongue, this tea has the slight tart tone of fruit, but more of a cherry taste to it. The cherry taste quickly is sublimated to the dry, surprisingly forceful flavor of almonds. Lacking the expected salt one might associate with (toasted) almonds, this slightly bitter tea is best characterized by the buttery taste that flows over one's tongue in the wake of the initial fruit flavor. More than any other tea I have had in my memory, Bigelow Fruit & Almond captures the pure flavor of almond.

With a teaspoon of sugar, the flavor is usurped. Oddly, sugar seems to bring out the sweet and then consistently sour flavor of the fruit, which again seems more like cherry than any other fruit flavor. The sugar cuts into the dry almond taste and makes the beverage a bit more pleasant to drink, even though it is intriguing to begin with.

Cold, the tea is surprisingly weak, watery and dry. That dryness becomes the dominant sense of "flavor" in the beverage. This is not an ideal tea for cold tea or iced.


Nutrition

It is completely shocking that the dominant flavor in Fruit & Almond is either fruit or almonds as the primary ingredients are neither. The main ingredients are cinnamon, natural and artificial flavors and orange peel. As an herb tea, there is no actual tea in this beverage, nor is there any dried fruit outside the orange and nothing resembling an almond. Because of the lack of actual tea leaves, this beverage is naturally caffeine free.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Fruit & Almond, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.


Storage/Clean-up

Fruit & Almond is a fairly light herb tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on light fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Fruit & Almond is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.


Overall

Fruit & Almond is worth recommending for those in the world who might still be able to find it. This herb tea is flavorful and can always be used as an air freshener after it expires!

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Raspberry Royale
Earl Grey Decaf
Decaf English Teatime

6.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Too Delicately Raspberry, Raspberry Royale Tea By Bigelow Disappoints

The Good: Caffeinated, Does not taste bad
The Bad: Does not taste like raspberries, Weak aroma, Extra tea garbage, Not all-natural
The Basics: Raspberry Royale is a real failure by Bigelow in that it tastes nothing like raspberry and leaves the consumer deeply disappointed.


As a fairly regular tea reviewer, I have been building a repertoire of tea reviews based on a simple premise: I rate teas high when they taste like what they claim to be and rate them low when they claim to be one flavor, but possess a completely different one. With teas that claim to taste like fruit, I rate a tea well when it tastes like the fruit, even if it does not taste especially like tea. So, for me, the litmus test will always be, "Does the tea taste like what it claims to?"

Raspberry Royale tea by Bigelow fails miserably because it does not taste like raspberries. If one wants a tea that tastes more like raspberries, even the sour aspect of them, go for Celestial Seasonings's Raspberry Zinger (reviewed here!). Raspberry Royale will just leave a consumer disappointed.

Basics

Raspberry Royale is a tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that is caffeinated and it is one of the weaker, more mediocre black teas Bigelow makes and markets. Raspberry Royale comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Raspberry Royale reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Raspberry Royale comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Raspberry Royale is marketed as a raspberry-flavored tea and it is woefully inadequate in that regard. If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves this will work, but for those looking for rich raspberry flavor that holds its own against the tea leaves, this is not it.


Ease Of Preparation

Raspberry Royale is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Raspberry Royale, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has no greater raspberry flavor than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Raspberry Royale, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take one to two minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the two minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than three minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Raspberry Royale is a tea that tastes like tea. In fact, there is very little difference in the taste of Raspberry Royale and a second steeping of Bigelow's Earl Grey tea. The black tea flavor dominates and, sad to say, the aroma is not particularly enticing or reminiscent of raspberries any more than the taste is. As a result, the consumer is set up for a poor taste experience that is not like the raspberries one hopes it would have. The tea smells like English Teatime or one of the other Bigelow tea-flavored teas, which makes it extraordinarily difficult to overcome the black tea taste.

As for the taste, this has a rather bold and woody taste, like chewing on dried herbs or weeds. This has a strong, dark flavor that is forceful but unlike anything but tea. If Earl Grey is a flavor that is superconcentrated black tea that is almost like a coffee and like about five Lipton style tea bags in one, Raspberry Royale might be best described as three and a half or four times the strength of Lipton's bland, regular tea. This is a tea that if forceful, but lacks the aroma and energy of Earl Grey. This is truly tea flavored tea and the only real taste note might well be that it has a slightly dry aftertaste.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Raspberry Royale maintains its dry taste as the primary taste and does not becomes sufficiently sweet to suggest it is anything other than tea. Strangely, my cups of Bigelow Raspberry Royale have not tasted any more like raspberry by adding sugar, which is very much unlike the usual fruit tea.

Similarly, milk does little for the tea and while it does not overwhelm the tea flavor, it certainly dilutes it some. As the tea becomes cooler, it continues to taste drier, becoming more and more sour as well. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

It is utterly unsurprising that the dominant flavor in Raspberry Royale is tea as the ingredients are black tea, natural and artificial flavors. There is nothing resembling an actual raspberry in this tea. Raspberry Royale tea is all natural and contains caffeine, though how much is not described on the box.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Raspberry Royale, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, caffeine, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Raspberry Royale is a dark black tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Raspberry Royale is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.


Overall

Raspberry Royale is a bland tea as far as flavor goes and one that lets down anyone hoping for a tea that lives up to its promise of simply possessing raspberry flavor. Bigelow strikes out with this one, even if it does not taste bad.

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Earl Grey Decaf
Decaf English Teatime
English Teatime

3.5/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Less Inspired Than The Original, Decaf Earl Grey From Bigelow Disappoints

The Good: No aftertaste
The Bad: Individually wrapped, Surprisingly weak taste, Decaffeinated
The Basics: A truly disappointing rendition of Earl Grey tea, Bigelow's Decaf Earl Grey is the tea without the kick of caffeine or the flavor of rich Earl Grey tea.


Despite being fairly underwhelmed by a product, I will occasionally give a variant of it a fair shake. So, for example, when I was unimpressed with Bigelow's version of Earl Grey (reviewed here!), this did not stop me from giving the Decaffeinated version of Earl Grey a try. Now, though, I find that I wish I had left it with the uninspired original.

At best, Decaf Earl Grey by Bigelow is a lackluster impersonation of the original tea. It is surprisingly weak for an Earl Grey tea and the lack of kick from the absence of caffeine is noticeable. Why one might want a decaffeinated Earl Grey is a mystery to me. Why one would want a weak Earl Grey where there is no caffeine to kick the consumer awake when the taste does not do the trick is even more of a mystery to me. At least it made it easy to consider this tea for review!

Basics

Decaf Earl Grey is a tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that lacks caffeine and it is a surprisingly weak black teas compared to other teas Bigelow makes. Earl Grey comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Earl Grey reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Earl Grey comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Earl Grey is marketed as a tea-flavored tea and it is adequate in that regard, but easily falls short when compared to any other brand's Earl Grey (at least of the brands I have tried!). If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves this will more or less fit the bill. I tend to like flavorful teas, not the bland ones that are simply what they claim to be.

Ease Of Preparation

Earl Grey is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Earl Grey, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Earl Grey, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take one to two minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than four minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. Sadly, in this case, it means that the tea never quite loses its water undertaste.

Taste

Earl Grey is a tea that tastes like what it is. Earl Grey is a tea flavored tea that is defined by the flavor of bergamot. Sadly, that's the best way to define it as Earl Grey is a mix of black tea and bergamot. Ideally, Earl Grey has a forceful flavor that assaults the taste buds and overpowers virtually anything that is combined with it. It is a very masculine tea and one that is strong, rich in aroma and uncompromising in its flavor.

Bigelow's Decaf Earl Grey is the Earl without the inspiration. No matter how strong I've made a pot, it still tastes watery. Earl Grey is generally known to have a very dry aftertaste and Bigelow's does not have that. In fact, one suspects that in the attempt to prevent the tea from having an aftertaste, Bigelow reduced the oil of bergamot and the result was a tea that was so weak as to be utterly unworthy of the name Earl Grey. In fact, this tastes more like a standard Lipton plain tea than the rich, woody flavor of Earl Grey from every other brand I've tasted. Ever.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Decaf Earl Grey becomes a little drier, but no more strong. Strangely, my cups of Bigelow Decaf Earl Grey have ended up accenting the taste of water in the tea when the tea has sugar added to it, diluting the sense of the tea flavor even more. The aftertaste, somewhat dry, was slightly stronger than it was before the addition of sugar to the tea.

Similarly, milk does little for the tea, save overwhelm the tea flavor. It dilutes it to the point that it tastes more like flavored milk than flavored tea. As the tea becomes cooler, it continues to taste drier, becoming more and more sour as well. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

It is incredibly disappointing that this tea does not live up to any objective standard of what an Earl Grey tea ought to be, as the only ingredients are decaffeinated black tea leaves and oil of bergamot. Decaf Earl Grey tea is all natural, gluten free, and does not contain caffeine.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Earl Grey, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Decaf Earl Grey is supposed to be a fairly dark black tea, but this version of it is strangely light. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Earl Grey is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

This version of Earl Grey is too bland to be worth the time of anyone looking to drink a black tea. As for the purpose of Decaf Earl Grey, I'm lost and one suspects that if a company were going to bother with Earl Grey - caffeinated or not - they could at least make it taste like that. This Decaf Earl Grey is too disappointing to waste any more time on.

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Decaf English Teatime
English Teatime
Mint Medley

4/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Consistency Is The Hallmark Of Bigelow, Even With The Lousy Flavors: English Teatime Decaf!

The Good: Somewhat bold, if difficult to describe taste, Good ingredient
The Bad: Decaffeinated, Dry aftertaste, Extraneous packaging
The Basics: English Teatime Decaffeinated tastes identical to the original English Teatime by Bigelow, but without caffeine, it leaves less to recommend.


Bigelow teas are, for those who do not follow my many tea reviews, not my favorite on the marketplace. I take issue with the amount of waste they generate (thanks to a much higher environmental standard Celestial Seasonings exhibits) and so few of their flavors actually impress me with tasting like what they claim to. Bigelow is tea for people who like the flavor of tea. If one wants a flavorful tea that tastes like fruits and mints and all other manner of hot drink, there are other teas that embody the flavors they claim to be better than Bigelow, at least in my experiences.

But what Bigelow most certainly has going for it is consistency. I learned this recently when I dida taste test between Bigelow English Teatime (reviewed here!) and English Teatime Decaffeinated. The result of a side-by-side comparison was pretty clear. English Teatime by Bigelow is English Teatime be it caffeinated or decaffeinated. While the Decaffeintated version was in tiny bit more watery in its taste, after a few sips back and forth, there was no difference between the two. As a result, English Teatime Decaffeinated is about as good as the original. The problem is, I wasn't a huge fan of the original and without the kick of caffeine, the tea is not even near the borderline that the original was for me.

Basics

English Teatime Decaf is a tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that is decaffeinated and it is one of the stronger black teas Bigelow makes and markets. English Teatime Decaf comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of English Teatime Decaf reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of English Teatime Decaf comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

English Teatime Decaf is marketed as a tea-flavored tea and it is adequate in that regard. If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves - and strong ones at that - this will fit the bill. I tend to like flavorful teas, not the bland ones that are simply what they claim to be.

Ease Of Preparation

English Teatime Decaf is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! English Teatime Decaf, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare English Teatime Decaf, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take one to two minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the two minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than three minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

English Teatime Decaf is a tea that tastes like what it is, much like Earl Grey. Unlike most flavors that either have a taste or scent that tries to be something else, English Teatime Decaf is a tea flavored tea. Like black coffee when it goes by the location (Columbian, Supreme, etc.) that tells one nothing about the actual flavor, English Teatime Decaf is an adjective tea whose name does not exactly describe the taste sensation that it is.

For those wondering, though, English Teatime Decaf from Bigelow is a tea that smells woody and tea-like. It smells like deep forest in autumn when there is that air of decay and death in the wind and the distant scent of something burning. It is pretty much impossible to nail the scent down in non-poetic terms because this is a tea-scented tea.

As for the taste, this has a rather bold and woody taste, like chewing on dried herbs or weeds. This has a strong, dark flavor that is forceful but unlike anything but tea. If Earl Grey is a flavor that is superconcentrated black tea that is almost like a coffee and like about five Lipton style tea bags in one, English Teatime Decaf might be best described as four times the strength of Lipton's bland, regular tea. This is a tea that if forceful, but lacks the aroma and energy of Earl Grey. This is truly tea flavored tea and the only real taste note might well be that it has a very dry aftertaste.

With a teaspoon of sugar, English Teatime Decaf maintains its dry taste as the primary taste and does not becomes sufficiently sweet to suggest it is anything other than tea. Strangely, my cups of Bigelow English Teatime Decaf have ended up accenting the taste of water in the tea when the tea has sugar added to it, diluting the sense of the tea flavor some. The aftertaste, very dry, is not cut in any significant way by the addition of sugar to the tea.

Similarly, milk does little for the tea and while it does not overwhelm the tea flavor, it certainly dilutes it some. As the tea becomes cooler, it continues to taste drier, becoming more and more sour as well. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

It is utterly unsurprising that the dominant flavor in English Teatime Decaf is tea as the only ingredient is decaffeinated black tea. English Teatime Decaf tea is all natural, gluten free, and does not contain caffeine.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of English Teatime Decaf, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, caffeine, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

English Teatime Decaf is a dark black tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

English Teatime Decaf is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.


Overall

English Teatime Decaffeinated is a fair tea as far as flavor goes, but the (mostly) bold taste fails to live up because it does not produce a reasonable kick to with caffeine to keep the consumer awake.

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Mint Medley
Cozy Chamomile
Earl Grey

4/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bigelow Makes A Powerful, But Average, Tea With "English Teatime."

The Good: Bold, if difficult to describe taste, Caffeinated, Good ingredient
The Bad: Dry aftertaste, Extraneous packaging
The Basics: A decent enough staple tea, English Teatime is a strong, black tea that most tea drinkers will enjoy.


Since I learned that black teas may be responsible for promoting kidney stones, I have been a bit edgy about recommending black teas. I've decided that for me to recommend a black tea at this point, it has to taste phenomenal and be environmentally responsible in its packaging. Bigelow teas, individually wrapped as they are with the extra paper tabs and strings certainly don't meet the latter criteria. So when I went into the box of another Bigelow adjective tea that was black, I knew it was going to be a tight review.

The tea I selected tonight was English Teatime, one of Bigelow's teas that gets away with not defining a flavor by simply naming itself something clever. English Teatime could well have simply been called "tea" by Bigelow, for all of the flavor it has. It's not a bad tea and it is a little stronger than an average tea, but the packaging. . . the packaging sucked it down the rest of the way into average territory.

Basics

English Teatime is a tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that has caffeine and it is one of the stronger black teas Bigelow makes and markets. English Teatime comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of English Teatime reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of English Teatime comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

English Teatime is marketed as a tea-flavored tea and it is adequate in that regard. If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves - and strong ones at that - this will fit the bill. I tend to like flavorful teas, not the bland ones that are simply what they claim to be.

Ease Of Preparation

English Teatime is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! English Teatime, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare English Teatime, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take one to two minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the two minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than three minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

English Teatime is a tea that tastes like what it is, much like Earl Grey. Unlike most flavors that either have a taste or scent that tries to be something else, English Teatime is a tea flavored tea. Like black coffee when it goes by the location (Columbian, Supreme, etc.) that tells one nothing about the actual flavor, English Teatime is an adjective tea whose name does not exactly describe the taste sensation that it is.

For those wondering, though, English Teatime from Bigelow is a tea that smells woody and tea-like. It smells like deep forest in autumn when there is that air of decay and death in the wind and the distant scent of something burning. It is pretty much impossible to nail the scent down in non-poetic terms because this is a tea-scented tea.

As for the taste, this has a rather bold and woody taste, like chewing on dried herbs or weeds. This has a strong, dark flavor that is forceful but unlike anything but tea. If Earl Grey is a flavor that is superconcentrated black tea that is almost like a coffee and like about five Lipton style tea bags in one, English Teatime might be best described as four times the strength of Lipton's bland, regular tea. This is a tea that if forceful, but lacks the aroma and energy of Earl Grey. This is truly tea flavored tea and the only real taste note might well be that it has a very dry aftertaste.

With a teaspoon of sugar, English Teatime maintains its dry taste as the primary taste and does not becomes sufficiently sweet to suggest it is anything other than tea. Strangely, my cups of Bigelow English Teatime have ended up accenting the taste of water in the tea when the tea has sugar added to it, diluting the sense of the tea flavor some. The aftertaste, very dry, is not cut in any significant way by the addition of sugar to the tea.

Similarly, milk does little for the tea and while it does not overwhelm the tea flavor, it certainly dilutes it some. As the tea becomes cooler, it continues to taste drier, becoming more and more sour as well. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

It is utterly unsurprising that the dominant flavor in English Teatime is tea as the only ingredient is black tea. English Teatime tea is all natural, gluten free, and does contain caffeine. There is not a ton of caffeine (the box does not say how much there actually is in this, but it does seem like it is sufficient to keep one awake, especially when drunk late at night).

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of English Teatime, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.


Storage/Clean-up

English Teatime is a dark black tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

English Teatime is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

English Teatime is a good, but remarkably average tea and ultimately, I gave it a recommend because it is a decent staple tea for those who can accept the extra waste these tea bags generate.

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Mint Medley
Cozy Chamomile
Earl Grey

6/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bigelow's Mint Medley Herbal Tea Is Delicious . . . But Still Caffeine Free! (Grumble!)

The Good: Decent ingredients, Good taste
The Bad: Caffeine free, Additional tea bag garbage
The Basics: With twenty tea bags, Mint Medley is surprisingly good herbal tea from Bigelow and one of the few that it is easy to enjoy!


Those who follow my many reviews of teas know that I have been searching, for quite some time, for a truly wonderful caffeinated mint tea. This seems to put me in a real bind; mint teas are naturally not caffeinated and most tea companies that make tea do not attempt to blend the herbal mint leaves with tea leaves to try to create a perfect combination of mint and tea. To date, the closest I have come in seeing my quest to a successful resolution has been in Celestial Seasonings' Mint Magic (reviewed here!). That is unlikely to surprise many of my readers, as I am quite loyal to that brand. What might surprise some of those readers is that I decided to step outside my favorite brand to see what the minty competition is elsewhere.

That led me to Bigelow, largely because I was given a box of the tea bags around the holidays. Their tea flavor I found was Mint Medley. Mint Medley, like Mint Magic, is naturally caffeine free and set side by side, I find I still prefer the Mint Magic between the taste and the less waste (environmental responsibility is a huge thing for me!). That said, Mint Magic holds its own on the merits, making for a decent tea and I am not hating savoring the rest of this box of tea.

Basics

Mint Medley is an herbal tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that is naturally caffeine free and it is one of the stronger herbal teas Bigelow makes, that I have tried. Mint Medley comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Mint Medley reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Mint Medley comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Mint Medley is marketed as a mint-flavored tea and in that regard it lives up quite well. If one wants something that is flavored like mint this will satisfy.

Ease Of Preparation

Mint Medley is an herbal tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a barely minty beverage. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 5/8 strength and has a more potent menthol aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Mint Medley, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the three minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Mint Medley is a potent blend of peppermint and spearmint and the initial scent is beautifully, richly of both of those herbs. The scent permeates the room where the pot of tea is brewing and it fills air with a strong, cool minty scent. The blend of peppermint and spearmint seems to be about equal and the aroma is a rich combination of both scents without either dominating.

This is precisely how it tastes as well. The mint flavoring is a mix and both the peppermint and spearmint are present and full. The mint's menthol is enough to open up the sinuses and widen one's eyes. This is a good, minty tea that lives up to its name quite adequately: it is the perfect mixing of spearmint and peppermint and despite the act that there are other ingredients in the tea, the flavor of the two primary mints overwhelms everything else in this!

With a teaspoon of sugar, the tea takes on a greater sense of body in the taste. The taste - in all defiance of logic - seems to become more woody and slightly less minty, but the aftertaste kicks up. It is an odd thing; one might think that it might taste more like a peppermint candy with sugar, but that is not the case. Instead, it comes out tasting more like mint and tea than a hot mint beverage.

Milk is overwhelmed by the mint flavor and cold, Mint Medley just tastes like cold menthol. This is definitely a tea meant to be served and drunk hot!

Nutrition

It is utterly unsurprising that the dominant flavor in Mint Medley is tea as the main ingredients are peppermint leaves, spearmint leaves and rose hips. Mint Medley tea is all natural, kosher and does not contain caffeine. Still, the taste is forceful enough to wake a drinker right up!

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Mint Medley, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Mint Medley is a fairly light tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out, but the steeping pot ought to be rinsed fully after the tea is gone as the mint flavor will linger in a steeping pot to corrupt the next pot, if it is unrinsed. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Mint Medley is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Mint Medley is a pretty wonderful mint tea and one of the few Bigelow teas I will drink again if it is offered to me, even with its lack of caffeine and extra waste!

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Cozy Chamomile
Earl Grey
Green tea

8/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Boring And Basic, With A Lot Of Extra Tea Garbage, "Cozy Chamomile" May Safely Be Passed On!

The Good: Decent ingredients
The Bad: Weak taste, Light aroma, Caffeine free, Additional tea bag garbage
The Basics: Bland, even for chamomile tea, Cozy Chamomile leaves me unimpressed with the taste, such that I cannot excuse the extra tea garbage associated with it.


As I sit down to review today's new (to me!) tea, I want to be sure my regular readers know that I have not jumped ship from my wonderful, regular tea brand, Celestial Seasonings. No, my recent foray into Bigelow comes more from my recent stay at the Quality Inn By The Bay where there was a twenty-four hour tea service and a number of Bigelow tea bags simply leapt from the cart into my jacket (it's a mystery!). One of those many teas was several bags of Bigelow's Cozy Chamomile tea.

I will be the first to admit, Chamomile teas have not - traditionally - impressed me. Celestial Seasonings seems to glorify Chamomile with their trademark Sleepytime and obsessions with standard Chamomile tea (reviewed here!). So, I had pretty low - but fair - expectations when sitting down to my pots of Cozy Chamomile. Unfortunately, even those were disappointed.

Basics

Cozy Chamomile is an herbal tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that is naturally caffeine free and it is one of the stronger herbal teas Bigelow makes, that I have tried. Cozy Chamomile comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Cozy Chamomile reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Cozy Chamomile comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Cozy Chamomile is marketed as a chamomile-flavored tea and in that regard it is a mixed bag. It has the faint aroma of chamomile (which usually smells like ricewater) but the taste is not as strong as it could be. In fact, somehow Bigelow managed to make a chamomile tea that tasted more like tea than chamomile!

Ease Of Preparation

Cozy Chamomile is an herbal tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a barely tea-flavored beverage. These tea bags cannot be reused well as the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well.

To prepare Cozy Chamomile, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the three minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.


Taste

Cozy Chamomile is bland representation of Chamomile. The aroma is not nearly as strong as any other chamomile tea I have drunk and despite only having chamomile flowers in it, it smells more like a blend of chamomile and black tea, which is odd.

As for the taste, this tea is little more than flavored hot water. Bland and more tea-flavored than chamomile, the ricey chamomile flavor only truly comes out in the natural tea as an aftertaste. It is bland, hot water with a primary taste like a standard black tea after the bags have been used about four times.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Cozy Chamomile is sweetened and tastes more like the traditional ricewater taste that defines chamomile teas. Still, it is stiflingly boring and even milk overwhelms the tea. Cold, Cozy Chamomile actually tastes even more like weak, cold black tea than the herbal tea that it actually is.


Nutrition

It is surprising that the flavor of Cozy Chamomile is not nearly as strong as most other chamomile teas as the only ingredient in this tea is chamomile flowers. Celestial Seasonings must do something to bring out the aroma and taste of chamomile that Bigelow does not (or perhaps the Bigelow workers just get to the flower patch late!). Cozy Chamomile tea is all natural, kosher and does not contain caffeine. This is a boring, drowsy tea likely to let one fall asleep without leaving even an impression upon their mind or body.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Cozy Chamomile, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Cozy Chamomile is a fairly light tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, even on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Cozy Chamomile is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Cozy Chamomile is a pretty lousy tea between the taste and waste and given the chance to partake - even steal - more bags of Cozy Chamomile, I shall pass.

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Earl Grey
Green tea
Constant Comment

3.5/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Surprisingly Weak, Bigelow Presents An Earl Grey Tea Worth Passing By!

The Good: Caffeinated, No aftertaste
The Bad: Individually wrapped, Surprisingly weak taste
The Basics: Fine for a generic tea, terrible for an Earl Grey, Bigelow's Earl Grey is a dud not worth the time of a serious tea drinker!


For those who do not follow my tea reviews, I am a big fan of Earl Grey tea. Yes, all of those years of watching Star Trek: The Next Generation led me to hunt down Earl Grey teas and try as many as I could. So, when I was swiping tea from a hotel this summer on my cross country trip, I was all too happy to swipe some of Bigelow's Earl Grey to use for comparison. I've already reviewed Celestial Seasonings Victorian Earl Grey (reviewed here!) and Twinings Earl Grey (reviewed here!). So, it seemed fair if I was straying from my beloved Celestial Seasonings, I might as well give Bigelow a fair shake.

Unfortunately, Bigelow provided me with the most unpleasant of surprises in this regard as it turns out that Bigelow's Earl Grey is easily the weakest Earl Grey tea I have tried (to date). In fact, even after leaving the tea to brew longer for a second cup with a new bag, this ends up being a strangely watery Earl Grey and for all of my love of Earl Grey, it's easy for me to not recommend this one!

Basics

Earl Grey is a tea from Bigelow. It is a tea that has caffeine and it is a surprisingly weak black teas compared to other teas Bigelow makes. Earl Grey comes in Bigelow's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Earl Grey reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Earl Grey comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Earl Grey is marketed as a tea-flavored tea and it is adequate in that regard, but easily falls short when compared to any other brand's Earl Grey (at least of the brands I have tried!). If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves this will more or less fit the bill. I tend to like flavorful teas, not the bland ones that are simply what they claim to be.

Ease Of Preparation

Earl Grey is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Earl Grey, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Earl Grey, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take one to two minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than four minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. Sadly, in this case, it means that the tea never quite loses its water undertaste.

Taste

Earl Grey is a tea that tastes like what it is. Earl Grey is a tea flavored tea that is defined by the flavor of bergamot. Sadly, that's the best way to define it as Earl Grey is a mix of black tea and bergamot. Ideally, Earl Grey has a forceful flavor that assaults the taste buds and overpowers virtually anything that is combined with it. It is a very masculine tea and one that is strong, rich in aroma and uncompromising in its flavor.

Bigelow's Earl Grey is the Earl before bulking up. No matter how strong I've made a pot, it still tastes watery. Earl Grey is generally known to have a very dry aftertaste and Bigelow's does not have that. In fact, one suspects that in the attempt to prevent the tea from having an aftertaste, Bigelow reduced the oil of bergamot and the result was a tea that was so weak as to be utterly unworthy of the name Earl Grey. In fact, this tastes more like a standard Lipton plain tea than the rich, woody flavor of Earl Grey from every other brand I've tasted. Ever.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Earl Grey becomes a little drier, but no more strong. Strangely, my cups of Bigelow Earl Grey have ended up accenting the taste of water in the tea when the tea has sugar added to it, diluting the sense of the tea flavor even more. The aftertaste, somewhat dry, was slightly stronger than it was before the addition of sugar to the tea.

Similarly, milk does little for the tea, save overwhelm the tea flavor. It dilutes it to the point that it tastes more like flavored milk than flavored tea. As the tea becomes cooler, it continues to taste drier, becoming more and more sour as well. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

It is incredibly disappointing that this tea does not live up to any objective standard of what an Earl Grey tea ought to be, as the only ingredients are black tea and oil of bergamot. Earl Grey tea is all natural, gluten free, and does contain caffeine. There is not a ton of caffeine (the box does not say how much there actually is in this, but it does seem like it is sufficient to keep one awake, especially when drunk late at night).

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Earl Grey, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Earl Grey is supposed to be a fairly dark black tea, but this version of it is strangely light. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Earl Grey is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Bigelow teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

This version of Earl Grey is too bland to be worth the time of anyone looking to drink a black tea. If you want bland, go for a green tea; at least then you don't have to worry about kidney stones! And if you want Earl Grey, best to look to a different brand; Bigelow doesn't have this one down!

For other Bigelow tea reviews, please check out:
Green tea
Constant Comment
I Love Lemon

5/10

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© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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