Suggestions Black Tea Bagged

[David in Boston]

Need some suggestions about bagged tea.

Been using loose tea but was thinking of trying bagged tea for it's lower cost.

Are there any bagged teas that are not sub-par?

I like plain and simple black tea served straight.

Presently I use Twinings' English Breakfast and I thinking of trying the bagged version.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,

 

[joshgambit]

I actually enjoy most of Twinings offerings. Their English Breakfast bagged is good. I prefer the Irish Breakfast a bit more, though. I like the ease of use with bagged tea.

IMO, the loose tea by Twinings is better than bagged, but not by much.

 

[SiBurning]

Don't mean to be contrary, but going to bags for lower cost seems somewhat counterproductive. The main reason that the popular supermarket tea bags are cheap is that they use cheaper, lower quality tea. While it's true that you get a lower cost in brand name bags because of the economies of scale, you're also likely to get a better price on the tea itself from those companies that do offer the choice. This is true of Twinnings, for example. If you're only looking to lower the cost, and not also compromise on the quality of tea, it seems to me you need a different approach. To be honest, I don't know of any way to get quality at a lower price than Twinnings in the can, though that's because Twinnings isn't exactly high quality, but just on the better side of supermarket stuff. Making bags for yourself isn't necessarily less expensive than getting a filter & small steeping pot. Going in the other direction, there are companies that sell high quality tea in bags, though this is the exception, and you will pay more for for the tea bagged than loose.

If you're a careful & lucky shopper, you can find occasional bargains in Asian markets. Too daring for me, though.

 

[Sir Walter of Mount Royal]

For the same quality, tea bags cost a lot more than loose tea.

If you want inexpensive loose tea, more affordable than Twinning's and superior in quality, I recommend you Ahmad Tea. They also make tea bags, but it will cost you more.

Dilmah makes great affordable bagged teas.

Samplers on Amazon here and there

 

[Jim]

My bride uses Barry Tea bags to make iced tea- not bad at all and head and shoulders above supermarket teas.
I often grab a couple for short road trips.

 

[ouch]

I think tea bags are great for iced tea. You're going to over brew and over sweeten them anyway.

 

[David in Boston]

For the same quality, tea bags cost a lot more than loose tea.

If you want inexpensive loose tea, more affordable than Twinning's and superior in quality, I recommend you Ahmad Tea. They also make tea bags, but it will cost you more.

Dilmah makes great affordable bagged teas.

Samplers on Amazon here and there

Ahmad Tea looks like a possibility.

I saw some ethnic stores that carry it loose/bagged at half the price I pay for Twinings.

May give it a try.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[sid3000]

Are you sure you want bagged for a cost reason or do you enjoy the convenience more?

Twinings is your best bet, although if you are open to the idea, get some bags and put loose leaf tea in them to create your own bagged tea.

 

[David in Boston]

Are you sure you want bagged for a cost reason or do you enjoy the convenience more?

Twinings is your best bet, although if you are open to the idea, get some bags and put loose leaf tea in them to create your own bagged tea.

I'm thinking of going bagged tea after I saw the unit cost per of the Twinings loose compared to bagged at the supermarket.

 

[jwhite]

I'm thinking of going bagged tea after I saw the unit cost per of the Twinings loose compared to bagged at the supermarket.

Those prices are wildly out of line with quality, I'm afraid. If you look at per gram cost of bagged tea vs. per gram cost of a decent whole leaf the tea bag cost of Twining's is much higher. You're paying for a once great name, the convenience of a bag and availability. There are companies that put decent tea in a bag or sell bags in which you can put tea. I, however, prefer different methods of making a convenient cup. If cost is really your goal you're much better off buying an affordable but well made loose leaf tea, especially as most get more than one good steeping, and a reusable cup infuser that allows the leaf to behave properly.

 

[netsurfr]

OK, I have restrained myself as long as i can. In general, bagged tea is made from the fannings and dust that would normally be discarded in many tea production areas. Loose black tea is going to be a much higher quality and provide many more infusions than a bag. You need to take the number of infusions that are yielded into your equation where you are calculating the real cost of drinking a black tea. I know that I get from 7-9 infusions from my Keemum. Other Yunnan blacks yield similar results. For all the teabags I have tried which I must admit are not many, you only get one infusion. With the possible exception of specially bagged black that is made from higher quality materials, I think that you are seriously losing quality. Just my humble opinion.

 

[jforrest]

Look at www.republicoftea.com .

I've dealt with them for years. Not cheap, but very good. Even their base black tea in their flavored offerings is superior.

Enjoy,

John

 

[David in Boston]

Thanks everyone for their input.

I would just like to state that I will not follow-up on my idea of buying or using bagged tea at home.

What I will do is stick to loose tea however I'm going to purchase it at some ethnic stores which sell it much cheaper than the local supermarkets.

Thanks again for the input and saving me from becoming an ignorant peasant.

 

[Kevan]

Yorkshire Gold by Taylors of Harrogate. They use more tea per bag than (3.3g) than the normal 2.5g. It's delicious, convenient, and I haven't had any loose black tea that is any way superior to it that makes me stop buying it. It's in no way "lower quality" just because it's in a bag IMO. The flavor profile is fantastic.

Then again, when I drink tea like this I like it with milk and sugar usually. Sometimes black. But YMMV.

It's also available as loose, but I believe it's CTC, which again some say is "lower quality," but I could care less about connoisseur tea drinking if it's my morning cup.

 

[Sir Walter of Mount Royal]

Yorkshire Gold by Taylors of Harrogate. They use more tea per bag than (3.3g) than the normal 2.5g. It's delicious, convenient, and I haven't had any loose black tea that is any way superior to it that makes me stop buying it. It's in no way "lower quality" just because it's in a bag IMO. The flavor profile is fantastic.

Then again, when I drink tea like this I like it with milk and sugar usually. Sometimes black. But YMMV.

It's also available as loose, but I believe it's CTC, which again some say is "lower quality," but I could care less about connoisseur tea drinking if it's my morning cup.

Don't mean to be contrary, but Yorkshire Gold is very average, not different from any other entry level tea, except it has more CTC per bag. It becomes bitter really fast. Mix every leftovers you have and you will get something close to YG.

Also, while breakfast blends can certainly be enjoyed with a cloud of milk, all the superior ones, not only don't require sugar, are a lot better without sugar. Sugar kills all the subtle flavours. It's like putting ketchup on a filet mignon.

 

[Kevan]

Also, while breakfast blends can certainly be enjoyed with a cloud of milk, all the superior ones, not only don't require sugar, are a lot better without sugar. Sugar kills all the subtle flavours. It's like putting ketchup on a filet mignon.

Your opinion. In many ways, sugar and milk can BRING OUT flavors, such as in masala chai. "Superior" is also a matter of opinion.

 

[Sir Walter of Mount Royal]

Your opinion. In many ways, sugar and milk can BRING OUT flavors, such as in masala chai. "Superior" is also a matter of opinion.

No, quality is not a matter of personal taste. Tea importers are willing to pay ten folds for a superior aromatic tea. It's not a matter of opinion. It's a matter of several billions of dollars per year.

[Tea tasters] determine the quality and price by carefully analyzing the taste, fragrance, leaf condition and color in the cup against the classical characteristics of the tea’s land of origin.

Professional tea tasting is done without any additives such as sugar, milk or other. The purpose of the tasting is to distinguish the elements of taste and smell. In special tastings for the British consumer, a fixed amount of milk is added to the brewed tea to determine how well the tea mixes with the milk.

Sugar masks the defects of cheap and/or over-steeped teas.

 

[SiBurning]

Can we start a new thread for this argument? I have a few choice words and a couple of new sledge hammers to try out. It's gonna be sweet!

 

[Kevan]

The OP asked for bagged tea options. That's what this thread is about.

I've been drinking tea for 15 years and I prefer what I prefer. The same for you and the professional tasters. That said, if everyone's palates were as refined as a professional taster's (tea, wine, whatever), the jobs wouldn't pay as much as they do. So I'd argue that for the general population, it matters very little. I've drank tea that costs $6+ an ounce, full leaf, calculated steeping time and all that other stuff, and you know what? I could care less.

A bag of Yorkshire Gold or Harisons & Crosfield thrown in a cup offers consistent taste on a daily basis than all the premium Assams, Darjeelings, Keemuns and whatever else I've tried. No fiddling required...less cleanup too. And cheaper.

As always on this site.....YMMV.

 

[jwhite]

The OP was looking at savings, with bagged tea being a means to that end. That is what this thread is about. I have no intention of arguing that a particular preference in taste is superior or inferior. Cost however is quantifiable, and bagged tea is more expensive ounce for ounce particularly with regard to the amount of brewed beverage per unit of tea. Bagged tea is not the best route to the most affordable daily cup. It is convenient and it is available, as far as consistency goes I don't understand. X amount of a given tea brewed in a constant quantity of water at a set temp and in the same vessel will yield a consistent result. I am in agreement, I think, in that one does not have to breathe the rarefied air of exclusive and costly products to enjoy a good cup.