Quick Review: Twinnings Hazelnut Chai and Free Samples!

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures but I had just gotten these samples in the mail and really wanted to try the Hazelnut Chai for breakfast.  Twinnings USA has a site where you can get free samples of three different teas.  Naturally, I'm all about the free stuff despite not even drinking bagged tea so I ended up getting the hazelnut chai, spiced apple chai and lady grey (which I've tried but have really enjoyed).  Anyway, I just got the samples yesterday so don't expect them for a few weeks after ordering them.

Outsides:  Twinnings Hazelnut Chai black tea is part of their holiday collection and is their blend of chai tea with hazelnut flavoring added in.  It's in a normal tea sachet.  I let the tea steep in almost boiling water for 5 minutes.  Honestly, pictures of this tea would be pretty boring because it's just a boring black tea color.  The hazelnut adds a nice scent that is noticeable and strong but not as overpowering as something like Adagio's Chestnut black tea (which has been a fall favorite of mine). 

Insides:  Although there is a strong hazelnut smell, it doesn't really add much to the taste of the tea and if you've had the normal Twinnings Chai, that's pretty much what it tastes like.  For those of you who don't know, Twinnings actually does a pretty decent job making a chai tea.  It's not as good as Margaret's (or actually, Metropolitan Tea Company) but Twinnings has a small amount of heat to their tea with a nice amount of sweet spice and it goes well with half-and-half.  For a bagged tea, it's fairly well balanced and I was surprised at how smooth and un-bitter it was despite me thinking I oversteeped.  I did end up adding hazelnut Coffee Mate to it because I wanted a treat for breakfast, and the extra hazelnut flavor complemented the tea nicely. 

Tilt:  Twinnings is relatively inexpensive and I like how they have a few varieties on their chai tea (Hazelnut, extra spice, apple cider and vanilla).  I'm a big fan of hazelnut flavoring and appreciate that a big-name brand is providing slightly more unique tea flavorings.  I'd imagine this tea would be good cold, but it's not quite strong enough to make lattes and such out of (btw guys, I bought a cheap milk-frother and find that it makes the best matcha whisk). 

Overall:  Is this tea something you REALLY need?  No, not really.  If you want a fun bagged tea for work, this might be a good choice but I'd just buy a normal chai you know you'd like and some hazelnut syrup/creamer/flavored stevia drops and achieve it that way.

My Rating:  Pass/Try it.  

Twinnings is one of the most famous tea retailers in the world and because of that, is available in pretty much every drug and grocery store.

TasTEA Time! Twinnings Herbal Revive Blackcurrant Vanilla

What:  Something that sounds really delicious

Where:  Britain/England

Why Should I Care:  I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty excited when I saw this tea.  Even though Berry Vanilla type things are fairly common, it's hard finding tea with that flavor combination and Blackcurrant is pretty much the perfect match with Vanilla.  Plus Twinnings is generally pretty good at combining flavors so my hopes are high.  Oh, and it has Ginseng too meaning it's a nice alternative to coffee in the morning.

Packaging:  IFWS

Non-Taste Senses:  The tea is this reddish pink color that most hibiscus teas are.  It smells nice, like berries and herbs.

Taste:  I think this would work a lot better as a black or oolong tea, the herbal tea is almost a little bit too busy. It's not bad, you get a hit of berry and the orange peel gives a little bit of spice.  The thing is, the blackcurrant and vanilla isn't in the forefront.  That being said, it's nice with sugar.  This probably wouldn't make a good iced tea.

Overall:  It's not a bad herbal tea and it's definatly worth getting if it's cheap, but be warned that the blackcurrant and vanilla aren't the only flavors in there.  This is on the lower end of try for me.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Twinnings Herbal Revive

My assistant is back from catching mice and chasing tail.

What:  Not a tea in the typical sense, but a blend of ginger, lemon and other herbs

Where:  England/Britain

Why Should I Care:  Today, I went to this Indian buffet called India Garden in Oakland (if you live in Pittsburgh, you probably know about it since it's walking distance from the University of Pittsburgh).  It was delicious, but I ate way too much and now my stomach hurts.  What are the best herbs for a tummy ache?  Ginger and Mint.  You can actually get powdered Ginger drink from any Asian-type store (this includes Indian markets) but I like this because it's generally a lot cheaper (and possibly tastier) to get ginger tea than plain ginger drink.

Packaging:  Good for the go, individually foil-wrapped tea sachets.

Non-taste Senses:  I held the cup differently to accentuate how opaque the liquid is.  It's also this weird light-yellow color that I haven't seen before with "tea".  It smells strongly of lemon and ginger.

Taste:  Nice and spicy!  It's definatly strong and the addition of lemon adds a nice touch of citrus to break up that ginger.  I don't think someone could honestly drink this at a meal, but if you like ginger then you will love this.  It's nice with sugar and if you're going to drink it, you should drink it warm.

Overall:  It's not a typical tea but if you're looking for a ginger experience, check this out.  If you don't like ginger or lemon, I don't know why you'd want to drink this.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's Twinning's site again and you're right, I DO deserve a better cup of tea.  We ALL deserve a better cup of tea.

TasTEA Time! Twinings Pure Peppermint

What:  A Peppermint drink

Where:  England/Britain

Why Should I Care:  Mint tea is that go-to drink when you're sick.  It's great for soothing stomach aches, numbs your throat a bit and opens up your airways.  Mint's also nice for freshening your breath and just being pretty tasty.  Twinings Pure Peppermint is nothing but peppermint (no tea, nothing) so I figured I'd get some because it's nice to have some mint tea on hand.

Packaging:  All the sachets are individually wrapped and you can order a variety of sizes.

Non-Taste Senses:  I like the amber color and as expected, it smells minty.

Taste:  I'm not sick now but if I was, this would be fantastic.  It's strong, minty and because it doesn't have tea, it isn't bitter.  The sensation of coldness is rather invigorating plus the natural sweetness of mint comes through.  I think that if you really love mint then you could easily drink this as a cold drink or add some honey and lemon for an even better experience.

Overall:  If you like mint, you'll like this.  If you don't, you really should still get this for when you get sick.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here

TasTEA Time! Twinnings Chai

What:  Chai Tea from one of the most well known tea companies in the world.

Where:  England

Why should I care:  It's starting to get chilly and to me, nothing beats the chills quite like chai tea.  Chai Lattes are one of my favorite drinks but it can be hard finding a ready-made chai tea that is flavorful enough to withstand the barrage of half-and-half and sugar I throw at it.   Twinnings is generally a good brand, has strong flavors and is widely available.

Packaging:  Each sachet is individually foil-wrapped which is awesome because you want your chai tea to be as fresh as possible for as long as possible.  It also has a nice little dispenser box for if you're a food service person who likes to display their tea.

Non-Taste Senses:  The tea is your typical black tea color.  It smells really spicy though.

And then I added Half-and-half and spices on  top.  If you have access to a milk foamer, USE IT!!!!

Taste:  The thing about chai is that it really doesn't matter how it tastes until you add milk so I tried it both ways.  Without milk, I honestly couldn't drink it because of how spicy it was.  With milk, it still hold up.  There's actually a tingle on my tongue from the spices.  I don't think it's strong enough to make a chai milkshake to, but this is good for those chilly days when you need something warm and comforting.

Overall:  Honestly, if you want good, strong, spicy chai tea then you should just make it yourself using whatever spices you want and black tea (time to make a recipe!).  However, not all of us have the time or the need to buy cardamon  Twinnings Chai is good for when you need chai in a pinch and is a great fall beverage drunk with a bit of milk/creamer/soymilk/half-and-half/whatever.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the Chai page (If anyone really loves me, you should send me some of the other flavors preferably pumkin spice.  One or two bags would be nice).