Behind The Brew: Twinings

Do you have a cup of tea in your hand? No? Why not? Go and get one please and thank you very much... Right, now we've got that sorted, let's get on with the post. If you know me, you'll know I drink an absolute crap ton a lot of tea. I used to be content with a classic builder's tea, but in recent years I've been experimenting, and now my brew of choice is Earl Grey in the daytime (the Lidl one is the nicest I've tried), but in the evening I like to go caffeine-free and choose a mint or fruit blend. I placed an order for some of the Twinings Doublemint Tea as it's been out of stock in my local supermarkets for a while, and decided to order some singles while I was at it. I've now basically tried the entire Twinings range in the hunt for my perfect tea, so I thought I'd round-up some of my favourites, and here are my top 10!

The Black Teas

The first of my two favourite flavoured black teas is Turkish Apple. This is one that I tried on a bit of a whim and never really expected to like, but it is a delicate black tea with a sweet apple flavour. It is inspired by the hustle and bustle of Turkish bazaars, capturing the country's love for tea. I really enjoy this one because it is really similar to ordinary black tea with a slight twist - great if you've had too many teas in one day and are a bit bored of the taste! My other favourite is the Passion Fruit Ceylon. This one is a pyramid bag tea, so is slightly more expensive than the others, and feels a lot more luxe. I'm not overly familiar with Ceylon tea but it is grown on the hillsides of Sri Lanka and reminds me a lot of Darjeeling with a slightly floral, aromatic nature that pairs well with the sweet flavour of caramelised passionfruit. It's the kind of tea I'd expect when going for a fancy afternoon tea.

The Mint Teas

Obviously there's the one that I mentioned above, and I've finally decided that Doublemint is the Holy Grail of all of the mint teas. It takes the leaves from a standard mint tea, and combines it with peppermint extract, to give it a suuuuper minty taste. It's so good and I usually drink this before bed when I want something caffeine-free. The other mint tea that I discovered recently is Intensely Buttermint. I tried this in the mint multi-pack, but annoyingly it's out of stock until this summer, wahhh! Buttermint is basically inspired by the flavour of humbugs, with the peppermint taste blended with creamy vanilla, so it's slightly sweeter than a classic peppermint tea. It's really nice when you want a change from peppermint, I can't wait until it comes back in stock!

The Green Teas

I'm not the hugest fan of green tea, especially plain green tea, I just find it quite bitter and I much prefer to use matcha powder for my green tea fix. I didn't really expect to like the Indulgence green tea blends, but they sounded SO nice that I just had to try them. The first one I tried and really enjoyed was the Cherry Bakewell Green Tea. This genuinely tastes like a cherry bakewell, with almond, cherry and smooth vanilla. Then there's Fudge Melts and Salted Caramel, which are both pretty similar with a delicious creamy caramel flavour, but I find Fudge Melts a little creamier with a note of vanilla. Lastly, there's Caramelised Apple, and this was the one that I didn't think I'd be too fussed about, but I ended up really liking it. It's got a bit of a sweet apple pie vibe, with its notes of golden toffee and cinnamon. I think all these flavours really soften the harsh taste of green tea, and I've been really enjoying having them in the afternoon when I'm a bit bored of Earl Grey. 

The Fruit/Herbal Teas

Lastly, there's the fruit and herbal teas, and I've tried an absolute ton of them. However, the only one I really enjoy is the Blackcurrant & Blueberry flavour, which is really surprising as it contains a small amount of licorice. This one is really rich and juicy, with hibiscus, rosehip and blackberry leaves and it reminds me of a comforting hot Ribena! The final one that I really enjoy is Camomile and Honey. I do like normal camomile, but this one is SO nice! It has a hint of sweet honey and vanilla, which makes it really creamy and comforting, it's a great one to have before bed!

Overall, I do think Twinings are one of my favourite tea brands, I just love how accessible and affordable they are, and of course there's a huge selection. It's nice to find a brand where the majority of the blends don't contain licorice, unlike Teapigs and Pukka. I've just found it to be the common ingredient in the blends I dislike, and now I've made a point of avoiding them outright instead of buying them, trying to like them and wasting my money. I'm glad I've finally found a nice selection of teas that I really enjoy, so I know exactly what to get instead of standing in the tea aisle looking a bit bemused and grabbing just any old thing. I'd love to do a similar kind of post with different brands, hopefully making The Tea Files a regular thing! Which brand shall I try next?

 What are your favourite teas?