I didn't give it really high numbers, but I do like this tea as a kind of "old standby," even though it is in fact a fairly new staple for me. And, to be honest, it probably won't be a staple once the box runs out.

As a coffee drinker most of my life and a sometimes obsessive tea drinker only in the last 10 years or so, I mostly started out with green teas and flavored teas like Earl Grey or something more spicy and exotic. Every time I would try this, I was really disappointed because I just didn't know how to make it.

This tea works the same way coffee works for me: I'm pretty particular about my coffee and if it's too strong or too weak or greasy, too much milk, etc. then it's not really all that pleasant for me, but I will gulp it down anyway because there's something coffee about it that I recognize and I have accepted as what I want.

This tea is exactly the same in exactly the same way. I even prefer it prepared the same way I like my coffee: strong, but not too strong and just a little milk. If I don't get it just right, it's too weak or too bitter.

The way I get it exactly how I want is to just look at the color. At home, I use a kettle to boil water, but at work we have a Keurig machine. At home, I use a light-colored mug and pour boiling water directly on the bag, bounce the bag up and down for a few seconds and when it's a nice darkish brown (15-20 seconds) I remove the bag, add a tiny drop of cream and stir. It should be a nice caramel color. At home, I usually drop an ice cube or 2 in to cool it down so it doesn't open all the pores in my teeth and stain them as much. It is also ready to drink much sooner. At work, I just use the keurig machine and let it sit for about 10 seconds before adding a tiny spot of milk and then just let it sit on my desk to cool with the bag still in the mug. It never gets bitter because I think the Keurig machine doesn't get the water nearly as hot.

The reason I realized I actually like this tea quite a bit as a regular coffee replacement is because I randomly bought a huge box from the corner deli once and then they got that same huge box at work. When I ran out of all my fancier teas at home, I just started using it more and more until I finally figured it out. Then, at work, I started using it instead of coffee and quite honestly I like it better than coffee most of the time now.

There is kind of a spiciness to it which seems weird. It doesn't seem like it should be there, but I taste it. It tastes flavored in some way. If I add a tiny bit of stevia, it really brings out the spiciness and it almost tastes like fall flavors (some relative of nutmeg and cinnamon or something).

This is my first review and probably the most elaborate one I'll ever do here. I don't know why, but a tea so common seemed to require a little advocacy. I'm enjoying a cup right now and would like everyone to be able to appreciate this.

It's good to have a bunch of this as backup and to know how to make it if it's the only tea available, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it over another black tea like Twinings Breakfast Blend or Stash Breakfast Blend (both much better).

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