This was the second tea I tried from a 72-bag (24 per type) multipack in a tin labeled "Traditional English Teas," purchased at a World Market. At first I thought that was the brand, but RateTea had no such thing. Closer look at the back/bottom revealed the actual maker. So, as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback often yells at the start of a play: "Here we goooo!"

From the gift tin, this tea comes as attached pairs of square, pillow-style bags, just like in Celestial Seasonings boxes, but in this case, in silvery plastic sacks corresponding to the tea type. This is a surprisingly nice and rather robust tea. The only minor drag on the rating here is that the tea isn't stronger, mainly in aroma but to a minor extent in flavor. However, I found this one of the better bagged examples of this type that I've tried yet, in terms of flavor balance and tolerance of oversteeping.

This English Breakfast tea is fairly finely ground and brews dark quickly, but takes at least a few minutes to fill out the aroma and flavor, so err on the long side. In fact, for optimal strength, I recommend oversteeping on purpose. Go a few extra minutes, even 10 or so if you can tolerate its cooling just a bit. I even forgot a bag in the tea for an hour until it was cold, and it still did not taste offbase in any way (e.g., too bitter, dank, or otherwise obviously overdone). This is one of the most oversteep-friendly teas I've had, so it may be a good find for the forgetful tea drinker who gets easly distracted, walks off for awhile, and doesn't want to come back to a ruined tea.

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