Steep English Breakfast Fair Trade Certified Black Tea - Organic - Fair Trade
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Commercial Description
Fair Trade Certified organic black tea, hand-picked from high in the mountains, produces a sweet, intense and delicious taste.
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Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
78 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5Tchuggin' Okie (431 reviews) on Jun. 4th, 2025
Surprisingly, this was one of the smoothest and most pleasant flavor experiences I've had with bagged black Ceylon tea, and perhaps Bigelow's best in that category. How much of that resulted from a baseline of lower expectations? Admittedly, most of the "Steep" line hasn't impressed me much, especially considering the negligible difference in taste relative to price for similar non-Steep teas in their portfolio. Regardless, Bigelow should keep the supply line wide open to whatever estate(s) produce this.
Dry aroma was mild but pleasant, which also can describe the flavor if steeped the recommended 4 minutes. However, leaving this in for 6–7 minutes seems to yield no bitterness penalty, and greatly strengthens the base flavor, resulting in a potent little package of dark tea with a great balance between tolerable astringency, faint bitterness and even some savory character, with unmistakable vanilla vibes. I don't think it's overtly vanilla flavored (which seemingly would have to be disclosed), but could pass for such. That imparts a creamy character to the sip from start to finish, and in the aftertaste too, nicely balancing an otherwise sharp-edged Ceylon.
One nit to pick: I don't know what qualifies as English Breakfast in a customary sense, or if there's an industry standard, but most of them I've seen involve at least two sources; whereas, this is entirely Ceylon.
90 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5Difflugia (170 reviews) on Jan. 10th, 2019
Without beating around the bush, this is a really good Sri Lankan/Ceylon tea. This seems to be one of the few brands of bagged tea that selected Sri Lankan tea for its flavors rather than for simply being "mild". This tea is remarkably similar in flavor to Ahmad and Alwazah branded Ceylon teas that are available from Middle Eastern markets.
The tea's pleasantly astringent and has a light-to-medium bitterness. It smells of darkly baked cookies or sweetrolls and tastes of lightly sweetened cocoa powder, which pretty much describes the bitterness level, as well. If you find bittersweet chocolate to be pleasant, then this tea will be. The finish is long and the cocoa lingers at the back of the tongue. I've let the cup cool to a bit below lukewarm and I'm starting to taste raw walnuts.
This tea is delicious, organic, Fair Trade and available at grocery stores. It's fifty cents more expensive than regular Bigelow or Celestial Seasonings. My only beef at all is with calling this tea an "English Breakfast". It's not. It's an easily recognizable Ceylon with no Assam whatsoever.
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
More Black Tea from Sri Lanka / Ceylon from Bigelow Tea
English Breakfast Black Tea
| Style: | English Breakfast |
| Region: | ????? |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Leaf: | Teabag |
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Premium Blend Tea
| Style: | Ceylon Black Tea |
| Region: | Sri Lanka / Ceylon |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Leaf: | Teabag |
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Organic Ceylon Black Tea
| Style: | Ceylon Black Tea |
| Region: | Sri Lanka / Ceylon |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Leaf: | Teabag |
1 Rating
