Twinings Nutty Chocolate Flavour Assam Review

Browsing the tea aisle my eyes were drawn to this new tea from Twinings - part of their Loose Leaf Pyramid range - Nutty Chocolate Flavour Assam. Well I found it too hard to resist and it found its way into my shopping basket...

Twinings say 

A sweet chocolatey and creamy hazelnut taste, like a praline truffle.

Ingredients - Black Tea, Cocoa Nibs (20%), Hazelnut Flavouring (8%)

My thoughts 

Now I was rather excited about the prospect of a chocolatey tea so broke open the packet as soon as I got home, followed the instructions and drank my tea black. Personally I didn't find it sweet at all, even a touch bitter. For me the flavour that stood out was the one of hazelnuts with a subtle flavour of chocolate. All that was missing was some caramel and you would have had a delicious toffifee in a tea! Now there's an idea...

Perfect as a treat in the afternoon, I think this is best drunk with a splash of milk. 

Twinings Nutty Chocolate Flavour Assam Loose Leaf Pyramid (12 pyramids) costs £3.49

Twinings Bollywood Chai Latte Review

I still find it hard to believe that I didn't start drinking tea or coffee until I was twenty five as I sure have been making up for lost time. I like plain old tea but to be honest I am always on the look out for great tasting and alternative teas.. this Winter I have really got into drinking Chai Lattes. 

Chai Lattes originate from India and are usually a black tea with the added feature of a blend of spices like Cardamom, Cinnamon, Ginger and Pepper (or variations of this). They are sweet, spiced teas that you can drink with milk or for added sweetness add sugar. Personally I don't add sugar but traditional street vendors will sell them milky and sweet. I loved the concept and naturally was curious to give them a try.

When I was in Waitrose I spotted a recipe card for rice pudding that used the Twinings Bollywood Chai Latte and promptly went off to the tea aisle to make my purchase.

Twinings Bollywood Chai Latte is described as smooth, sweet and delicately spiced, it is made from Black Tea (Assam), Almond, Spice & Honey Flavourings and Flavourings.

It comes in Loose Leaf Pyramid Form and the tag is long enough to fit into a tall Latte glass.

The outer packaging is pretty don't you think?

As you open the bag the scent hits you, a deliciously sweet Almond aroma.

How to make - 

Pop a teabag into a latte glass or mug.
Fill about a third full with boiling water and let it brew for at least 3 minutes followed by a good stir and a squeeze to release all the flavour.
Top up with hot milk, frothy if possible, add a pinch of sugar if you like.

My thoughts 

I have had a a few glasses of this now and I can recommend that you ensure that you keep the teabag in for the full 3 minutes or even longer to get the full flavour, if you don't then the taste is quite insipid. When prepared correctly it is delicious. I tried it with hot milk and it is lovely but hot frothy milk enhances the whole chai latte experience.

Twinings Bollywood Chai Latte is sweet and packed with almond flavour and a hint of spice. I really like it as an alternative to my morning or afternoon cuppa.

Twinings Bollywood Chai Latte (12 Pyramids) costs £3.49

Twinings Sweet Green Teas Range - Review

As soon as the Twinings Sweet Green Teas range popped up on their Facebook page I knew I had to try them..

Apparently a lot of people know the health benefits of green tea but dislike the bitterness of it so don't drink it. Twinings created a Sweet Green Tea range to convince people to give Green Tea another go!

I have to say that I am not a fan of pure green tea but I do like it with Jasmine, Orange and Lotus Flower and with Peach and Cherry Blossom. All fabulous teas from Twinings.

In tempting flavours of Salted Caramel, Caramelised Apple and Gingerbread the sweet green teas had to be tried. I soon was on the search for them in the Supermarket, only to be disappointed each time when they were out of stock. I then received an irresistible offer of 3 for 2 through the Facebook page if you ordered direct from the Twinings Website so promptly ordered all 3.  The teas arrived a few days later in beautiful packaging. I set to work drinking them (well someone has to!)

Brew Time - It is suggested a maximum of 2 minutes. Best enjoyed without milk

Gingerbread Green Tea 

I am not a fan of anything ginger really so of all the flavours, this was not one that I would usually buy but as it was on 3 for 2 I thought I should at least try it.

Twinings say 

The sweet aroma of a traditional cake shop. The tangy warmth of gingerbread baked to perfection. With real ginger pieces and golden syrup flavour, this is an entirely new take on traditional green tea. One that's utterly surprising...yet wonderfully familiar.

Ingredients - Green Tea, Ginger Root (29%), Natural Flavouring (5%)

My thoughts 

This surprised me and in a good way. My aversion to all things ginger may have been slightly muted. Like drinking a liquid version of a ginger biscuit, it is subtle though. I liked it enough to finish the box but I most probably wouldn't repurchase as it just wasn't sweet enough to tempt me into another box.

Caramelised Apple Green Tea

Twinings say

Warm apple pie, freshly baked crumble. Few aromas can match the cosy embrace of these old favourites. Notes of golden toffee and a touch of spice from real cinnamon make this our most indulgent of blends. Sink into the sofa, relax and let the day drift by.

Ingredients - Green Tea, Natural Flavourings (14%), Cinnamon (1.5%)

My thoughts 

This had a wonderful apple scent that drew me in, not as sweet as I was expecting but pleasant enough. Once again, the flavours are subtle. Nice to drink after lunch. However, I struggled to taste the cinnamon spice.

Salted Caramel Green Tea 

Twinings say

Sweet but somehow slightly salty. Fresh tasting, yet somehow rich and warming. This tea is simply full of contradictions - accompanied by the most irresistibly indulgent notes of caramel. If you love the idea of green tea but also like the sweeter side of life, this may be the blend for you.

Ingredients - Green Tea, Natural Flavourings (7%)

My thoughts

I have to say that this is the tea I was most looking forward to and I just couldn't wait to tear open the packaging and rip open the envelope containing the tea bag.. and yet never have I been so underwhelmed and sadly so disappointed. I tried to detect the sweetness and completely failed, I tried to detect the saltiness and failed once more. I have since drunk another five of these teas and still cannot get excited about the Salted Caramel flavour. It promised so much but to my taste buds failed to deliver. Not sweet or salty for me, just a bland flavour that tastes of nothing that I can describe. Sure enough there is no bitter aftertaste but there is really nothing there at all :(

Final thoughts 

I love the packaging, I love the individually wrapped envelopes with their pretty and tempting designs. I love the anticipation of flavour from the descriptions but unfortunately these failed to truly excite me or deliver enough flavour or sweetness to make me purchase them again. I will be sticking to the other Green Teas I mentioned above.

Twinings Butter Mint Sensation and Camomile & Maple Sensation Herbal Teas - Review

I am always up for trying new teas and the amount of different teas I have tried is quite startling, given  my penchant for tea I always surprise people when I say that I only started drinking tea aged 25!

These prettily designed boxes from Twinings initially caught my eye in the busy tea aisle and then when I read the descriptions on the box they soon found their way into my shopping basket.

Note: Tea bags are individually wrapped for extra freshness.

Twinings Butter Mint Sensation * - Peppermint leaf & creamy vanilla flavour

The box smells exactly like Murray Mints so I was just a little bit excited about trying Butter Mint Sensation. It has to be noted I tried and really couldn't get into drinking pure Peppermint tea. Not a fan of its taste, it just tasted horrid to my palette and my stomach couldn't well.. stomach it.

Butter Mint Sensation is SO much nicer, if you think you are going to be drinking the liquid version of Murray Mints sadly you will be disappointed. However, it is a milder version of Peppermint tea with a delicious creamier and smoother aspect to it. For me, far more palatable and a real pleasure to drink after dinner as an alternative to a caffeine milky straight up tea. I would purchase this again.

Twinings Camomile & Maple Sensation - Camomile Flower with maple and Madagascan Vanilla *

Once again I have tried pure Camomile tea and didn't see what the fuss was about, I found it tasted how I would imagine dishwater would taste, bland and altogether yucky.

I actually bought this because I was enjoying hot chocolate as a bedtime drink a little too much and felt that was the ideal compromise, Camomile is calming and I felt this version would be worth a try as a bedtime alternative.

Thankfully it tastes wonderful, it is gentle and delicately sweet with the maple tones just poking through. It is perfect and calming before bed ensuring a good night's sleep. I would definitely purchase this again.

Finally some non caffeine, herbal teas I enjoy drinking! :)

Have you tried any of the Twinings Sensation ranges?

** Please note these have been renamed Intensely Buttermint and Intensely Camomile & Maple

Twinings Jasmine Green Tea and Peach & Cherry Blossom Green Tea

Pop 'Green Tea' into the google search box and you will see all of the health benefits associated with it.

The benefits of drinking green tea

Speeds up metabolism and burns fat aiding weight loss
Lowers cholesterol levels
Can help lower blood pressure
Can help prevent bad breath 

and a whole lot more are attributed to it.

Well I tried plain old green tea and I was unmoved and unimpressed. It didn't taste particularly nice so still wanting to drink it due to the health benefits, I persevered in drinking it but not altogether enjoying it ..until I noticed that there were other options available. I first purchased a selection pack from Twinings and my favourite from it was the Orange and Lotus Blossom, just gorgeous.

I have always liked drinking Jasmine Tea when dining in Chinese restaurants so I knew I would like Jasmine Green Tea - Twinings one is delicately flavoured with Jasmine, it has a light perfume scent and is perfect for drinking after dinner. More recently I have been really liking Peach & Cherry Blossom Green Tea. In 3 minutes you have a beautiful fragrance and it tastes just as good as it smells (unlike fruit teas which smell amazing but usually disappoint). A nice peach with a hint of cherry. Really nice and ideal to drink at anytime of the day.

Twinings Jasmine Green Tea box of 20 bags costs £1.39 
Twinings Peach & Cherry Blossom Green Tea 20 bags costs £1.39