English Tea Store Loose Leaf, Blue Lady Flavored Black Tea - 4oz, 4 Ounce

I am an avid tea drinker, and one of my favorites is Twining's Lady Grey loose tea; I know, it's so...pedestrian, but honestly I've tried the others, some that are 4-5x the cost, and I always come back to Twinings, go figure. I've always preferred loose tea as it's more cost effective, plus you can control the amount of tea to hot water ratio to get the desired brew of ones choice. I don't like the American way of brewing tea, as though it was colored water; I want to taste the tea, strong enough for a spoon to stand straight at attention in the cup!For some reason I couldn't find the usual 6 pack of the Twining Lady Grey the day I tried to order through Amazon, and came across the ETS Versailles Lavender Earl Grey. Looking at the ingredients and reviews (which, in retrospect, were for their other teas, not specifically this one), I thought okay, let's give it a try.I was super excited when it came in for the next morning to arrive, and when I finally brewed my first pot, I was...underwhelmed. The tea itself was a bit bitter, not smooth at all, and the lavender overwhelmed the black tea, making me imagine that if I were steep the French potpourri pouch tucked inside my underwear drawer, surely this is what it would taste like. I tried to muscle through the first of what is usually 4 cups of my morning tea ritual, and sadly had to chuck it all out.But of its quality and purity, I feel it's up there, just not a good balance and blend. What I do now is mix a little of it into my loose earl grey, and that seems to do the trick and get a much smoother taste and better balance.Would I recommend it? Probably not. Although I am certainly enjoying the home mix using it, hence my 3 star review.

This Assam 'loose leaf' tea is far from leaf... it's the fannings. Fannings are the left over, tiny bits that after leaf sifting fall below though the sifter and are collected for filling tea bags. There is little flavor, the taste is flat and dusty - these fannings are also OLD. The product is described as: Tea Variety - Assam, Brand - English Tea Store, Flavor - Assam Tea Pouches, Item Form - Loose Leaves, Weight - 4 Ounces. The contents are not loose leaves, they go right through any/every strainer, tea ball, I have, even fully hydrated. I have purchased from English Tea Store before, loose leaf teas, which have been perfect. The price seemed good for 4 oz. But, not good enough for what I received. Poor quality, dishonest description. I will not buy this from Amazon again.

The Flavor was light and scent too , value was very good and worth every penny ! I really enjoyed it! I would’ve preferred it to be stronger in flavor & also bolder, I really like a nice bold tea with a double bergamot! I’m not sure if the bergamot was weak, or if it was just not added enough into the tea itself , but It still was a very pleasant tea❣️😃❣️ For the mornings I wanted a strong brew- I had to use 4 teaspoons to get the basic flavor I wanted .I think what it was missing was the pieces of citrus peel in it I was looking for ! 🤩I love seeing those bits plump up and smelling that aroma of orange 🍊 lemon 🍋 lime ? How ever the brew is made , even if all 3 are put in would be wonderful . I do love a bold tea too.I will buy it again because it is a lovely tea 💕💕💕💕💕😃😃😃😃😃‼️

PROS:* Great taste of blended Irish tea* Resealable bag* Moderately priced for an everyday teaCONS:* Not at all the way I expected, i.e., not a leaf tea but a ground up tea that looks like it belongs in a sewn-up tea bag.* Product clearly displays that it's organic and the description says it's "certified USDA and qmi organic', yet they don't display the USDA Certified logo.Overall, I like the tea for it's taste, but the ground up almost powdery state of the tea makes me distrustful of a company that calls it "loose leaf" and doesn't use a proper USDA Certified sticker. I will not buy it again.

I received my tea in different packaging than what is pictured here, which isn't the biggest deal, but the image should reflect the product.As far as the product itself, it's quite good. It has an oilier taste than other Assam black teas that I've tried, but it's bold and balanced, and tastes very good with a bit of cream. Other than the packaging, the only downside is that you have to use quite a bit of the bag for maximum flavor payoff in a teapot.

Loose leaf tea should not be little grits so small that they fall through every loose-leaf tea brewer (wire mesh, egg, spoon thing) in the house. I have to wrap it up in a coffee filter which obviously defeats the purpose of loose leaf tea.Flavor is okay.Also, it arrived in April with an expiration date of May. So it's been sitting in a warehouse a while.

I have some loose leaf blood orange tea that I bought in a specialty shop. It's delicious. I was hoping that the English Tea Store tea would be as good. It's not. It's slightly bitter, brews a weaker tea using the same measure that I always use, & has less flavor overall. The price is fine, & the tea came in a foil-lined paper pouch that will properly store the tea. But the product disappoints.Update: I wondered if the bitterness was coming from the orange peel that flavors the tea, or if changing the brewing method could improve the flavor. So I started with filtered water, & heated it to simmering instead of a full boil. I brewed for 3 minutes, as I usually do. I let the tea cool at room temperature, then put in the refrigerator. The result was a delicious iced tea, not bitter at all. I haven't tried it hot, but I'm pleased to report that it makes a great glass of iced tea. I've changed my rating to reflect this.