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Friday, July 12, 2013

Bigelow,French Vanilla Decaffeinated

Bigelow Description:
Experience more than just a tea. We invite you to take a private moment to relax and unwind with a delightful cup of Bigelow French Vanilla Decaffeinated Tea. Its rich vanilla flavor will calm down even the most hectic of days and because it has no calories and the added benefit of healthy antioxidants, it's good for you too!

Ingredients:
decaffeinated black tea, natural and artificial flavors (soy lecithin).

My Review:
This is the last of my Bigelow decaf variety pack excursion. I have been avoiding this one. Why? Well, back in my pre-loose leaf days, I remember trying Twinings Vanilla. I did not like it. OK, today my tastes have changed and expanded. Would I like it today? I don't know, but let's turn our attention to the tea before us.

This tea bag has a tag, string, and staple. It comes well protected and freshness preserved in an aluminum lined mylar envelope. The variety pack version, doing the math, appears to have 1.67g/bag. The non-variety version is 1.8g. That may not be enough difference to matter.

Tearing open the envelope, I can smell vanilla. With less than 2g of leaf, I chose to use my 6 ounce cup. Just under boiling water was poured over the bag. I steeped for about three minutes. The cup is dark and shiny with an aroma of vanilla.

The sip is vanilla but the cup just seems thin. I can't taste the black tea. So, back into the cup goes the bag where I decide to leave it. A couple minutes later I sip again. Now the cup is bolder with more developed flavor and I can taste the black tea. At this point I will add that my wife liked the shorter steep time and thought she could get a second cup from the bag.

With my longer steep time the vanilla is nicely creamy. It is not overwhelming as are some vanilla teas. The decaf black tea in the bag just isn't bold enough to really compete. I can taste it, but find myself wanting a little more from it. As I have said in other reviews, that is the downside to decaf and bagged tea in general. The cup often lacks depth and definition.

While this is not a complex cup, I did find myself enjoying this vanilla offering from Bigelow. If you are wanting a simple late evening cup of creamy vanilla, this would be worth a try.


1 comment:

  1. I have the caffeinated French Vanilla, and it is AMAZING! Even though I don't usually indulge in caffeinated teas!
    Instead of cane or raw sugar. I use Agave!It's concentrated, and absorbs slower in the bloodstream than cane sugar! Nice pairing!
    My Daughter got me to try some of your teas! Swapping out certain Celestial Seasonings herbal teas! I have tried your decaffeinated brands! And they are more fuller in body,aroma,and taste..,than the prior brand! Not to mention,your brand is is a welcome savings to my budget! So I will be COMPLETELY SWAPPING out all my teas for yours!
    Thank you!

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