Black Pearl – Lipton

Lipton? Yep, Lipton. I had been intrigued by their “premium” pyramid teabag line and just ran out of good black/red tea so I figured it was worth a shot. Winter has a way of changing the palate away from my beloved yellows and greens no matter how hard I fight it. Oolongs fill the void nicely but sometimes you just need a nice full-bodied cuppa. PG Tips is an old standby for me, but I wanted something a bit sharper than the rounded edges of PG Tips. I opened the square box and found a bunch of nylon pyramid bags half-filled with 1/16″-1/8″ pieces. Nothing overly impressive in look or initial smell. I brewed up a cup and found that it is very much improved over the average Lipton tea (which isn’t too hard to accomplish) , a bit less muted than PG Tips, and similar to loose Lipton sold in Indian groceries which is much less expensive and contains a ton more tea. I attempted to over brew it and it never turned bitter, I also was able to eek out a second light, but drinkable, cup. There is nothing wrong if you enjoy a standard cup of Lipton tea, and for those whose tea repertoire consists of nothing past the regular American Lipton tea bag this is well worth a shot and very drinkable but it will not wow a red/black tea fan.