Second Cuppa Tea Blog - Reviews - Lifestyle - Wellness

Tetley Blend of Both Review

Green tea is believed to offer more health benefits than black tea. Tetley Blend of Both attempts to capitalize on this assumption by offering black tea drinkers the benefits of green tea.

I found this blend, composed of 72% black tea and 28% green tea, a bit odd at first but gradually came to like it. It’s supposed to be prepared and enjoyed like regular black tea. Tetley suggests drinking three cups per day to realize the benefits of one cup of green tea.

It looks and almost smells and tastes like standard British black tea; however, the small amount of green tea adds a pleasant twist. The green tea’s grassy aroma is more dominant than I expected, and the flavor is slightly bitter (from using boiling water, I think). Milk is a must in my opinion.

As a side note for black tea drinkers, I wouldn’t be too concerned about missing the widely reported advantages of green tea. Black tea offers many of the same benefits, including antioxidants, with extra caffeine to keep you going. Recent studies have shown that black tea drinkers show reduced risk of stroke and heart disease.

If you still want to hedge your bets or simply want find out what happens when black meets green tea, Tetley Blend of Both is not a bad way to go. I’d continue drinking the stuff regularly if the cost of having it shipped to the States wasn’t so high.

Aroma:	Mossy, chalky, and grassy
Body:	Full
Flavor:	Malty, creamy, and a little bitter
Color:	Dark

When Work = Laziness

It’s easy to become complacent. You come home and sit in front of the TV, listen to music, or do some other passive activity. There’s always tomorrow, right?

At this point in my life — halfway through by my estimation — I seem increasingly anxious about developing skills and pursuing interests. When I don’t feed these interests of mine, I become disappointed with myself.

Another type of avoidance exists that we don’t typically associate with laziness: work. Pamela Skillings talks about it in her book, “Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams.”

Sadly, we often choose our jobs over other things in life that need our attention. I volunteered recently to work extra hours over the weekend when I could have easily passed. I didn’t earn extra money for it because I’m salaried. I guess I wanted to help the team.

But maybe I also chose to avoid the challenges of writing, blogging, learning photography, creating PHP functions, being a father and husband, and the many other things I should be doing on the weekend. The list seems daunting when I look at it in writing.

Yes, throwing oneself into work can be a form of laziness, and I’m guilty. I’ll probably do it again, too.

Clipper Big Breakfast Tea Review

Clipper Big Breakfast Tea has been a part of my morning routine for the last few days. This morning I paired it with a multigrain English muffin from Trader Joe’s while watching the latest news regarding the Boston bombing suspect who was apprehended last night.

Strong, punchy, and bold is what the package of 80 tea bags promises. Clipper’s teas are Fairtrade certified, meaning their sourcing meets certain labor, environmental, and ethical standards. The large, rectangular, unbleached tea bags seem to contain a respectable amount of tea.

While many Clipper tea varieties are offered to US consumers through Amazon.com, I had to order Clipper Big Breakfast Tea through an UK-based, online merchant and pay a ridiculous amount in shipping. I first tried ordering directly from Clipper Teas’ website, but my order was immediately cancelled (without notification) because they do not deliver to my part of the world yet.

The tea was very much what I expected. The aroma was a familiar mossy and citrusy combination. The flavor was astringent, bright, and bitter before the addition of milk. I can say with certainty that anyone who favors this sort of tea won’t disappointed with Clipper Big Breakfast Tea. It certainly was a great comfort to me this morning.

Aroma:	Citrus fruit and moss
Body:	Full
Flavor:	Bright, astringent, and bitter
Color:	Dark

Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend Review

Good decaf tea doesn’t really exist. When the caffeine is removed from tea, so is the flavor, and Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend is no exception.

If you must have decaf tea, though, I can give you a couple of reasons to choose this product. Tetley uses ethyl acetate, a solvent with no harmful effects, to strip the tea of its caffeine, whereas other major use methylene chloride, a known carcinogen.

Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend smells like seaweed, unlike its caffeinated counterpart which has a mossy aroma typical of ‘English breakfast’ teas. It tastes like seaweed too if you let it linger too long on the tongue, but overall the taste is okay compared to other decafs I’ve tried.

I’ve discovered that two decaffeinated tea bags are required to get the same full-bodied characteristic of the caffeinated version. Though I haven’t tried it, I bet a little squirt of honey might counter some of the seaweed funkiness.

As far as decaf tea goes, Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend is all right. I’m just not comfortable calling it tea.

Aroma:	Seaweed
Body:	Full (if brewed with two tea bags)
Flavor:	Nondescript
Color:	Dark

Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea Review

The box is green of course, with an image of a fertile Irish landscape by the sea. Second flush Assam paired with Kenya tea creates ‘a hearty, full-bodied blend,’ reads the copy on the package of Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea.

The pleasantly sweet aroma of the dry tea leaves sets a high expectation. Add boiling water, wait for 3–5 minutes, and you end up with something slightly tamer than Irish tea should be.

Earth, moss, and tree bark come to mind when trying to describe the aroma. Gone is the sweetness of the dry leaf. Also missing is the astringent punch common among Irish tea brands like Punjana and Barry’s.

But Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast tea isn’t a complete dud. I drink it occasionally in the late morning or early afternoon to help my brain function. It’s a simple, smooth tasting tea at an affordable price.

Aroma:	Mossy, earthy
Body:	Full
Flavor:	Smooth, kind of flat
Color:	Dark