Refreshing and Revitalising Selection - 4 Twinings herb teas (Twinings)

Member Name: werewolf2

Product:	Twinings
Date:	20/12/04 (759 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: more than 1 variety, naturally decaffeinated

Disadvantages: if you don't like one you get stuck with oddments

NAME OF DRINK:
Twinings Infusions Refreshing & Revitalising Selection flavoured herbal teabags. You get 20 teabags all individually wrapped in their own colour-coded packets. They are naturally caffeine free and this selection box comes with 4 different flavours:

1. Echinacea & Raspberry– the tag line states it is a “gentle yet reviving blend with a fruity twist”. For more details on this – see my individual review on this top entitled “Blagger’s Heaven”.
2. Camomile & Limeflowers - the tag line states it is a “refreshing, floral blend with a delicate citrus taste”. This means it has hardly any flavour!
3. Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla - the tag line states it is a “reviving drink with a lively taste”. I agree with this statement, it is extremely tasty and well worth buying the box for.
4. Cranberry, Raspberry & Elderflower -

BACKGROUND:
I was trying to reduce my caffeine intake when a friend introduced me to herb teas. She recommended the Echinacea as it is supposed to enhance your immune system. As I had tried the Echinacea and the Cranberry flavours I decided to try a Selection box in order to try 2 more flavours – ones that I may not have decided to choose a box full (in case I didn’t like them). Hence my choice of this box – you get 5 bags of each flavour so I would only be wasting a quarter of my money if I didn’t like one particular flavour.

As the teabags come as part of a selection box, they have a longish string attached to the bag with a staple at the bag end, and a staple holding a small card with the word Twinings at the other. Be careful with these as the staple can sometimes not be in right and the tag comes off completely or you can break the string. I wondered once if the staple came out whether the teabag would spill its contents into my drink – but I hasten to add this has yet to happen.

Brewing instructions are allow one teabag per person and add freshly boiled water to the bag. Leave to infuse for 3-5 minutes according to taste. Can be drunk hot or cold – definitely prefer hot! I have tried all of them cold when I have left it too long and it does not taste right – but it is drinkable. Add honey to sweeten, if preferred. I have never tried this, as I do not like sweet drinks but each to their own.

ALWAYS DRINK WITHOUT MILK. This means it is good for those on a lactose free diet.

The packaging is good - not too much of it. The box itself has a tear off part, which goes around 3 sides of the box and this creates a lid. If you buy each flavour alone the bags are loose inside, so not extra packaging inside. Brownie points for Twinings there – no excess packaging. If each flavour is in a selection box, you get each bag inside its own packet to preserve the flavours, which is a good idea.

COLOUR:
As this is a selection box, each tea bag comes in its own individual packet, which are colour coded according to the flavoured teabag inside. The box is a bright yellow with a square picture of each of the combinations on the front. The Echinacea is depicted as a pink coneflower similar to a sunflower.

Camomile and Limeflowers: Yellow
Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla: Purple
Echinacea & Raspberry: Pink

I am sorry I cannot remember what colour the other one comes in and I do not have any of that flavour left to check, although pale blue springs to mind.

The teabag is transparent white and there seems to be hay and leaves inside the bag – colour unknown. However, the drink becomes a becoming pink for all the flavours other than the Camomile & Limeflowers. This particular drink becomes a dirty yellowish brown – sorry but it looks rather like urine! It doesn’t taste quite that bad though!

TASTE:
The best thing since sliced bread, it is very difficult to describe the taste. Each one is different naturally, but you can definitely taste the raspberry in the two that have it as an ingredient. Other ingredients include liquorice but I cannot taste it. However, there are other citric ingredients such as orange peel in all of them. I must admit I cannot taste the vanilla in the Blackcurrant flavoured drink.

SMELL:
There are plenty of different smells (possibly due to the citric ingredients). It makes the room smell fruity. It is a strong smell but not unpleasant. My colleagues definitely know when I have been brewing these drinks.

MAIN INGREDIENTS:
Echinacea & raspberry:
Hibiscus, Echinacea (20%), Apple Pieces, Orange Peel

Camomile & Limeflowers:
Camomile (42.3%), Limeflowers (13.3%) Orange Peel, Lemon flavouring

Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla:
Hibiscus, Orange Peel, Blackberry Leaves, Lemon Peel.

I do not have a list of ingredients for the other drink as I have drunk them all and not saved a packet, silly me!

PRICE:
89p for a box of 20 loose. They can be more if they are included as part of a selection box. Usually about £1.29. Prices from Tesco.

GOOD POINTS:
· Caffeine free
· Smells gorgeous
· Tastes brilliant

BAD POINTS:
· I run out too quickly
· Loose ones are harder to remove from the mug/cup because there is no tag.

AFTERWARDS:
Buy another box!

Each box of loose teabags recommends a different flavour – this one recommends Cranberry, Raspberry and Elderflower. I have tried other flavours and have enjoyed trying the “Refreshing and Reviving Selection”. I am very keen on three of the flavours and not so keen on the camomile one. It just isn’t sweet enough for me and the colour is enough to put anyone off for life. I have tried Wild Blackberry & Nettle and this may be my next review.

The carton is supposedly 100% recyclable and made from renewable resources. Unfortunately, my local council provided me with a blue box for recycling which expressly states NO CARDBOARD so I can’t recycle it.

MADE BY/MORE INFORMATION FROM:

Importer in New Zealand: The Bell Tea Co Ltd, 305 East Tamaki Road, Auckland.

Blended and packed from imported ingredients by R. Twining and Company Ltd, South Way, Andover, Hampshire, England. The box states that it is a product of United Kingdom.

www.twinings.com I once logged on to this website and did a quick quiz asking about my feelings/needs particular times of the day, etc and it suggested a drink for each of these times and they sent me 3 free samples from the selection it had brought up and a money off voucher for the teabags. If this is still working, I would highly recommend it as you often get to try a flavour that you would not have possibly picked out yourself. I definitely highly rate the website and the products. This is a blaggers' heaven!

Werewolf2

Summary: