Twinings Black Tea Discovery Collection: Four Flavoured Teas

Nothing in this box is a plain cup of tea, and that is the reason to buy it. Five envelopes each of four flavoured black teas let you find out, over a few weeks, whether you lean towards spice, towards vanilla or towards the place where the two meet.

Two chais, a vanilla and a gingerbread

All four start from a black tea base; what changes is what has been layered on top. Classic Chai and Vanilla Chai are the spiced pair, carrying the warming character people know from a chai. Creamy Vanilla drops the spice and leans entirely on a sweet, rounded vanilla aroma. Gingerbread Spice sits between the camps: led by spice, but sweet-scented as well.

In the vanilla chai the vanilla smooths the spice rather than competing with it, which makes it the gentlest way into chai if the classic version sounds too assertive. The base tea in all four is there to carry flavour, not to lead, so anyone wanting an unflavoured breakfast-style cup will be better served by an English Breakfast or an Assam from the same Twinings shelf.

Tasting the box in order

Because each bag has its own sealed envelope, there is no need to finish one flavour before opening the next. We would start with Creamy Vanilla on its own, move to Vanilla Chai, then Classic Chai, and finish with Gingerbread Spice, so that each step adds a little more spice. One tea per sitting keeps the flavours distinct, because two scented cups in a row tend to blur together.

Brew them all the same way so the comparison is fair: one bag, around 200ml of freshly boiled water, three minutes, then lift the bag out. Leave it longer if you like a stronger cup, but keep the timing identical across the four. Note which ones you reach for again, because the answer tells you whether a full box of a single vanilla or chai tea is worth buying next.

Milk, biscuits and time of day

Both chais and Gingerbread Spice are happy with milk, and a splash rounds off the spice rather than burying it. Creamy Vanilla works either way, though the vanilla arguably reads more clearly without milk. Every tea in the box is a black tea and contains caffeine, so these are daytime cups. Save the gingerbread for a cold afternoon with a biscuit beside it.

Store the carton in a cool, dry cupboard well clear of anything pungent, and finish the envelopes by the best-before date printed on it. As a present it suits someone who drinks tea every day but has only ever bought one kind, and because it is small and neatly divided it takes up almost no room in a cupboard or a stocking.

The packs we stock

• Twinings Black Tea Discovery Collection, 20 Tea Bags 40g (barcode 070177236571)

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Rich Tea The Classic One Twin Pack, 2 x 300g 600g: a plain biscuit that lets the spice and vanilla lead instead of piling on more sugar.
• Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: butterscotch sits naturally beside Creamy Vanilla and Vanilla Chai, two sweet notes that agree with each other.
• McVitie's Hobnobs Milk Choc Jumbo Pack Biscuits, 431g: an oaty milk chocolate biscuit for Classic Chai made with milk, where the spice wants something solid alongside.
• McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Mini Biscuits Snack Multipack, 5 x 19g: small portions for a tasting session, so each cup gets a biscuit without opening a whole packet.

Elsewhere in the Twinings range

• Twinings Assam, 80 Tea Bags 200g
• Twinings Assam Loose Tea, 125g
• Twinings Darjeeling, 40 Tea Bags 100g
• Twinings Decaffeinated Everyday, 80 Tea Bags 250g
• Twinings Earl Grey Discovery Collection, 20 Tea Bags 40g
• Twinings English Afternoon, 80 Tea Bags 200g

The full range is on the Twinings brand page.

FAQ

Which teas are in the Twinings Black Tea Discovery Collection? Creamy Vanilla, Gingerbread Spice, Classic Chai and Vanilla Chai, five sealed envelopes of each and twenty in all.

Is there a plain black tea in the box? No. All four are flavoured, so for an unflavoured cup choose an English Breakfast or an Assam instead.

Do these teas contain caffeine? Yes. They are all black teas, so every cup is caffeinated.

Which of them take milk? Milk suits both chais and the gingerbread best; Creamy Vanilla can go either way.

How long should each bag brew? Three minutes in freshly boiled water, a little longer if you want it stronger, then take the bag out.

Curator's note: Give each tea its own afternoon rather than lining them up in one go. By the end of the box you will know which one deserves a carton to itself. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Twinings Black Tea Discovery Collection: Four Flavoured Teas

More from the tea wiki

• Twinings: Tea Range and Buying Guide
• How to Make Tea Properly: The Eight Step Method
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Chai: Origins and Global Variations

Download as PDF