I am a purist when it comes to tea and Lipton is at the bottom of the list for me. Lipton's tea is mass produced using tea dust or fanning, the industry's name for the lowest grade quality of tea. The tea is usually flavorless and dull and really gives people a bad idea of what tea is.
Today while shopping in Shop Rite, I came across a box of something that surprised me. Lipton Pyramid Tea bags with actual whole leaf tea, instead of the usual fannings. Although I would never go out of my way to purchase Lipton, I decided to try this new product. I purchased a box of the Vanilla Caramel Truffle.
From the website: "Our long-leaf tea is handpicked from only the top two leaves and a bud. LIPTON premium long-cut tea is delicately packaged in unique pyramid-shaped bags that allow the tea room to flow freely with real pieces of fruit for a truly authentic tea infusion. The result is an exceptionally pure tea flavor and aroma. LIPTON Premium Pyramid Tea Bags are now available in six delicious new flavors. Try them all. "
"A perfectly sweet indulgence. Delicate vanilla blends beautifully with pieces of real caramel and the taste of rich chocolate truffles. Go ahead. You deserve it."
Upon brewing myself a cup of Lipton's seemingly up to scale product, I'm sad to say that I was disappointed. I was really hopeful that perhaps this big step forward for Lipton would mean better taste. However, the caramel bits don't look real, and the black tea, although whole leaf, does not look high-quality. And the flavor is still lackluster. Even with added milk and sugar, I don't get the strong hints of flavor, which should definitely come out in this combination.
Although Lipton is taking steps forward to integrate into the quality tea world, I don't believe they have succeeded completely just yet. If you have tried the new Lipton Pyramid Bags, let me know your experience.
Thanks for reading!
-The Tea Gastronomer.
