For a name brand tea, this Lipton black tea is priced normally at what seems to be a deep discount. You can drink lots of Lipton for very little cash.
Plus, it remains fresh on the shelf, as long as you leave the tightly applied cellophane coating on the box, for years in a cool, dry basement or pantry. Black tea not only warms you up, but wakes you up as well
We’ve enjoyed black tea for over twenty years, and have often drank Lipton Black Tea, as we have done today, in preps for this review. This was the tea of choice when working Christmas tree sales during those cold Pittsburgh Decembers. Occasionally, Mom brewed a pot of iced tea made from this product for us kids, when we behaved exceptionally well. A wonderfully rewarding drink for not fighting with each other indeed.
Lipton, as with most black teas, sweetens to a non bitter taste with just a small amount of stevia, agave nectar, or sugar.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, And Features
This product contains no artificial colors or flavors, and is gluten-free.
The taste of this black tea product seems unaffected by long steeping times except that it simply becomes stronger and darker in the cup. However, bitterness does not increase, unlike in most green teas.
It’s a premium grade yet modestly priced black tea.
Black tea from Lipton has notable caffeine, at 55 milligrams per 8-ounce serving (one teabag); about half the caffeine here as found in one cup of coffee. So it will indeed jolt you to full alertness in the morning, or save you from those 3:00 PM afternoon work yawns.
This tea resembles the Luzianne black tea in terms of taste, aroma, and appearance in the mug. For all intents and purposes, this tea appears to be priced on par with that and the other big brands. These two teas are virtually equivalent, although the packaging differs somewhat. Details below.
Unlike the green teas we’ve sampled, you can add lots of honey or molasses into this orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea, without obliterating its not-so-delicate, and definitely massive tea flavor. Pouring in a bit of half and half or heavy cream, also adds a pleasing richness here.
This is a low-priced yet second-to-none tasting beverage for both hot tea and iced tea recipes. Each serving costs less than three cents. The package provides brewing instructions for both hot and cold versions.
The teabags are carefully arranged into three rows in the 100-bag box. They also have strings and tags, for easy removal from the hot mug, with little risk of getting burned. They are also individually wrapped in a paper enclosure.
Lipton provides rigid paper dividers between each row of teabags in the box. So, particularly as you use more of the bags, the rows remain well-organized, for those of us who are anal enough to actually care about such things.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
Being darker in color than most green teas, especially when you steep it for many minutes, this beverage will stain cotton clothes if you spill it on them. If this happens, rinse it out with clear water right away if the affected clothing can be washed without fear of damaging it.
This tea may not stay fresh as long as others, that feature the airtight foil or plastic encased teabags. These teabags in this product are not air-sealed. But then again, vapor barrier wraps seem to benefit black tea less in this regard than green tea or the herbal teas. Probably no big deal, unless you store this opened product near strong odors, which could enter the teabags and change the black tea flavor.
As the caffeine content is somewhat higher than other black teas, the nauseous effects of drinking too much of this black tea are highly recognizable and pronounced. So go easy on this product, if you’re sensitive to caffeine.
Brewing Instructions
Each tea bag makes one cup (eight ounces).
By The Cup
- Boil enough fresh water for the number of cups of this tea you wish to brew.
- While waiting for the water to boil, get out one teabag for each cup you’re making.
- Put the bags into each cup.
- When water boils, immediately but gently pour it into the cups, right on top of each teabag.
- Steep for two to five minutes or until it becomes strong enough for your taste. For less caffeine, steep for shorter periods. Note though, that this will weaken the flavor also.
- Remove and throw away the tea bag(s).
- Sweeten tea as much as you wish, and/or add lemon, lime, or orange to taste. Serve either hot or over ice.
- Enjoy.
By The Pot
- Use hot water to rinse out tea-pot prior to brewing, to warm it.
- Again, determine how many cups of black tea you wish to make.
- Put the desired amount of fresh, filtered water in your kettle or pot.
- Put the kettle on your stove and turn up the heat to maximum.
- While waiting for the water to come to a rolling boil, place the desired number of teabags into the teapot. Allow one teabag for every eight ounces. Use four bags for 32 ounces of water.
- When the water achieves a rapid boil, immediately add the teabags into the pot.
- Remove pot from heat and turn off the burner.
- Allow bags to steep in the pot for two to five minutes.
- Remove the teabags from the pot with a straining spoon and discard.
- Pour the tea into cups, sweeten to taste, add milk, cream, lemon, lime, or orange as desired, and enjoy.
For Iced Tea
- Follow the above instructions for brewing by the pot, up through step 7.
- Steep for five to seven minutes. We want a stronger tea, because it will become somewhat diluted when poured over ice, and the ice melts a little. Thus, the longer steeping time.
- Then, remove and discard the teabags with a straining spoon.
- Add sugar, stevia, lemon, orange, and/or lime as desired to the brewed tea.
- Fill desired number of glasses with ice.
- Pour steeped tea into these glasses.
- Enjoy.
Our Rating
This natural black tea costs little, is a cinch to brew, simple to flavor, and quite pleasant tasting and smelling. It’s a perfect calorie-free drink, and a great buy besides. So we’d therefore rate it at 99 out of 100.
Where To Buy
Look for this black tea in the yellow box with the white lettering, and a picture of the tea in clear glass cups, at most any grocery store, large or small.
References
Revision History
- 2015-01-15: Added whitespace and adjusted ad placement.
- 2014-09-04: Originally published.