I have been drinking Lipton tea since the age of the dinosaurs, when it helped to sooth my tummy during a bout of stomach flu. The first thing to stay down was actually a teaspoon of the pink stuff (Pepto Bismol), but that was followed by wonderful cup of Lipton tea with a little milk and sugar.

I find that a cup of tea still soothes my tummy when I eat spicy foods or drink too much coffee. Tea also has antioxidants that are supposed to be good for your health.

You can make sun tea by putting a glass jar or pitcher full of water out in the sun with some tea bags in it (I recommend one tea bag for 8 ounces of water), and then waiting until the water looks dark brown. Or you can boil water on the stove and steep a cup of tea right in your cup or mug, and then drink it hot or pour it over ice.

Product

Lipton is cheap, but they maintain a uniform quality (such as it is), so you always know what you are going to get. It has strong flavor with the smooth quality of black tea. It is better than generic or store brands, but it is not as good as some specialty teas, such as Bigelow.

They proudly advertise that they use orange pekoe tea leaves, which happen to be cheap. They blend them with pekoe cut black tea leaves, which are only slightly less cheap. The best tea leaves are hand-picked and do not contain stems. Lipton has stems. In fact, sometimes a stem breaks through the bag, allowing loose tea leaves to get out into my tea.

Lipton also offers green tea, and although it is acceptable, I prefer almost any other brand, from China green tea to Bigelow. Lipton green tea tends to be bitter and taste kind of like fish.

Package

Their real claim to fame is their unique folded tea bag. They must hold a patent on it, or I am sure that the more expensive brands would adopt this bag. It is folded over, so the tea is spread out across two paper “tubes”, allowing it to brew more quickly than it would in a plain bag. This also allows them to use less tea per bag and still give your cup of tea plenty of flavor.

I usually take the bag out of the hot water after less than one minute. Most other brands recommend brewing for two or three minutes. The quicker brewing time is an advantage because, the longer you steep it in the hot water, the more nasty acids and oils you get in your cup of tea.

Proper storage

Tea leaves tend to dry out and become stale and taste bad, when exposed to the air. Lipton’s packaging does not help to keep the air off of them.

When I get my box of Lipton tea home, I immediately transfer it to Tupperware or another sealed plastic container. Once you take off the plastic wrap, the box that Lipton comes in does not keep the tea fresh. In fact, it is made from such flimsy cardboard that it tends to bend when I carry it with one hand.

The tea bags are individually wrapped in paper, which does not help to preserve freshness.

Recommendation:

I recommend keeping a box of Lipton tea bags around for when you do not mind having a cheap cup of tea. I would not serve it to guests (unless I did not like them).

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