For cheap, quick and easy iced tea this summer, I'd been relying on a box of plain Red Rose black tea I had in the pantry. This week, however, I decided to purchase a new tea from an old familiar brand, Luzianne's new Green Tea I'd been seeing advertised on TV.
I made some of the tea and, to be quite honest, was a little concerned at how dark it got after just three minutes of steeping. "This is going to be bitter," I thought, and I braced myself as I took a sip. Happily, it was actually just pleasant tasting green tea! While it didn't have the nuances of those fine Japanese greens from Harney that are my favorites, for a simple pitcher of "everyday" iced green tea in the summer this is really good!Did any of you, like me, grow up watching Burl Ives say that unlike Tetley and Lipton teas, whose boxes told you what to do when the tea gets cloudy, "Luzianne says nothin' 'bout cloudy, 'cause it doesn't GET cloudy!" This video really brought back some memories "clear as a bell," and I couldn't help wondering if my tea friends know Burl Ives as not only the man who sang "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and starred in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, but also as the Luzianne pitchman. (And the new green tea, it must be said, did not get cloudy!) If yours wasn't a Luzianne household, what brand of everyday tea did you drink growing up?
Since I didn't grow up in the South, I've not bought Luzianne's tea. We drank a lot of Tetley and Red Rose (always served hot). That new Green Tea sounds good and I'd like to try it.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out some of the Luzianne tea adds on You Tube. Thanks for the review.
Lipton's was our tea growing up. It made OK ice tea, but didn't like it hot. Later as an adult I made ice tea with the Red Rose. Haven't tried Luzianne, but have heard it is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI have a salad set in that glass posy pattern !
ReplyDeleteWe were a Luzianne household. My Dad will not drink anything else. I have purchased Tetley when it was onsale and I think it makes fine iced tea. I do not like Lipton and I've never tried Red Rose. Funny thing, I've been out of town. When I went grocery shopping I saw the Luzianne Green tea (and it was on sale for $1.50) so I purchased some. I was going to email you about it and I see you've found it already. I agree with your thoughts on the tea. It would also be a good green tea for people who think they don't like green tea.
ReplyDeleteI just added Luzianne to RateTea.net, surprised I went this long without encountering it.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely noticed that you can't assume something about a tea's bitterness by its color. Some green teas are simply darker than others. I've noticed that many Chinese green teas tend to be more pale green color, and yet some of them pack quite a bunch. On the other hand, I've had some Japanese green teas that are very deep and dark in color, and have very little bitterness.
We were strictly Tetley. My mother always put a pinch of soda in her tea. She said if you did that, it would not turn cloudy. I still really like Tetley and I don't remember the tea being cloudy but that was probably because our tea didn't last long enough.
ReplyDeleteWe have been drinking Luzianne ice tea for year. I always make it by the putting 3 family size bags in gallon jar for 3-4 hours as directed on the box.
ReplyDeleteToday I got some of their green tea. Has anyone tried making it by just putting bags in the water or does it need to be steeped.
Thanks
Marilyn
I found this page because I had just posted a comment in a Burl Ives thread in Facebook where I said, "Luzianne doesn't turn cloudy."
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, I do remember ol' Burl pitching that tea.