Thumbs up for new Twinings teas

Months ago, I saw a magazine advertisement offering to send readers three free samples of Twinings teas. The fun part was, you got to select the specific ones you wished to try, so I e-mailed my choices and promptly forgot about it.

Until this great flyer arrived in my mailbox the other day with three Twinings teabags tucked inside!

I opted for an herbal tea, a green tea and a black tea. First was this Honeybush, Mandarin and Orange tea. It had a wonderful citrusy scent and a taste to match. Loved it!

I've tried lots of cranberry flavored teas but never, to my recollection, a cranberry flavored *green* tea. This one was a real winner, with an almost creamy taste and none of the "grassyness" you sometimes experience in greens.

Finally, the tea I was most eager to try was this orange flavored black tea, Orange Bliss. Now back when I was a tea newbie, I used to wonder why I could never taste the orange in my "orange pekoe." Of course I soon learned that "orange pekoe" referred to a grade of tea and not a flavor. But I do love oranges—and have eaten quite a few of them while grating zest for Christmas recipes—and this tea did not disappoint! The black tea was a nice brisk one, with very little astringency, and I could indeed taste the orange. It appears that Twinings is upping its offerings in this country, and as a longtime fan of their teas I couldn't be more pleased!