Barry's Restore It All Products Tea Bags, Classic Blend, 80 Count, 8.8 Oz, (00102506)

This is a superb Assam that takes milk well and is excellent for making chai [ For chai, I break open the tea bags to cook the tea in milk] . Smells fruity and sweet as you open it. The quality difference from the lower "Barry's Gold" is striking in terms of rich flavor. I find it smoother and less edgy in terms of caffeine from PG Tips and other competitors, meaning that I can enjoy more without over caffeination. I wish they would name or label it to clearly indicate that it their premium.

When this box arrived, I set up a little taste test: I brewed up all four varieties of Barry's that I could find (Classic, Gold, Irish Breakfast, and Decaf), then compared them all side by side. I and two of my tea-snobbish friends all agreed the Classic was the best (followed by Gold blend). The one flaw in the experiment was the Irish Breakfast blend was purchased off the shelf of a local store, and I don't know how fresh it was. Anyway, this is a very good tea, especially for a bulk-packaged bagged tea. DO follow the printed instructions and move the tea to a better container once opened, or it will soon taste like the cardboard it’s packed in. (I use a stainless steel tin.) I normally drink loose-leaf tea, but when I want the convenience of a teabag, this is my go-to. Incidentally, I weighed an individual bag, and compared it to a Twinnings teabag: Barry's weighed 3.48g, Twinnings weighed 2.17g. So about 60% more tea per bag. No wonder my Irish friends swear by this tea! :)

Sexy Tea.

Good tea, but not super fresh.

These tea bags have a stronger flavor than Lipton. I’ve been using this brand flavor for several years and would not use anything else. I tried Barry’s Tea in the red box and the flavor is much milder. I like a bold tea flavor.