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I wish the variety pack came pre-bagged like the smaller boxes of tea do. And ordinary double mesh strainer is not fine enough. The problem is it's loose and when you are trying to make a big jug of it with two packets of tea it is a huge mess to strain. But when I strained it with just my mesh strainer there was a ton of tea in the jug. You know I really do love this product. I wish I could give the tea 5 stars because it really does brew up a very pleasant tasting iced tea that needs little sugar or other embellishments. I don't have coffee strainers in the house so I had to line a mess strainer with paper towels and it took forever to strain.
The sample pack gives you a chance to try some variety, and it lasts a while. I recommend letting the tea settle before serving. Decent every-day loose-leaf tea. The China Mist brand is good, the only downside is some of the tea is pulverized too fine, so there is sediment in the tea. China Mist is not extremely high-quality, just a nice every-day tea that tastes fine.
It made me think what I'd been missing; this tasted like what the British must drink, the full-bodied teas they enjoy. It may be the difference between a home-level heat limit, or maybe the fact that the water is not "pressured" over the tea as much as it might be in a commercial machine, or maybe the commercial machines are much better insulated around the steeping container. Indeed.The flavor was, if you'll pardon me, complex and could be rated as you would a nice wine--action, hints of this or that, a new rush at the end of your taste cycle. A wildly expensive two minutes.
The tea is already ice cold. Each of 24 packets contains four ounces of the world's choicest tea leaves, with stellar flavorings mixed in (dried, crushed mango; dried, crushed passion fruit; dried, crushed raspberry; pure, strong tea).My first experience with it was at a restaurant where our daughter works. Our Hamilton Beach unit made a weaker tea than I would have liked; we'll reduce the amount of water from now on and see what that does. I asked the manager if he could share the tea secret: Well, we use the industry's best, China Mist. The first part covers the delicious, needs-nothing-else China Mist iced tea varieties included in this box. She said, Order the iced tea, Dad, you won't need to put any sugar or lemon or anything into it (always looking out for my diabetes). Everybody says it's the best they've had. Apparently Americans add as much extra water to our tea as we do to our coffee (What the French hear when we order a java over there: I'll have coffee, with a cup of water on top).The second part of the review concerns our Hamilton Beach iced tea machine.
In fairness, the Bamilton Beach Iced Tea make was $22.49; commercial models are $600 or more, but they brew their stronger teas in only 8 (versus 10) minutes. This is a dual review, as it has to be. It was fantastic, nearly the highlight of my meal, which itself was outstanding. We add the recommend water and ice cubes, and the brewing cycle indeed does take only 10 minutes.
I did buy a 2 inch tea ball but the loose tea just falls right through it so I guess I didn't buy the right thing. It comes loose in little plastic baggies so if you want to use it you have to have some sort of filter. I love this tea and have no complaints. I just want to comment on how the tea is packaged. We have an iced tea maker and used a cone coffee filter which works just fine.
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