Taylors of Harrogate is my favorite brand of affordable/grocery-store-carried tea; this is mostly in comparison to it's slightly more affordable competitors like Bigelow and Twinnings. I think their classic flavors such as English Breakfast, Assam, and Earl Grey are much better than the same flavors from other brands, and they are worth the extra cost due to the less artificial flavor. If you don't have the money to buy fancy loose or sachet tea sets, these sets can give you a similar fun experience.I've purchased the black tea and green tea + infusion sets several times, and I love them both. The varieties of classic/black tea are, again, just less artificial tasting versions of cheap tea, and I personally think they are better tasting than Bigelow, Twinings, and Tazo Teas.Initially, I did not love many of the green teas & infusions when prepared hot, and I was a little disappointed with the strength of flavors; not to mention, I found the 4 varieties of green tea were quite prone to tasting bitter if left to steep too long. On the other hand, you can leave the infusions steeping for hours and they will never start tasting bitter.Anyway, I started preparing them cold, which may even been the recommended way to prepare them for all I know, but it was a game changer. My boyfriend often buys lots of sugary beverages like bottled iced tea and soda, and so do my friends. I watched a video by a makeup/lifestyle youtuber where she described using reusable glass bottles of filtered water to keep in the fridge and offer to guests instead of traditional bottled water because it was more eco-friendly and looked nicer. I bought similar glass bottles on Amazon and started preparing one bottle of each flavor from the variety pack to keep in the fridge and offer to guests at the start of each week. I used a little piece of rolled up tape on the lids and attached the label at the end of each tea bag which shows the flavor, so guests can pick whichever one they want - which is fun. With a few tablespoons of honey or your sweetener of choice, they are awesome. I broke down my takes on each of the flavors below, but, in general, they taste like more refined and interesting versions of store bought tea (bottled); in particular, if you've ever had the iced teas at Panera Bread, they remind me of those a lot.FLAVOR BREAKDOWN:Stawberry + Vanilla Green Tea: Not gonna lie, this disappointed me a bit at first, and the flavor is weak compared to the others, but it has won me over when prepared a bit differently from the rest. If you're familiar with the "Pink-idy Drink-idy" from Starbucks - it's amazing when prepared like that - prepared strongly (doubling up on tea bags), with sweetener, and a significant amount of either cream, milk, or nondairy milk. It's the only flavor in the set which you can add dairy to without it curdling. All the better if you have some fresh or frozen strawberries to toss in the drink to add a real strawberry flavor and nicer look. I'm not sure if I'd call this tea exceptional, as it's hard to even really pick up the strawberry or vanilla strongly, but it's like a strawberries and cream dream when prepared like this - and its good hot or cold.Sour Cherry Infusion: Another one that won me over despite it originally being my least favorite. It's not particularly "sour," and it oddly smells like licorice very strongly - others have said this as well. As someone that hates licorice, it really turned me off, but as much as it smells like licorice, it really doesn't taste like it at all. Prepared cold with sweetener, it tastes like a grown up fruit punch and it's awesome. If you have kids that like fruit punch, but you'd rather prepare them something that isn't packed with artificial flavors and sweeteners, this one will be a winner for you if they don't care about the smell of licorice.Rose Lemonade Infusion: It's got that acidity and lemon you'd expect. Rose can easily be incredibly overpowering, but the acidity sets it off nicely, but the rose still comes through strongly. It tastes delicious and refined when prepared cold, but, no, it doesn't really read like "lemonade" to me. Adding a bit of fresh lemon makes it even better. One of the best in the set if you like Rose.Sweet Rhubarb Infusion: This one is less acidic than the rest, and thus comes off sweeter and smoother than the others when prepared cold with sweetener. It's one of the good ones, but I don't know if it stands out enough to warrant purchase of a box of just this variety.Mandarin + Ginger Infusion: If you're looking for the one that everyone will like, I think it's this one. I think it has the most refined flavor, and it's simply delicious. The ginger doesn't come through in a pungent authentic-ginger way, which I actually don't mind. It strikes a great balance between complexity, acidity, and smoothness.Lychee + Lime Green Tea: The Lychee is easily the most dominant flavor here. Personally, this is my least favorite, but it definitely tastes like the flavor profile and it's still good. You kind of have to look for the lime, but it's definitely there.White Hibiscus + Peach: This is a good one that any of my friends would enjoy, but the floral notes are not the star by any means - you really have to look for them. It's good, but the actual fruity and (slight) floral notes are a bit indistinct. If you want something floral specifically, I'd go with the Rose Lemonade instead.Mango + Cardamom: I really can't taste the cardamom at all, which I don't mind. Like the last one, it's a bit hard to tell what flavor it's supposed to be; it doesn't taste like authentic mango but it doesn't taste artificial mango either... just a smoother fruity flavor. Prepared cold, this is one of the flavors I think any of my friends or family would enjoy.Overall, the ones I recommend the most are the Rose Lemonade and the Mandarin and Ginger Infusions. If you like the idea of a strawberries and cream drink and don't mind adding cream, then the Strawberries + Cream is great too.
