Tim Hortons recently made their teas available in the grocery stores. Tim Hortons Tea at Home comes in five varieties and I received four of them through my latest samplesource box. The only one I have not tried in their Chai. Orange Pekoe comes in larger 72 bag boxes with unsealed sachets. They all have strings with labels. Each variety has different coloured packaging so they are easy to tell apart when you stumble in to the kitchen half awake.
I drink a lot of loose leaf and do not expect loose leaf quality from grocery store priced teas. So I am coming at these reviews with an open mind of someone who would regularly buy brands like Tetley and Red Rose rather than loose leaf snobbery. Because while decent and definitely drinkable, you will definitely notice a quality difference from the likes of DAVIDsTEA etc.
Tim Hortons Orange Pekoe Tea Review (Tim Hortons Tea at Home)
The Tim Hortons Orange Pekoe Tea at Home bagged tea promises the same taste as their steeped tea. I actually don’t mind Timmies Steeped Tea over the cheap brands many coffee shops carry so this was the one I was most looking forward to trying. At $7.97 for 72 bags, it is more expensive than the other similar sized boxes of tea at Walmart but a lot cheaper than 72 steeped teas at Timmies.
It did taste a lot like their steeped teas. There is no steeping times on the packaging of my samples so I winged it by tasting it once it looked dark enough. I have found that getting a bagged tea in store at Tim Hortons can be a little dry, likely due to the high temperature of their water. This had none of the dry taste which was a nice surprise. Fairly smooth for bagged tea and no loose shavings at the bottom of my mug.
Their Orange Pekoe is best served with a little milk as a morning/everyday cuppa.
The rest of the Tim Hortons Tea at Home teas are available in boxes of 20 bags in sealed sachets for $4.97. Orange Pekoe is also available in k-cups. Not all Walmart stores carry them, but you can check online for availability.
Tim Hortons Peppermint Tea Review (Tim Hortons Tea at Home)
The Tim Hortons Peppermint tea is strong but not in your face peppermint. It had the strongest scent of the four Tim Hortons Tea at Home teas I tried. Not surprising as mint teas tend to b stronger in scent. It did have a little of the dry taste I find from their in store teas but was not overly dry. Adding a little honey took the dryness away and left a sweet peppermint taste. It is a pure peppermint tea, not a blend of mints according to the ingredients.
Best served straight or with some sweetener, peppermint teas are great for headaches and queasy stomachs.
Tim Hortons Earl Grey Tea Review (Tim Hortons Tea at Home)
Made with black tea and natural flavours, Tim Hortons Earl Grey Tea at Home is a surprisingly smooth cuppa. I find that store brand Earl Grey can often be too heavy on the bergamot and overly perfumey. That is not the case with the Tim Hortons blend. It is definitely noticeable in scent and taste but milder than many bagged teas. It also seems to have a sweetness to it that gives the tea a nice finish. It would probably make a good intro to Earl Grey for someone who has not tried it before and is put off by the scent/flavour of other brands.
Best served with citrus or milk. You would definitely need to use multiple bags for a London Fog (Earl Grey tea latte with vanilla).
Tim Hortons Green Tea Review (Tim Hortons Tea at Home)
Finally, we have Tim Hortons Green Tea. This is blended with lemongrass, lemon balm and lemon verbena so I was expecting more of a lemon punch but sadly there isn’t one. Again, no steeping instructions so I went with my usual for green tea and cooler water. I didn’t taste burnt, just not a lot of flavour for something with so much lemon in it. This was nothing special, but definitely drinkable and better than some of the random labeled green tea bags you find in grocery stores.
Have you tried any of these? If you drink them at the stores, do they taste the same?
I haven’t tried Tim’s Tea at Home products, but I know I like their in- store mint tea, so that’s what I’d buy in their Tea at Home line. Thanks for the review.