The weather has finally cooled off to the point where a cup of hot tea no longer sounds like a form of self-torture. Huzzah!
I was in the mood for a black tea, something slightly different than my usual Assams. And lo, on the shelf at Shop Rite was Twinings' Prince of Wales, billed as a lighter black tea.
According to Twinings, "This tea was specifically created by Twinings for HRH The Prince of Wales in 1921, who later became King Edward VIII. This special blend combines teas carefully selected from the Jiangxi, Anhui and Yunnan provinces in China where their high altitude and mountain mists help protect the tea bush from excessive sunlight, forming conditions ideal for tea leaf and bud development. Joined together with tea from the Hunan province, these teas create an aromatic blend that is brownish-red in color and has a light, mild taste and slightly woody characteristic."
Edward VII, for those of you playing along at home, was the one who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. Don't hold that against the tea. Interestingly, though, Wikipedia says "Twinings of London . . . has largely withdrawn its Prince of Wales tea from the United Kingdom market although it is still marketed abroad."
Prince of Wales is, as billed, a lighter black tea. It lacks the intensity of a good, solid Assam or English Breakfast. It has character, though, which is what matters, and a far superior taste to the standard orange pekoe. There are flavor notes within the brew, although I'd go with grassy rather than woody to describe them. It is not nearly as grassy as a green tea, but I would definitely recommend this brew to people who favor green teas. It would also appeal to someone who likes black Darjeelings but finds them a little too easy to over-brew. Prince of Wales is a sipping tea, not an "oh my God is it morning give me the caffeine now" tea, but a nice tea nonetheless.
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