Prince of Wales Equivalent?

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Jul 17th, '07, 22:13
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Prince of Wales Equivalent?

by mccarltone » Jul 17th, '07, 22:13

Can anyone recommend an equivalent to Twinings Prince of Wales tea? I usually frequent Adagio and Upton when purchasing tea, but I'll take any advice. Thanks!

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Jul 17th, '07, 22:49
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Re: Prince of Wales Equivalent?

by Chip » Jul 17th, '07, 22:49

mccarltone wrote:Can anyone recommend an equivalent to Twinings Prince of Wales tea? I usually frequent Adagio and Upton when purchasing tea, but I'll take any advice. Thanks!
Well, don't know the answer to your question, but we both live in Reading PA. Welcome to the forum.
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Jul 17th, '07, 23:16
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by mccarltone » Jul 17th, '07, 23:16

Thanks for the welcome! Where about in Reading are you? I'm in Exeter Twp.

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Jul 17th, '07, 23:47
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by Chip » Jul 17th, '07, 23:47

I live in Bern Township, north of the airport...

You may have a hard time finding that blend. I have just read it is Keemun black and I would assume a highly oxidized Oolong.

You could always blend your own. I have actually done this trying to mimic Republic of Tea's All Day Breakfast which is apparently a very similar blend.
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Jul 18th, '07, 00:19
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by Space Samurai » Jul 18th, '07, 00:19

I've been kind of curious about thier All Day Breakfast. Hmm, I have sum keemun hao ya and sum wuyi qi lan, I think I should mix them.

Later... Hmm, its kind of not bad, but I'd rather have one or the other. They seem to sort of compete rather than compliment each other. However, I am not a tea blender, and someone with expertise would clearly produce better results than my tossing equal parts together and seeing what happens. Still its fun to experiment.

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Jul 18th, '07, 01:14
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by Chip » Jul 18th, '07, 01:14

spacesamurai wrote:I've been kind of curious about thier All Day Breakfast. Hmm, I have sum keemun hao ya and sum wuyi qi lan, I think I should mix them.

Later... Hmm, its kind of not bad, but I'd rather have one or the other. They seem to sort of compete rather than compliment each other. However, I am not a tea blender, and someone with expertise would clearly produce better results than my tossing equal parts together and seeing what happens. Still its fun to experiment.
The RoT version has about 90% keemun in it and 10% oolong. It actually was a fav of mine when I was going through my RoT tea phase...actually, when it was still good tea which was around 7 years ago.

But this blend seemed to really work.
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Jul 18th, '07, 19:47
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by aqueoustransmegan » Jul 18th, '07, 19:47

chip wrote: The RoT version has about 90% keemun in it and 10% oolong. It actually was a fav of mine when I was going through my RoT tea phase...actually, when it was still good tea which was around 7 years ago.
so it's not just me then! i worked in a coffee house and we carried, at then, all the republic of teas and i remember then being so much better than they are now. the last time i had some i was very underwhelmed :P

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Jul 18th, '07, 20:01
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by Chip » Jul 18th, '07, 20:01

aqueoustransmegan wrote:
chip wrote: The RoT version has about 90% keemun in it and 10% oolong. It actually was a fav of mine when I was going through my RoT tea phase...actually, when it was still good tea which was around 7 years ago.
so it's not just me then! i worked in a coffee house and we carried, at then, all the republic of teas and i remember then being so much better than they are now. the last time i had some i was very underwhelmed :P
Yeah...underwhelmed, nice way of saying very disappointed. Their Long Jing used to be pretty decent too. I got a tin last year "for old times sake." Man, that was some very crappy leaf. Brownish Long Jing leaf is just wrong....I have gotten better crap than that already from a local stand at a farmer's market for 4 bucks a quarter pound. The RoT was around 16 bucks.

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Jul 18th, '07, 21:23
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reply to chip

by vbguy772 » Jul 18th, '07, 21:23

Hey Chip, I read all the posts here everyday, but seldom post. I just wanted to tell you that I grew up in Berks County, PA. I lived in Morgantown until college - then moved to NY until my retirement and am now living in Florida. Just wanted to say hi to a fellow Pennsylvanian.

Ron

Happy sipping ...........

Jul 18th, '07, 21:24
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by mccarltone » Jul 18th, '07, 21:24

I do agree that RoT has slacked off a bit. Their teas are quite expensive and very underwhelming.

As for the Prince of Wales...according to Wikipedia the tea is a blend of Assam, Lucky Dragon, Keemun, Oolong, or Gunpowder with larkspur, and always a hint of blackcurrant. Yikes!

I guess I could always buy the loose leaf tin but I can find a place online to buy it without paying too much for the shipping. I also don't want to open up a tin full of fannings, which many of the Twinings teas come as.

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Jul 18th, '07, 21:32
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Re: reply to chip

by Chip » Jul 18th, '07, 21:32

vbguy772 wrote:Hey Chip, I read all the posts here everyday, but seldom post. I just wanted to tell you that I grew up in Berks County, PA. I lived in Morgantown until college - then moved to NY until my retirement and am now living in Florida. Just wanted to say hi to a fellow Pennsylvanian.

Ron

Happy sipping ...........
Hi Ron. Funny, I almost went through Morgantown today, just ran out of time.

So, any room in the retirement home for a fellow Berks countian visting Florida...I would bring TEA!!!!! :wink:

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Jul 18th, '07, 21:36
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by Space Samurai » Jul 18th, '07, 21:36

mccarltone wrote:I do agree that RoT has slacked off a bit. Their teas are quite expensive and very underwhelming.
Man, I've been saying that every day.

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Jul 18th, '07, 22:26
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by Mary R » Jul 18th, '07, 22:26

mccarltone wrote:As for the Prince of Wales...according to Wikipedia the tea is a blend of Assam, Lucky Dragon, Keemun, Oolong, or Gunpowder with larkspur, and always a hint of blackcurrant. Yikes!
Never underestimate the British taste for blackcurrant. Or the Poles. At any rate, I do think the hint of it is what separates Prince of Wales from the other classic British blends. I'm a bit surprised to see Assam so high in the ingredients list, though. I'd have pegged Keemun as the top slot for sure. Meh.

I was a barista 6-8 years ago and my local coffeehouse supplied RoT to all. At the time, I thought it was fantastic. But, like all of you, I've been thoroughly underwhelmed when I've had it recently. It's sort of reassuring to know that the product has gotten a bit worse...I can trust my halcyon teenage memories a bit better that way. (Mmm...Almond Joy Latte!)

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Jul 19th, '07, 10:10
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Re: reply to chip

by LavenderPekoe » Jul 19th, '07, 10:10

vbguy772 wrote:Hey Chip, I read all the posts here everyday, but seldom post. I just wanted to tell you that I grew up in Berks County, PA. I lived in Morgantown until college - then moved to NY until my retirement and am now living in Florida. Just wanted to say hi to a fellow Pennsylvanian.

Ron

Happy sipping ...........
Isn't Morgantown in WV? I could swear it was (ok, I am being a smart ass. My uncle lives there and I have been there a bunch of times. I really like it.)
Teas for trade:

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Jul 19th, '07, 10:36
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to chip and LavenderPekoe

by vbguy772 » Jul 19th, '07, 10:36

Sorry kids, I haven't figured out how to cut and paste in here yet, but thanks for your replies. Tea drinking visitors are always welcome and if you like the black teas then there is no need to bring any. I used to have over 50 kinds of blacks, greens, oolongs and whites, but have now downgraded to my favorites - all being black teas.

Visitors must like dogs, the ocean white with foam, the sun, good food, evening walks on the beach, sleeping in late, and most importantly - being casual. Sounds horrible I know ! lol

I haven't been back to Morgantown since 1998 when my mother passed away but will be returning this December for a wedding. Any good tea stores in the Reading area Chip ?

Ron............

Happy sipping ..................

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