Orange, spice and all things nice, right? This should be a really festive blend, however my experience with these teas by Fosters Traditional Foods isn’t the best. So, going into this tea review, don’t expect a high-quality tea. In fact, this tea is probably as low as it can get.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be undrinkable or even taste bad.
I firmly believe that even the simplest of teabags has a place in my cupboard. If it’s not good for drinking, it will definitely be decent for baking. Soaking fruit in brewed tea for a tea loaf or mixing the dried leaves into biscuit dough is a great way to use it up!
Below you’ll find my tasting notes and brewing method for Fosters Orange Spice Tea.
Fosters Orange Spice Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Black tea with orange flavouring and “spice” flavouring
- Flavour: Hint of black tea
This tea isn’t bad in the sense that the flavour is unpleasant, it’s just so bland! There’s a vague hint of black tea and if you really focus you can imagine some orange zest in there too. It’s not worth buying or drinking.
Full Review – Orange and Spice Flavoured Black Tea
- Type: Paper filter teabags
- Tea: Black tea
- Additives: Orange flavouring, spice flavouring
- Flavour Notes: Hint of black tea
- Aroma: Musty tea, cinnamon, hint of orange
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: Tesco
These teabags arrive in a foil sealed packet that should seal in the flavour… except there’s not much flavour to seal in. There’s a musty tea and hint of cinnamon in the aroma coming from the dried leaves, but that’s all.
It brews into a very light and clear orange-brown colour. No matter how long you let it steep, it will never be dark enough to add milk.
But that doesn’t mean the flavour is subtle and light. There’s not any flavour to be found. It’s very smooth and thick in texture, but watery and bland at the same time. You can detect a hint of black tea but that’s all. I focused really hard and thought I could detect a hint of orange, but it’s more likely that I imagined it.
In summary, this tea is just not really tea. It’s not worth buying or brewing.
How to Brew Black Tea
Black tea can be brewed in 100°C boiling water to produce a strong and hearty brew (in theory). I used boiling water, 1 teabag per 200ml, and let it steep for about 7 minutes. I did try brewing for 4 or 5 minutes (usually the top of the scale for black tea) but the result was just tea-coloured hot water.
Add a tonne of sugar and you will have sugar water. There really is nothing you can add to this tea to boost the flavour… unless you decide to add another good teabag from a different brand! See my tea recommendation below.
Why Fosters?
Fosters Traditional Foods create a range of gift and confectionary type products, like this box set of teas. The Fosters Orange Spice Tea is just one of 9 that I’ve been reviewing on the blog. Sometimes exploring these quirky little brands is a very rewarding experience… but in this case, it’s not.
There’s no information about this tea. We don’t know where it was grown, when it was harvested, or what the ingredients are. Judging by the look of the leaf from the teabag (see my photo below) I can see that it’s CTC quality (very poor) and there are no pieces of orange or “spice” which leads me to believe that there should be flavouring in the tea instead.
I also really dislike that it’s simply labelled as “spice” rather than the individual spices that should be detectable. The lack of information and general poor quality of the tea has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Summary
I cannot recommend this tea and I’m actually kind of grateful that it’s not available to buy online (although you may be able to find it on the shelves of Tesco). There are a lot of good teas out there to try, so I’ve included an affiliate link that will take you to a search results page on Amazon for orange spice tea. I hope you find something that’s tastier than Fosters Orange Spice Tea!
Tea Recommendation
A hearty and wholesome black tea that never fails to brew is Twinings Assam tea. These plain Assam teabags are great for creating blends. Brew one with a cinnamon stick and slice of orange to create your own orange spice tea.