Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey Tea

When it comes to buying tea, I tend to have brand preference (you can probably work out what it is). This week however, I spotted some teas on the clearance shelf at the supermarket. As a bargain lover, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try a new brand.

The first tea I picked up was Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey Tea, in it's sleek black box. This tea is getting reviewed first, as I was talking to a fellow blogger and Earl Grey lover (Laura- http://lovetealoveblogging.blogspot.co.uk/) and she mentioned that she would be interested to know my thoughts.

Picture from the Taylors of Harrogate website

An ingredients check reveals that I am drinking black tea with "natural bergamot flavouring with other natural flavourings (5%)". The tea bags are standard rectangles, nothing special to look at and to be honest there wasn't much aroma from the box.

Mug no. 1 had been mashing ready for drinking. However the phone rang at this point and it ended up sitting in the mug for just over the five minute mark. The resultant brew was an unappealing orangey colour, and when I sipped at it I could not taste the bergamot, just the bitter tannin.  The kind of flavour you get when you squeeze the tea bag (for me, it's a pet hate). This would not do. Kettle back on for mug number 2.

This time a strict 3 minutes is observed and... the weird orange colour is still there. I still can't smell the bergamot. There's a hint of it in the taste but it's kind of like someone has made a massive vat of builders and put in 1 Earl Grey tea bag and 9 regular ones.

My verdict is- this isn't the Earl Grey for me. It's a robust tea that will go down well in the office, where it's all about the quick caffeine fix and no-one has time to drink more than a third of a cup anyway. If I take it out of the box, no-one will realise it's Earl Grey and I won't be accused of bringing in more posh tea.

As an Earl Grey, this is disappointing. I am not feeling any bergamot vibes and I have had to reboil to make a cup of real Earl Grey (i.e Twinings). Taylors of Harrogate cannot be accused of having produced a tea with an artificial soapy flavour, but neither have they produced a tea with a proper Earl Grey flavour. I'll stick with Twinings for my fix of the Earl.