Customer Reviews

Twinings Earl Grey Loose Leaf Tea - 200 Gr

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Twinings was founded in London, England in 1706, and has a long and respected tradition of producing only the finest of teas. Earl Grey tea was named after Charles Grey, Second Earl Grey (1764-1845), and is a mixture of black tea and oil of bergamot (a small acidic orange). It is said that Earl Grey learned the recipe of this delicious tea from a Chinese Mandarin and brought it home to England, where it has been a favorite ever since.

OK, let's get down to brass tacks - this is a great tea, produced by a great company, and is my all-time favorite. The tea produced has a wonderful aroma, and an excellent taste. But, a couple of words of warning - don't over-steep the tea, or it will quickly become bitter and unpalatable. Also, while sugar goes well with this tea, I have found that milk dilutes the bergamot too much, and lemon completely hides the bergamot which is the reason for drinking it!

That's my review. If you want a wonderful smelling and tasting black tea, then Earl Grey is for you. If you want tea from a great tea producer, them Twinings is for you. If you want a nectareous drink, then buy Twinings' Earl Grey tea!

Earl Grey is my favorite blend of tea by far - no competition there. The biggest secret with this tea once given to Earl Grey of Hoswick Hall (British Prime Minister in 1830 - 1834) by a Chinese manadarin, reportedly in gratitude after the earl saved his life, is to get just the right doseage of bergamot oil, a rather intense, tangy scent derived from the bergamot orange (which in turn is a cross between the pear lemon and the sour orange; the latter is native to South Vietnam, and its oil was probably the recipe's original ingredient). Using too much bergamot oil can easily obscure the black tea's natural flavor - but with Twinings you just can't go wrong, because the original Earl Grey turned to this very company for a match to the quickly dwindling supply he had received from his Chinese friend.

(From the Twinings website: "When the mandarin's tasty gift began to run out, Earl Grey asked his tea merchants, Twinings, to match it for him. Twinings unique blend was the Grey family's long-standing favourite. When guests inquired about it, they were directed to Twinings on the Strand, where they would ask for Earl Grey's tea by name.")

Unless you insist on having *all* your tea with cream or milk, I recommend having this one without any kind of milk products: not only does the original recipe not call for such an addition; in my mind it just plain ruins the blend's particular flavor. (But that's just me, of course.) Whichever way you have it, though, if scented teas are your kind of thing, Twinings Earl Grey should be right up your alley. Just be careful not to oversteep it: only an exceptionally forgiving tea like, for example, Yunnan, will not turn flat and bitter that way; and with any decent Earl Grey, 2 - 3 minutes should be plenty of steeping time (with Twinings it certainly is).

I wonder if the first reviewer oversteeped his tea, as the second reviewer implied. After switching from coffee to tea as my primary hot morning beverage, I found there is a certain art to making the perfect cup of tea (using loose tea leaves), and part of the art is proper steeping. The recommendation is three to five minutes, and even as a fan of strong things in general (coffee, beer, hot sauce, :)), I lean toward three minutes for a good cup of Earl Grey. It's easy to be overzealous, especially if you're accustomed to drinking bagged teas.

In any case, I haven't found a Twinings tea where the flavors were not deep and distinctive. And by the way, as the previous reviewer noted, Twinings really is an old British company, unlike some outfits that attach "of London" to their names.

My experience with teas grows with time. I really love a good cup of Earl Grey. I bought Twinings Earl Grey and was disappointed. The bergamot is very acidic, the flavor was not enjoyable even with added sweet and milk. The tea was too weak for the flavor of the bergamot to be enjoyed properly. I love the Twinings tea tins and the ability to create my own cup of tea, but with this tea I have to add other tea to give the cup a good flavor.

Earl Grey is my favorite, and I think the Twinings brand was exceptional. Whenever I make it I usually end up making two cups because I'm so sad when the first is gone. It's not overly bitter at all and perfect with just a little sugar. Not only that, but it's relatively cheap and comes with a nice tin.

I enjoy a good cup of tea and my absolute favorite is Earl Grey. Twinings Early Grey is among the best on the market, alongside Rishi loose leaf. A traditional English tea, Earl Grey is a black tea whose principle flavor is from the rind of bergamot oranges. Although there are various accounts of its origin, it is most likely was an Indian recipe (China is also a commonly attributed with creating the recipe) which made its way to England in the early 1800s. Named after Lord Grey, the tea is a flavorful black tea that is best served nearly boiling hot with or without lemon. It is NOT served with cream.

Twinings is one of the oldest conveyors of Earl Grey and still use the same recipe as they have for well over a hundred years (soon to be two-hundred). Their tea is also endorsed by the 6th Earl Grey and his signature appears on their packaging. Not that this means the tea is superior because of any endorsement; in this case the tea speaks for itself.

I prefer loose leaf teas to tea bags. There is something in the process of measuring tea into a cozy and letting it steep that makes the resulting cup of tea that much nicer. There is a reason they have tea ceremonies in most of the world (and although less rigorous, so do the British in their own way). Twinings is the quintessential British Earl Grey, and if you've never tried it, you owe it to yourself to do so. Enjoy!

My girlfriend is an Earl Grey fanatic... I usually buy tins of loose Earl Grey for her in London but haven't been able to get over there for a while... this product was fresh, neatly packaged and she enjoys it as much as the package I bring back from the UK.