Pret A Manger Organic Earl Grey Review

Tea: Ceylon

Type: Tea bag

Additional Ingredients: Organic rose petals

Origin: Sri Lanka

Fair-trade/Organic: Both

Vessel: To go cup

Tea's website

Pret’s take on the Earl’s gift to humanity is pretty solid. Off the bat it seems different than the rest of the chain cafe’s offerings. It’s in that 3d pyramid bag thing that is supposed to simulate loose tea to start. Inside that bag you notice some unusual colors. Instead of black you see various greens, off whites, and what looks like a muted orange. That orange-like color comes from the addition of rose petals. The sip is quite flavorful especially at the end where you tastes the floral notes of the rose. No real harsh black tea taste unless it seeps for too long. It almost has a hint of a green tea taste. This brew by Pret is definitely their own concoction which is a nice change to the generic greys at chains.

Harrods No.42 Earl Grey Review

Tea: Black

Type: Teabag

Additional Ingredients: none

Origin: ?

Vessel: Ceramic mug
Tea's website

Harrods Earl Grey out of the pack smells like a stiff black tea. This is only confirmed by its dark color and taste. Its tagline is "a distinctive tea with a hint of bergamot” and it is pretty much that. Strongly tasting of black tea and maybe a trace of the oil. It has the nice bergamot mouth feeling a little in the after taste but you sure can’t smell it to really taste it in the sip.

Harrods claims to make the perfect cup you should put it in fine china after steeping for 3-5 minutes. I steeped for 3.5 and I wouldn’t recommend much more than that. On the fine china front the closest thing I had readily available was a Merry Christmas ceramic mug with a snowman on it. I’m sure Frosty was feeling pretty posh with this guy in him. 

While it’s a bit strong for my liking it is not a bad cuppa. Keep the steeping down and wait until the miserably moist English winter and you’ll be glad you have a little extra kick in this brew. If it actually snows ever again in London then make sure to break out your Frosty mug for that added ambience that really sticks it to Knightsbridge.

Amanzi Tea Classic Earl Grey Review

Tea: Ura (Sri Lanka) Assam (India)
Type: Loose leaf
Additional Ingredients: None
Origin: Sri Lanka and India
Vessel: Glass cup
Tea's website

Amanzi is a new tea house that at the time of this writing has two London locations. Their store is made to look like a chic tea candy store. After smelling the dry leaves for their Classic Earl Grey I found myself looking for a to let sign cause I wanted to live inside the container. The robust bergamot smell flirts with the nostrils begging to be drank.

The taste of this grey is fantastic. After my last few reviews that were of floral greys I felt like I was home again. It has a beautifully blended straightforward taste that went 1) black tea -check, 2) bergamot -check. This blend shows that you don’t always need more ingredients. The front of the taste is that of a smooth black tea and the end is of bergamot. Business in the front, party in the back.  I’ve never had chewing tobacco but I assume those that do use it love it for the feeling of the nicotine seeping into their checks. Well I had a similar sensation with this tea’s bergamot. If companies started selling earl grey in snuff-like packets I think I would need get serious help.

Amanzi Tea shop has over 150 varieties of tea. Some of them are a bit crazy but I wouldn’t say they take that crown away from T2. They claim to be a tea bar and tea shop. A new take on the traditional cafe. They have a very solid earl grey here that is in the top 10%.

Whittard Extravagant Earl Grey Review

Tea: White tea

Type: Loose leaf

Additional Ingredients: Madagascan vanilla, rose petals, marigold petals, cornflower petals

Origin: China

Vessel: Personal pot

Tea's website

I was about out of Whittard's store when I noticed there was an Extravagant Earl Grey. With a name like that how can you not try it. Seemed like a challenge even.

Store attendant warned that this blend incorporated white tea instead of black and that I was in for some flowers. I decided to man up and give it a go. The attendant let me smell the massive jug it was stored in and my ears perked up. All the smells in this blend are turned up to 11. Super awesome bergamot smell competing with equally strong vanilla and floral scents. It had a lot going on. I was intrigued. Once made the brew had a very light color being that it was a white tea.  

This blend is really the tale of two teas. It does a complete 180 on you. The start has a really amazing light earl grey taste then all the sudden turns on you and you’re in vanillaland. I must say vanillaland is a nicer town than I was expecting it to be. It has a nicely balanced mix to not make you think you’re having a creamsickle from concentrate. It is here you taste the rose, marigold, and cornflower petals. Not really my cup of tea as we say in the tea blogging biz but I do say I felt a tad bit extravagant. Worth a try for sure.

Teaosophy Earl Grey Review

Tea: Black

Type: Teabag

Additional Ingredients: none

Origin: Sri Lanka

Vessel: Ceramic mug
Tea's website

Off the bat Teaosophy’s Earl Grey aims to impress with individually wrapped packets in pyramid boxes. The tea is in a similar shaped tea pyramid that is supposed to "bring you the experience of a tea ball." Well it didn’t- you get to watch tea balls open up and all you get with this brew is hopes it will start tasting better. 

This brew tastes like a more watery lipton tea, you know the packet you get that just says “tea”. It smells like an english breakfast and tastes like a very light one. I can not taste any nodes of bergamot. Having a hard time calling this one a true earl grey. 

Nice presentation indeed but does not excuse for a subpar earl grey. After some time to think on it I bet this sample I had of Teaosophy had staled. Tea stales quicker the more access it has to air. The design of the porus mesh tea pod and non-sealing cardboard packaging decreases the shelf life of this blend. While I can say I can not remember the purchase date of the sample I had, the company should consider design vs shelf life especially because it is sold as an higher end product. 

Celestial Seasonings Victorian Earl Grey Review

Tea: Black
Type: Tea bag
Additional Ingredients: Not known
Vessel: Ceramic mug
Tea's website

Lighter than just a common black tea but doesn't really taste like there is much bergamot. Overall it's a pretty pleasurable cup. The taste of this brew sort of builds up in your mouth. Start of the sip is more watery and as it sits in the mouth you can taste the citrus flavor come out and seep into the sides of the mouth. Pretty nice feeling. Has fruity notes as well. It leaves a lingering taste that invites you back for more. For me I’d like a bit more bergamot taste and less fruity but for a grocery aisle selection that is 100% natural it is a pretty alright choice.

The East India Company Staunton Earl Grey Review

In an initial passing through East Indian Company's store in Covent Garden London I had a sampling of their earl grey which had almost entirely cooled in the pot. It had a very smooth balanced taste with just the right scent of fragrance.

I went back later to have a cup made for me. That one tasted quite a bit different. It gave off a neutral overall scent with a hint of something I had a hard time placing. No bergamot coming through like with some other brews. It has an overall smoky taste to it. Not too much that it makes you cringe but it is pretty much all you experience.  This blend features Neroli oil in addition to the bergamot which may attribute for its smell and was heated up in production to make it smoky. It is a blend that features black teas from both India and Sri Lanka and is based off the original recipe for earl grey. This tea has been around a while as the East India Company was founded in 1600. Oh yea they also were the first to introduce tea to Britian. Thanks for that one. Brew is named in honor of Sir George Staunton who introduced the western world to the Chinese manner of taking black tea.

I was told it's a good blend for iced tea at their store and judging by my first experience with the sample and getting towards the end of the cup I'd say the preferable way to experience it for me is on the cooler side. 

http://www.eicfinefoods.com/products/the-staunton-earl-grey-black-tea-caddy-125g/

Twinings Lady Grey Review

Twinings Lady Grey isn’t just for the ladies. The taste and smell of it reminds me of biodegradable lemony citrus soaps and other items that are intended to be safe for use in the woods, which I particularly enjoy. It is a thin brew. Very watery and not as thick or full as Twinings The Earl Grey. A fresh cup of it gives off a citrus and lemon scent. No real bergamot taste here. It is described as a ‘pale golden tea’ so it is much more mild than a black tea with no chance of too strong black tea regret syndrome. Do to it’s extreme drinkability it is very much marketed towards women because it is a brew you can have to "sit and chat, sip and gossip" which men just don’t do over earl grey obviously. Its a tea I see myself enjoying with my mother on the porch.

Fortnum and Mason Classic Earl Grey Review

Delivery: Teabag

Company location: Piccadilly, London

Fortnum and Mason’s blend gives off the smell of a generic black tea at first sniff with no real indication that you are having an earl grey over an english breakfast tea. With the first sip your thoughts are confirmed with a very thick black tea taste. It's not all bad because the blend packs in a drop of bergamont taste at the end of the sip that makes it all better. Fortnum and Mason have been making this tea a long time and as with other long standing greys, those that have the heritage tend to have more of a black tea taste. Guess it comes with the age. It's a tea to wake you up on the morning or provide you a kick to fight the drowsiness leading up to afternoon tea time. 

Fortnum and Mason's icon shop in Picadilly London features a few greys including a smoky grey, green earl grey, organic earl grey, and countless grey. They also have a tea smelling (dare I say wafting) area where you can get the aroma of 20+ blends. Fight your way through the tourists buying their quintessential British souvenir tea packs to feel a bit royal checking out the fanciest teas around. 

Whittard Earl Grey Review

I had a fresh pot made for me at Whittard's Covent Garden store in London. After some tea small talk at the register during the 3 minute seep time I had my brew. First sniff I was on board.  Great aroma, you can smell both the tea and the bergamot with the bergamot just getting a leg up in the end.  It's a very pleasurable sip. While it's a liquid it feels like it melts in your mouth. Evenly blended and no bitter hints of a black tea make it go down very smoothly. Leaves a nice warming taste in the mouth. The Whittard's Covent Garden store has tons of tea, a few with samples, and an exclusive (£4 a cup) elderflower earl grey that I'm sure will make those who like that extra added ingredient very happy. Would have had it but it just wasn't in the tea budget for that day. 

Joe's Tea Co The Earl of Grey Review

Delivery: Tea Bag
Vessel: Wide body cafe cup
Company location: Bethnal Green, London UK

Joe's Tea Co's offering comes in an airy bag and gives off a strong bergamot scent. I could actually smell it on the table before putting the bag in the water. A scent that made me very excited to try the brew. This organic tea has a full body taste and nice bergamot balance. It's a sipper variety cause the larger the sip the more bitter it is in your mouth. The company behind it is looking out for the world with organic Ceylon black tea as its base flavor and biodegradable tea bags made of corn starch.

My recommendation is to go slow and small and you'll be in for a real treat.

http://www.joesteacompany.com/tea/the-earl-of-grey/

T2 Earl Grey Review

T2 the Australian brand have just opened up a shop in the drastically changing and ‘hippest' part of all of London, Shoreditch just off the top of Brick Lane. Across from the artisanal chocolate factory that sells individual chocolate bars for £7 this place seems fitted for the neighborhood. I visited there to try their quite amazing and varied array of teas. They have classic teas such as black, green and white and more crazy ones like caramel brownie and Turkish apple chutney. A big no thank you to those ones from me. 

They have quite a few earl greys offerings including earl grey, girlie grey (with botanicals, orange and lemon), french earl grey (fruiter), pu-erh earl grey (half pu-erh) and earl grey royal (smoky/Yunnan). Naturally I went with the standard earl grey. They brewed a pot in-house for me to test. It is an extremely light tea like you are just getting a sense of what an earl grey should be. It is very gentle and seems overly polite. Recommended seep time is 2-3 minutes so I would say the lighter taste is intentional. It did have a pleasant taste with hints of bergamot there just wasn’t enough there since it was so light. I’d say T2’s strong point is their range and oddities. If you want a very light grey I’d say maybe, but if any of the variations on a grey listed above interest you I’d say go for those over this one. They did not have the pu-erh earl grey in store, was hoping to try that one as well. They do have a nice range of teaware if you are looking to add to your collection or give a gift.

http://www.t2tea.com/

Starbucks (UK) Earl Grey Review

Starbucks used to sell Tazo tea but it appears they switched to their own branded brew - at least in the UK. In the US they carry Teavana branded tea at the time of this writing.

Starbuck’s Earl Grey gives off a nice scent. You’ll look hip smelling it as you take in Starbucks over-curated alternative music playlist. Cup takes a bit to cool as it’s scalding hot when they give it to you, as is their tradition. When I took the bag out after 4min I noticed the tea bag was massive, so big it could be used as a pillow for a dachshund. The more I drank the more I noticed a hint of a spicy taste similar to a chai tea. Made me a bit sick after a while. Personally I don’t like chai - hence the earl grey blog. The tea does leave a nice taste in your mouth making you want that next sip.

Overall this tea feels a bit empty. Bit soulless. Tea doesn’t seem to infuse fully in the water, just cohabitants within it. Not too much of a fan of this brew. Tastes quite similar to their previous Tazo offering, maybe they just rebranded it. Starbucks earl grey has always tasted a bit like cardboard to me. Guess they make the bag really big as some sort of compensation for quality.

Tea2you Earl Grey Review

Tea: Black
Type: Loose leaf
Additional Ingredients: Not known
Origin: India
Vessel: To go cup
Tea's website

Tea2you's earl grey is one of the smoothest I've had. It is rather light with a smoky taste that luckily does not overpower the tea as a whole. It has a consistent taste through the sip without a front or back end prevalent taste. Rather nice if you ask me. I've become accustomed to teas that end with too much of a punch. I'm looking at you Taylors of Harrogate. It's would be an almost perfect cup if it had more bergamot taste. 

Had a nice chat with the fellow at their stand in London’s Borough Market. Their teas come from India. Even the bergamot which I expected to come from the famous Calabria region of Italy. Being a British establishment he says the British brought the trees to India from Italy on one of their "rule the world trips". My words not his. The citrus bergamot tree was taken from Italy to grow in India and that country's significantly lower labor and manufacturing cost has led to it become an attractive alternative for the bergamot buyers of the world. Tea2you's entire earl grey blending process is done in India and shipped to London for selling/very much enjoying. 

You can find their tea at their shop(pe) in Borough Market in London. They provide free samples so you can try their offerings. 

Ahmad Tea Earl Grey Review

A bought unpacks of hundreds kind of brew. Had it on the platform waiting for the tube in London. It's a pretty strong one. Not quite an English breakfast but close. The bergamot notes come out a bit after 5-10min of it cooling down but definitely a tea for a morning commute. Not as smooth as most grey but sometimes you need that extra wake up. Don't leave much taste in your mouth. Overall it's straightforward and will get the job done. For those who like a cheap strong grey.

Caffe Nero Earl Grey Review

Type: Tea Bag

Where: Resturant

How: Mug

Caffe Nero’s exclusive blend of Earl Grey is a solid brew. While suffering from the too common 1000 degree serving temperature many chain cafes serve their tea at it is enjoyable once cooled down. It’s an everyday type blend with the right hint of bergamot and no surprise tastes that leaves a nice taste in your mouth wanting more. Blend gives off quite a nice bergamot aroma which you can smell more than you can taste. Recommended for a long term stay in the cafe enjoying the free wifi huddled next to the power outlet and avoiding eye contact with employees who know how long you’ve been sitting there.

Mighty Leaf tea Organic Earl Grey Review

Mighty Leaf Teas Organic Earl Grey starts it off right with a really nice smell out of the bag by giving off a really inviting fluffy bergamot aroma that makes you watch the clock while it seeps for 4 minutes. It's has a pretty smooth taste and would say it's a bit on the the lighter side. You don't get the brunt of a black tea like other earl greys which is nice but would probably want a bit more of that to make it an everyday kind of tea.  I would say not a first thing in the morning kind of variety but maybe second cup of the day.  It's certified organic which is always a plus. Leaves a nice taste in your mouth that quenches your bergamot lust. Try as a treat for a step above the normal offerings at cafe. 

Canton Tea Co. Classic Earl Grey Review

Type: Loose leaf

Where: Restaurant

How: Personal pot

Canton’s Classic Earl Grey did not impress. I had it in a pot that allowed for 3 small cups. The first taste is very floral, almost a vanilla taste which I was quite thrown back by. I was amazed at how light the tea was and it did not give off much smell. I always prefer when you can smell the bergamot, reminds you why you came in the first place. I enjoyed the second cup a bit more as it allowed for more of the bergamot taste to come out in the tea which hid the floral notes. Seeping time was probably 5-7 minutes at that point. It is not a tea to get you up in the morning or to enjoy mid afternoon. It won’t keep you warm in the winter or help put hair on your chest. I’d say it's is more of a summer tea to have in the backyard reading or in conversation.

Canton Tea Co seems to have an organic version of the tea  with darjeeling which is getting higher reviews on their site. If you’re looking to try Canton earl grey teas I’d suggest going with that one. Looking forward to trying that one out one day.

Twinings The Earl Grey Review

Type: Tea bag

Where: Home

How: Coffee cup

What can be said about it? It’s where it all began, at least in the West. It is the base that all other earl grey’s are judged off. Darker but not as bitter as an english breakfast with a subtle bergamot taste that really starts to shine as the cup cools. It leaves a lingering taste in your mouth that draws you back for another sip. It is a workhorse brew. Can have it everyday and won’t get sick of it. Nothing floral or fancy, just the right elements all in harmony to make a solid cup of tea that is drinkable for years.