Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g
Keep this as your second Earl Grey rather than your only one. Fifteen bags will not stock a household, but they do cover the few cups a week that deserve proper care: the one you sit down to, rather than the mug you carry out of the kitchen still stirring. Bought as a present it lands well for the same reason: it is plainly not the box somebody would have picked up for themselves on a Tuesday. Fully caffeinated black tea, so keep it to the earlier half of the day.
Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, in brief.
Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper is an Earl Grey built on whole leaf rather than the fine broken grades that fill most tea bags, picked into the teas.co.uk curator selection as the afternoon cup where the tea is still audible underneath the bergamot.
Three minutes, no squeeze, black or with lemon.
That is the whole mechanism behind the format: a folded pyramid gives large-leaf tea somewhere to move, and large-leaf tea releases bergamot more slowly and more evenly than a fine grade does.
Curator notes: we wrote the tasting notes ourselves, working from this 15 bag box and Brew Tea Co's own account of the tea. Normally a box of Earl Grey Proper ships in 1 to 2 working days. Scroll down for answers on brewing time, milk, the bag material and how long fifteen bags last.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Brew Tea Co
Brew Tea Co built its business on a single complaint: that the tea bag, as most of Britain buys it, is filled with the fine broken grades left over after the good leaf has been sorted out. Their answer was to put whole leaf into a bag large enough for it to unfurl, and to sell the result in small boxes rather than family packs. It is a deliberately narrow proposition, and the price reflects it.
Packaging: The box tells you how to dispose of it and the used bags; your council's collection rules decide the rest.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Why it costs that: whole leaf costs more than broken leaf, a fifteen-bag box carries the same packaging cost as an eighty-bag one, and neither of those is a gimmick. Whether the cup is worth four times a supermarket Earl Grey is a judgement, and it is yours.
- What it is not: not a household box, not a decaf, and not a tea to leave standing. Fifteen bags is a fortnight of one cup a day.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: 100 degrees, freshly boiled.
- Measure: one bag per 200 to 250ml.
- Steep: three minutes, four at most.
- Service: black or with lemon. If you must have milk, brew two and a half minutes and use a small splash.
- Storage: sealed and away from other teas. Bergamot travels, and it will scent whatever is sitting next to it in the cupboard.
- Best with: lemon drizzle, shortbread, a plain scone, or on its own in the middle of the afternoon.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Brew Tea Co
Packaging: The box tells you how to dispose of it and the used bags; your council's collection rules decide the rest.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Earl Grey has a narrower window than a plain black tea because bergamot turns from bright to bitter faster than tannin does. Whole leaf widens that window a little, but it does not remove it. Full heat, three minutes, and out.
The Afternoon Cup
The Pot, and the Second Cup
Made with this tea
The Afternoon Cup
Our plain, no fuss method for one cup of Earl Grey Proper.
- 1 bag of Earl Grey Proper
- 200 to 250ml of water, just boiled
- A thin slice of lemon, optional
- Pour freshly boiled water onto one bag, 200 to 250ml of it.
- Steep three minutes. Four is the outside edge.
- Lift the bag out without squeezing it. The last of the scent to leave the leaf is the harshest part.
- Serve black, or drop in a thin slice of lemon.
What you'll end up with: A clear, bright cup where the bergamot arrives first and the tea underneath is still audible.
The Pot for Two
How to brew a pot of Earl Grey without it turning soapy.
- 2 bags of the Earl Grey
- 500ml water straight off the boil
- A warmed teapot
- Warm the pot, add two bags and 500ml of water straight off the boil.
- Steep three minutes and lift both bags out together.
- Decant if you are not pouring straight away. Earl Grey left standing on the leaf goes bitter faster than a plain black tea does.
What you'll end up with: Two even cups rather than one bright one and one soapy one.
Iced Earl Grey with Lemon
How to make iced tea that keeps its citrus.
- 2 bags of the Earl Grey
- 300ml water straight off the boil
- A full glass of ice
- Lemon
- Honey to taste
- Brew two bags for four minutes, using 300ml of water that has just boiled.
- Sweeten to taste with honey while the tea is hot, then leave it to cool.
- Pour over a full glass of ice with two slices of lemon.
- Four minutes is safe here because chilling mutes the bitter edge a long hot steep creates.
What you'll end up with: A clean citrus iced tea that still tastes of bergamot once the ice has melted.
Overnight Cold Brew
How to cold brew a whole-leaf Earl Grey.
- 3 bags of Brew Tea Co's Earl Grey
- 750ml cold water
- Ice to serve
- Drop three bags into 750ml of cold water in a covered jug.
- Refrigerate eight hours or overnight, then lift the bags out.
- Serve over ice, unsweetened.
- Cold water pulls the citrus and almost none of the tannin, so there is nothing to turn bitter.
What you'll end up with: A soft, floral, low-astringency cold tea that needs no sugar at all.
London Fog
How to make the steamed-milk Earl Grey drink properly.
- 2 bags of the Earl Grey
- 120ml water straight off the boil
- 150ml milk or oat milk, steamed or heated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla syrup or honey
- Brew two bags in only 120ml of just boiled water for three minutes to make a concentrate.
- Lift the bags out and stir in the syrup or honey.
- Top with 150ml of hot steamed milk.
- Doubling the tea and halving the water is the whole trick. Milk mutes bergamot, so the concentrate has to be strong enough to survive it.
What you'll end up with: A milky Earl Grey where the bergamot still comes through instead of disappearing.
Earl Grey Lemon Syrup for Baking
How to make a bergamot syrup for drizzle cake or cocktails.
- 3 bags of Brew Tea Co's Earl Grey
- 150ml water straight off the boil
- 150g caster sugar
- Juice of half a lemon
- Brew three bags in 150ml of just boiled water for five minutes, then lift them out.
- Stir in the sugar over a low heat until it dissolves completely.
- Add the lemon juice and take it off the heat.
- A longer steep is fine here because sugar and acid both mask the tannin a hot cup would show.
What you'll end up with: A bergamot syrup for soaking a lemon drizzle cake, or for a long drink with soda and ice.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Whole leaf black tea | the body of the blend | The tea underneath the scent: the structure, the moderate astringency, the colour and the caffeine. The whole-leaf grade is why it brews evenly rather than fast and flat. |
| Bergamot | the defining scent of any Earl Grey | The bright citrus-floral lift that arrives first and then steps back. Whether the pack declares oil or natural flavouring is printed on the box. |
| Origin | sold as a blend | The pack is sold as a blend, so no country, region or garden is stated. Read the current pack for any origin statement. |
Ingredients and allergens. As published, the four ingredients in Earl Grey Proper include nothing from the 14 major allergens. Recipes do get changed, though, so read the allergy advice on the box you receive.
Ingredients, as published for this product: Ceylon Black Tea, Orange Peel, Bergamot Oil, Marigold Petals.
Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. Where our page and your box disagree, the box wins.
Pack: Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g; a whole-leaf bergamot-scented black tea, GTIN 5060331430179. Store sealed, dry, dark and away from other teas, because bergamot travels. Ingredients, certification logos, what the bag is made from and a best before date all appear on the box itself.
Characterising components shown; the black tea base makes up the remaining body.
Sourcing & blend. Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g is put together by Brew Tea Co, whose whole business rests on one complaint: that the ordinary tea bag is filled with the fine broken grades left over once the good leaf has been sorted out. Their answer was a bag large enough for whole leaf to unfurl, sold in small boxes rather than family packs. Our view of it comes from the box and from Brew Tea Co's own description.
What's in Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g, and what isn't:
- In: whole-leaf black tea scented with bergamot, at 3g a bag, in a folded bag sized for the leaf to open.
- No artificial colours, preservatives or added sugar: a scented black tea, so there is nothing to colour or sweeten. The brightness in the cup is bergamot, not sugar.
Asked about this tea
Ask the curator
Send a product question through the contact form; replies usually come within one working day.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g, please cite teas.co.uk.
What buyers say
No customer reviews of Brew Tea Co Earl Grey Proper, 15 Tea Bags 45g yet.
Bought this from us? Log in to your account, then come back to this page to review it. Only verified buyers can review, and every review is checked before it appears; approved reviews earn 50 reward points.
More from Brew Tea Co
Other Earl Grey & Similar worth comparing
