Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, 80 Unbleached Tea Bags 200g
The bag is not whitened, which is the part of this product's own name most shoppers skim past. Unbleached paper looks browner in the box and some people read browner as lower quality; it is a processing decision and nothing more. What is inside it matters more anyway. The bergamot has been turned down and the black tea underneath turned up, so the citrus sits above the cup as scent instead of coating the tongue, and the base is round with a faint malt behind it. There is a fair amount of caffeine behind it too, which keeps it on the daytime side of the cupboard. Anyone who has ever called an Earl Grey soapy should try this one before writing off the style altogether. Anyone who wants theirs unmistakable and floral will find it underpowered and should go to one of the loud ones instead. That heavier base is also why a splash of milk works here when it flattens most scented blacks. Three minutes and out, though it will not turn hard if you forget it.
Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, in brief.
Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey is an Earl Grey with the bergamot turned down and the base tea turned up, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the version for anyone who has ever found an Earl Grey soapy.
That is a full cup's worth of leaf rather than the skinny bag most scented teas ship with, and it is why this one holds together with a splash of milk where the famous Earl Greys fall apart. Three minutes, covered.
If you have ever described an Earl Grey as soapy, this is the version worth trying before you give up on the style entirely. If you like your Earl Grey unmistakable and floral, this will read as underpowered and you should buy one of the loud ones instead. Both opinions are correct and the tea does not care; what matters is knowing which of them is yours before you buy eighty bags.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Clipper
Clipper is a Dorset tea company that built its name on organic and Fairtrade sourcing when neither was standard on a British tea shelf, and on unbleached tea bags when most of the trade was still using bleached paper. That last detail is in this product's own name, and it is a genuine point of difference rather than a marketing flourish: the bag is not whitened.
According to the published pack listing this is an organic and Fairtrade Earl Grey in unbleached bags, and those are the words the product is sold under. The tasting profile above is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Count and weight: 80 bags in 200g, which is 2.5g a bag. That is a full cup's worth and noticeably heavier than the skinny bags a lot of scented teas ship with.
- Takes milk, unusually: most Earl Greys fall apart with milk because the base is too light. This one has enough behind it that a splash works if that is how you drink tea.
- What it is not: not a loud, perfumed Earl Grey, not a Lady Grey with citrus peel and petals in it, and not caffeine-free.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: 100 degrees, freshly boiled.
- Measure: one bag per 200ml.
- Steep: three minutes, covered, then lift the bag out.
- Service: clear, with lemon, or with a splash of milk. Your choice, and all three are defensible.
- Storage: sealed, dry, dark, and away from your other tea. Bergamot travels through cardboard and will scent whatever sits beside it.
- Best with: lemon drizzle cake, shortbread, a plain scone, or a piece of mature cheddar.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, 80 Unbleached Tea Bags 200g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Clipper
Clipper was the first UK brand to launch a Fairtrade tea (1994) and remains synonymous with ethical, unbleached, plastic-free tea bags. Dorset-based and owned since 2012 by Wessanen, now Ecotone, with a comprehensive range covering everyday English Breakfast, organic blends, and herbal infusions.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
The taste profile
How does it compare
Bergamot is volatile, which means it leaves the cup as steam. The single most useful habit with any Earl Grey is to cover the cup for the first minute, and the second is to drink it reasonably promptly rather than letting it stand.
The Afternoon Cup
The Pot, And The Second Cup
Made with this tea
The Covered Afternoon Cup
How to make The Covered Afternoon Cup with Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey.
- 1 bag Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey
- 200ml just boiled water
- A saucer to put on top
- Lemon or a splash of milk, your choice
- Pour 200ml of just boiled water over one bag.
- Cover the cup with a saucer for the first minute, which keeps the bergamot in the liquid rather than in the kitchen.
- Steep three minutes in total, then lift the bag out without squeezing it.
- Drink clear, with a slice of lemon, or with a small splash of milk.
What you'll end up with: A clear amber cup where the citrus sits above a proper black tea instead of replacing it. Covering it is worth more than any change to the timing.
Earl Grey London Fog
How to make Earl Grey London Fog with Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey.
- 2 bags Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey
- 150ml just boiled water
- 150ml milk, dairy or oat
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- Brew 2 bags in 150ml of just boiled water for 4 minutes to make a concentrate.
- Heat and froth 150ml of milk while it steeps.
- Pour the milk over the concentrate and add a few drops of vanilla.
What you'll end up with: The one Earl Grey drink that needs a heavy base tea. A light Earl Grey vanishes under milk; this one does not.
Iced Earl Grey, No Sugar
How to make Iced Earl Grey, No Sugar with Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey.
- 4 bags Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey
- 750ml cold water
- Lemon wheels to serve
- Plenty of ice
- Drop 4 bags into 750ml of cold water, lid on, into the fridge.
- Leave for eight hours or overnight, then lift the bags out.
- Serve over ice with a lemon wheel. It needs no sugar.
What you'll end up with: Clean citrus with the tannin left behind. Cold water never pulls the harsh compounds out, which is why iced tea made this way is never bitter.
Earl Grey and Cheddar Toast
How to make Earl Grey and Cheddar Toast with Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey.
- 1 bag Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey
- 200ml just boiled water
- Mature cheddar, sliced thick
- Good bread, toasted
- Brew the cup first, three minutes, covered, and leave it to cool a little.
- Toast the bread and lay thick slices of mature cheddar on it while it is still hot.
- Eat and drink together while the cheese is just softening.
What you'll end up with: An unlikely pairing that works. Bergamot does to cheddar roughly what chutney does, and the tannin cuts the fat.
Earl Grey Tea Loaf
How to make Earl Grey Tea Loaf with Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey.
- 3 bags Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey
- 300ml just boiled water
- 300g mixed dried fruit
- 1 egg, 150g soft brown sugar, 250g self-raising flour
- Brew 3 bags in 300ml for 5 minutes, then pour the hot tea over the dried fruit and leave it overnight.
- Stir the egg, sugar and flour into the soaked fruit and whatever liquid is left.
- Bake in a lined loaf tin at 160C fan for 60 to 70 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin, then slice and butter it.
What you'll end up with: A traditional British tea loaf with the citrus running through the fruit. Bergamot survives the oven better than most tea flavours do.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Typical values per 100g, as published | Per 100g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 4 kcal |
| Fat | 0g |
| of which saturates | 0g |
| Carbohydrate | 0g |
| of which sugars | 0g |
| Fibre | 0g |
| Protein | 0g |
| Salt | 0g |
Ingredients and allergens. The published ingredient list for this barcode names none of the 14 major allergens. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Ingredients, as published for this barcode: ORGANICALLY GROWN FAIR TRADE TEA, NATURAL BERGAMOT FLAVOUR 95% FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS.
Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Black tea | The body of the blend | Round and faintly malty, and doing real work rather than acting as a carrier. It is the reason this cup holds together with a splash of milk when most Earl Greys do not. |
| Bergamot | Printed on the current pack | What makes a tea an Earl Grey. Restrained here: it arrives as scent above the cup rather than as flavour across the tongue, and never tips into soap. |
| Leaf per bag | 2.5g | Our arithmetic on 200g across 80 bags. A full cup's worth, and noticeably heavier than the bags most scented teas use. |
| Bag paper | Unbleached | Stated in the product's own name. A claim about the paper only: it is not the same as plastic-free or compostable, and neither of those is claimed here. |
Pack: Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, 80 Unbleached Tea Bags 200g; a caffeinated scented black tea, GTIN 5021991938542. Store sealed, dry, dark and away from your other tea. Read the ingredient declaration, the certification marks, the bag material and the best-before date off the current UK pack.
Characterising components shown; the unquantified black tea base makes up the remaining body. Our assessment of the cup rests on the pack format and the brand's published description.
Sourcing & blend. Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, 80 Unbleached Tea Bags 200g is put together by Clipper, the Dorset tea company that built its name on organic and Fairtrade sourcing when neither was standard on a British tea shelf, and on unbleached tea bags when most of the trade still used bleached paper. That last detail is in this product's own name and is a genuine point of difference rather than a flourish.
What's in Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, 80 Unbleached Tea Bags 200g:
- In: black tea with bergamot, at 2.5g a bag, in an unbleached paper bag. The full declaration is on the current UK pack.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Clipper Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey Tea, 80 Unbleached Tea Bags 200g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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