Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g
Lady Grey is the one to reach for when Earl Grey defeats you. The bergamot is pulled back and the citrus comes forward, so the cup reads fresh instead of perfumed, over a light base that knows to stay out of the way. It also has the narrowest brewing window on this shelf: two and a half to three minutes, then out. Past that the base steps forward and the delicacy you chose it for is gone. Black, in a cup, with plain sponge or cucumber sandwiches. It cold brews very well, which not many scented teas do.
Twinings Lady Grey, in brief.
Twinings Lady Grey is the house's lighter variation on Earl Grey, with the bergamot pulled back and the citrus brought forward, picked into the teas.co.uk curator selection as the afternoon tea for anyone who finds a full Earl Grey too scented.
The lightness is in the blending, not a smaller bag. Cover the cup, steep two and a half to three minutes, and drink it black.
Twinings Lady Grey is the house's own lighter variation on Earl Grey: the bergamot dialled back and the citrus brought forward, giving a paler, brighter cup that reads as fresh rather than perfumed. It exists because a full Earl Grey is a strong flavour and a proportion of people who like the idea of it find the finished cup too scented to drink often. This is the answer to that, and it is a Twinings blend rather than a generic style.
Two hundred grams across 80 bags is 2.5g each, the same as the Earl Grey beside it. The lightness is in the blending, not in a smaller bag. Drink it black in the afternoon, in a cup rather than a mug, and keep the steep short. It has less body in reserve than a breakfast tea, so the one thing it will not forgive is being left in the water while you answer the door.
Curator notes: we wrote these Lady Grey tasting notes from the 80 bag box on sale and Twinings' own description of the blend. We usually have Lady Grey orders on their way in 1 to 2 working days. Storage, steeping times and the covered-cup method are also published in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Twinings
Twinings is the London tea house most closely associated with Earl Grey, and Lady Grey is its own variation on that theme rather than a traditional style anyone can blend. That is worth knowing when you compare boxes: Earl Grey is a category, while Lady Grey is a specific Twinings blend, which is why the shelf next to it tends not to have an alternative version of the same thing.
We describe the cup as a lighter, more citrus-led take on Earl Grey because that is what the blend is for; the exact declaration, including which citrus elements are listed and whether there are visible pieces in the bag, has to be read off the current UK pack.
Packaging: Parts of the Lady Grey box may go in different bins; your council's rules and the printed pack will say.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Lighter by blending, not by dilution: the bag weight is standard for the range. The gentler cup comes from how the blend is put together.
- A Twinings blend, not a category: unlike Earl Grey, this is a specific house recipe rather than a style with competing versions on the shelf.
- What it is not: not a decaf, not a fruit infusion, and not a stronger tea in disguise. If you want scent and weight, the Earl Grey is the one.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: 100 degrees, freshly boiled.
- Measure: one bag per 200ml.
- Steep: two and a half to three minutes, covered.
- Service: black, or with the thinnest slice of lemon. Milk is not recommended here.
- Storage: sealed, dark and well away from coffee and spices. A light scented tea both loses its own aroma quickly and picks up other ones readily.
- Best with: plain sponge, shortbread, cucumber sandwiches, or nothing at all in the middle of the afternoon.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Twinings
Twinings has been blending tea on London's Strand since 1706, the same address, three centuries later. Holders of the royal warrant for tea since 1837, they're the brand most-associated with Earl Grey, English Breakfast, and the polished afternoon-tea aesthetic. Wide flavoured-tea range; ethical sourcing through the Twinings Community Needs Assessment programme.
Packaging: Parts of the Lady Grey box may go in different bins; your council's rules and the printed pack will say.
Our commitment to the planet
The taste profile
How does it compare
A lighter scented tea has the narrowest margin of any style in this range. There is not much body underneath to carry a mistake, and the citrus is volatile, so it can be thrown away by an open cup or buried by a long steep. The good news is that the corrections are small and they work every time.
The Covered Cup
The Afternoon Pot
Made with this tea
The Covered Cup
How to make a proper cup of Twinings Lady Grey.
- 1 bag Twinings Lady Grey
- 200ml water straight off the boil
- The thinnest slice of lemon, optional
- Pour water straight from the boil, 200ml of it, onto one bag of Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g.
- Cover the cup with a saucer for the first minute.
- Steep two and a half to three minutes, and take the bag out on time rather than late.
- Serve black. This is the tea where milk does the most damage.
What you'll end up with: A pale, bright, clean cup with a short drying finish, which is what the blend is for and what a long steep takes away.
The Afternoon Pot
Making an afternoon pot of Twinings Lady Grey.
- 3 bags Twinings Lady Grey
- 600ml water straight off the boil
- A warmed teapot with a lid
- Warm the pot and keep the lid on from the moment the water goes in.
- Steep 3 bags in 600ml for 3 minutes.
- Lift all three bags out together before the first pour.
- Pour it out promptly. A light blend left standing loses its lift and gains an edge.
What you'll end up with: Three cups that keep the citrus, which is harder with a light blend than with a strong one and mostly a matter of the lid.
Iced Lady Grey
Lady Grey from Twinings, made as an iced tea.
- 3 bags Twinings Lady Grey
- 400ml water straight off the boil
- A full glass of ice
- A slice of orange
- Brew 3 bags in 400ml of just-boiled water for 3 minutes, covered.
- Sweeten it a little while it is warm, if you like it sweet.
- Cool, then chill.
- Pour the Lady Grey over a glass packed with ice and add an orange slice.
What you'll end up with: Clean and bright, and one of the better iced teas you can make from a bag. The delicacy that is fragile hot becomes an asset cold.
Overnight Cold Brew
How to cold brew Twinings Lady Grey.
- 6 bags Twinings Lady Grey
- 1 litre cold water
- A sealed jug
- Drop 6 bags of Lady Grey into a sealed jug holding 1 litre of cold water.
- Refrigerate 6 hours; it does not need longer.
- Lift out the bags, then keep the jug cold for no more than two days.
- Drink it black over ice.
What you'll end up with: The citrus completely intact with no tannin developed at all. A strong case that this blend is at its best cold.
Lady Grey Spritz
How to make a non-alcoholic spritz with Twinings Lady Grey.
- 3 bags Twinings Lady Grey
- 250ml water straight off the boil
- 200ml chilled sparkling water
- Ice
- Orange peel
- Brew 3 bags in 250ml of just-boiled water for 3 minutes, covered, then cool and chill.
- Fill two tall glasses with ice and divide the chilled tea between them.
- Top with chilled sparkling water.
- Twist a strip of orange peel over each glass and drop it in.
What you'll end up with: A dry, citrus-led long drink that tastes deliberate rather than like watered-down tea, which is what a light blend is uniquely good for.
Lady Grey Poaching Syrup for Pears
How to poach pears in Twinings Lady Grey.
- 4 bags Twinings Lady Grey
- 600ml water straight off the boil
- 4 firm pears, peeled
- 100g caster sugar
- Brew 4 bags in 600ml of just-boiled water for 4 minutes and lift the bags out.
- Stir in 100g of caster sugar until dissolved.
- Poach the peeled pears gently for 20 to 25 minutes until tender, turning once.
- Cool the pears in the liquid and serve with a little of it spooned over.
What you'll end up with: Pears carrying a clean citrus note rather than a tannic one, which is where a light scented blend beats a strong black tea outright.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Black tea | the base of the blend | A light unobtrusive frame rather than a flavour in its own right, carrying the body and the caffeine. |
| Bergamot | the Earl Grey connection | Present but pulled back from a full Earl Grey, which is the defining decision in the blend. The current UK box carries the precise ingredient declaration. |
| Leaf per bag | 2.5g | Our arithmetic on 200g across 80 bags, the same as the Twinings Earl Grey. The lightness is in the blending, not a smaller bag. |
Pack: Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g; a lighter citrus-led take on Earl Grey, GTIN 00070177231330. Store sealed and dark, away from coffee and spices. Details such as the ingredient declaration, bag material, certification marks and best before date are on the current UK pack.
Characterising components shown. The blend is described by what it does rather than by an ingredient list.
Sourcing & blend. Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g is blended by Twinings, the London tea house most closely associated with Earl Grey. Lady Grey is its own variation on that theme rather than a traditional style anyone can blend, which is why the shelf beside it tends not to carry a competing version of the same thing. We base our view on the Lady Grey box as sold and how Twinings describes it.
What's in Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g:
- In: a light black tea base carrying bergamot and a forward citrus character, at 2.5g a bag.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Twinings Lady Grey, 80 Tea Bags 200g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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