Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g
Bergamot leaves the bag before the tannins do, which gives this a narrower window than almost anything else on a tea shelf. Three minutes covered, then out; walk away and you come back to something dry and faintly soapy that no longer smells of much. The harder trick is what sits underneath. Decaffeination lightens an already light base, and the usual failure is perfume over nothing, so the fact that there is still recognisable tea holding the aroma up is the whole of why this one works. Decaffeinated means a small residue rather than none, which matters to some people and not to others.
Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, in brief.
Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based is bergamot-scented black tea with the caffeine taken out, forty bags in a plant-fibre bag rather than a plastic-sealed one, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the Earl Grey you can drink after dinner.
Three minutes and no more, because bergamot oil leaves the bag quickly and the tannins keep coming after it has gone.
Earl Grey is black tea scented with bergamot, a citrus grown mainly for its peel oil rather than its juice, which is why the aroma is so much larger than the flavour. The famous story about the second Earl Grey being given the recipe as a gift is repeated everywhere and has never been properly documented, so treat it as folklore rather than history. What is not in doubt is that bergamot and black tea suit each other unusually well, and that a decaffeinated version lets you drink it after dinner, which is when most people actually want it.
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 Twinings
Twinings is the family tea house trading from London since 1706, and Earl Grey is the blend most associated with the company in the public mind. A decaffeinated version is a harder thing to make well than a decaffeinated breakfast tea, because bergamot sits on a light base to begin with and decaffeination lightens a base further. Get the balance wrong and the result is perfume over nothing. Judged against that risk, this is a composed cup: the bergamot leads, and there is still enough tea underneath it to give the aroma something to sit on.
All of those, along with the exact bag material and disposal route and the current allergen advice, must be read off the current UK pack rather than taken from this page.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Count and weight: 40 bags, 100g. That is 2.5 grams of leaf a bag, our own calculation from the two figures the pack states rather than a declared serving size.
- Flavoured: bergamot is what makes it Earl Grey. The exact flavouring declaration is on the pack and we do not restate it.
- What it is not: not a strong breakfast tea, not a herbal infusion, and not a cup that wants much milk. Lemon suits it far better.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: 100 degrees Celsius, straight off the boil.
- Measure: one bag, 200 to 250ml.
- Steep: three minutes, covered. Do not walk away from it.
- Service: black with a slice of lemon is the best version. Milk works but costs you aroma.
- Storage: sealed, cool, dark and dry, and kept away from other teas. A scented tea will pass its aroma to everything in the cupboard given the chance.
- Not resteepable: the bergamot goes first and does not come back.
- Best with: lemon drizzle cake, shortbread, after dinner, or mid-afternoon when a caffeinated cup would be a mistake.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g, 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: 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
Earl Grey is the blend most commonly ruined by over-steeping, and a decaffeinated one gives you a narrower window again. Bergamot oil is volatile and leaves the bag quickly; the tannins keep coming after it has gone. Leave the bag in and you end up with a dry, faintly soapy cup that no longer smells of anything much.
The Cup
Lemon, Milk, and the Pot
Made with this tea
The Classic Cup With Lemon
How to make The Classic Cup With Lemon with Twinings Earl Grey Decaf.
- 1 bag Twinings Earl Grey Decaf
- 200 to 250ml water straight off the boil
- A thin slice of lemon
- Pour water straight off the boil over one bag in a warmed cup.
- Cover with a saucer and steep for exactly 3 minutes.
- Lift the bag out, then add the lemon slice last so the citrus stays bright.
What you'll end up with: The best version of this tea: bergamot forward, clean finish, no milk needed.
Overnight Cold Brew
How to make Overnight Cold Brew with Twinings Earl Grey Decaf.
- 3 bags Twinings Earl Grey Decaf
- 500ml cold water
- A strip of lemon peel
- Drop 3 bags into a jug of 500ml cold water with the lemon peel.
- Leave in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- Lift the bags out before serving, or it will turn dry by the second day.
What you'll end up with: Cleaner and sweeter than a hot brew chilled, with the citrus intact and no tannic dryness.
Iced Earl Grey
How to make Iced Earl Grey with Twinings Earl Grey Decaf.
- 2 bags Twinings Earl Grey Decaf
- 300ml water straight off the boil
- A full glass of ice
- Half a lemon
- Honey to taste
- Brew 2 bags in 300ml of water straight off the boil for 3 minutes, covered, then lift them out.
- Sweeten with honey while hot if you want it sweet.
- Cool, then pour over a full glass of ice with the juice of half a lemon.
What you'll end up with: Use two bags rather than a longer steep: extending the time costs you the bergamot and adds only tannin.
Evening London Fog
How to make Evening London Fog with Twinings Earl Grey Decaf.
- 2 bags Twinings Earl Grey Decaf
- 120ml water straight off the boil
- 150ml steamed or hot milk
- A drop of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Brew 2 bags in 120ml of water straight off the boil for 5 minutes to make a concentrate, which is the one time a long steep is correct here.
- Stir in the vanilla and honey while hot.
- Top with 150ml of steamed or simply hot milk.
What you'll end up with: The classic vanilla Earl Grey latte, in a version you can drink at ten at night.
Earl Grey Drizzle Syrup
How to make Earl Grey Drizzle Syrup with Twinings Earl Grey Decaf.
- 3 bags Twinings Earl Grey Decaf
- 150ml water straight off the boil
- 150g caster sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Brew 3 bags in 150ml of water straight off the boil for 5 minutes, then lift them out.
- Dissolve the sugar in the hot infusion and add the lemon juice.
- Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly syrupy, then spoon over a warm lemon loaf cake and let it soak in.
What you'll end up with: A bergamot drizzle that turns a plain lemon loaf into something people ask about.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Decaffeinated black tea | The base of the bag | A deliberately restrained black tea base, lightened further by decaffeination, giving the bergamot room to lead without disappearing underneath it. |
| Bergamot flavouring | Not stated to us | What makes it Earl Grey. Bergamot is a citrus grown for its peel oil, which is why the cup smells larger than it tastes. The exact declaration is on the current UK pack. |
Ingredients and allergens. The published ingredient list for this product 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 product: Decaffeinated Black Tea, Bergamot Flavouring (5%), Natural Lemon Flavouring with other Natural Flavourings (1%), Decaffeinated to 0.2%.
Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.
Pack: Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g; low-caffeine bergamot-scented black tea in a plant-fibre bag, 2.5g of leaf a bag. Store sealed, cool, dry and away from other teas.
Characterising components shown; the full declaration, the flavouring statement, the decaffeination method, the bag material wording and any certification marks are on the current UK pack.
Sourcing & blend. Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g is put together by Twinings, the family tea house trading from London since 1706, and Earl Grey is the blend most associated with the company in the public mind. A decaffeinated Earl Grey is a harder build than a decaffeinated breakfast tea: bergamot already sits on a light base, and decaffeination lightens a base further, so the risk is perfume over nothing. Plant based on the front of this box describes the bag fibre and the absence of a plastic seal, not the tea and not a dietary certification.
What's in Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g, and what isn't:
- In: decaffeinated black tea scented with bergamot, 2.5 grams a bag, built to be drunk black or with lemon.
- No fruit pieces or flower petals declared to us: the character comes from the bergamot flavouring rather than from visible inclusions. If the current pack declares otherwise, the pack governs.
- Plant-fibre bag: a packaging claim about the bag, not about the contents. Follow the disposal instruction on the carton, because the box and the bag may go different ways.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Twinings the Earl Grey Decaffeinated Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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