Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g
Calling it the Earl Grey is confidence rather than a grade, and it does tell you which way the blend leans. The citrus is meant to be the first thing you notice, not something you go hunting for underneath the tea. Anyone who has tried a discreet Earl Grey and wondered what the fuss was about will find this the corrective; anyone who has always thought bergamot smelled of soap will think so again, and there is no point paying to confirm it. The base underneath is kept light so the scent reads as perfume over a clean cup rather than as something poured onto a heavy one. Afternoon rather than morning, with something plain and buttery alongside.
Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based, in brief.
Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based is the classical bergamot-scented black tea in a bag the brand describes as plant based.
Forty bags and 100 grams, which is exactly 2.5 grams a bag, the standard scented-tea dose rather than a heavy everyday fill. Three minutes off a fresh boil with the mug covered, because bergamot leaves as steam. Lemon is the classical service; never lemon and milk together. Plant based in the name refers to the bag, not the drink.
Our Twinings range has until now been the green teas, the fruit infusions and the wellbeing blends, with the two classical black teas the house is actually famous for missing entirely. For a catalogue that carries sixty Twinings lines, that was a strange hole, and this box fills half of it.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is editorial opinion from us, formed from the pack format on sale today and the brand's published description. Dispatch is generally within 1 to 2 working days for this Earl Grey. The questions tab below covers milk or lemon, brewing time, caffeine and iced tea.
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 closely associated with the name.
The words plant based in the product name refer to the bag rather than to the tea, which was always plants. We take the phrase from the product name and record it as that and nothing more. Read the box before putting the bags in a food waste caddy.
Packaging: Parts of the packaging can go different ways at disposal, and the UK pack as currently sold, with your local authority's guidance, shows how.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Count and weight: forty bags, 100 grams, which is exactly 2.5 grams a bag. The standard dose for a scented black tea rather than the heavier fill an everyday blend gets.
- Classical Earl Grey: bergamot over black tea, with nothing else added. Not a Lady Grey, not a French Earl Grey with petals and fruit pieces.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: 100 degrees Celsius, freshly boiled.
- Measure: one bag to 250ml.
- Steep: three minutes, covered, then out. Four is the outer limit.
- Milk or lemon: both work and they work differently. Lemon sharpens the bergamot and is the classical service; a little milk rounds it and mutes the perfume.
- Sugar: a small amount lifts the citrus. Earl Grey takes sweetening better than a plain black tea does.
- Storage: sealed, cool, dark, and well away from other flavoured teas. Scented bags trade aromas with their neighbours in a cupboard.
- Not resteepable: the bergamot is largely gone after the first pass, so a second gives you thin plain black tea.
- Best with: afternoon, lemon drizzle cake, shortbread, and after a rich lunch.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Twinings the Earl Grey 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: Parts of the packaging can go different ways at disposal, and the UK pack as currently sold, with your local authority's guidance, shows how.
Our commitment to the planet
The taste profile
How does it compare
Earl Grey is the blend most often spoiled by treating it like an everyday tea. Bergamot is a volatile citrus oil: it leaves the cup as steam, and it turns from perfume into bitterness if you push the steep. Nearly every harsh Earl Grey anyone has drunk was simply left too long in the mug.
The Standard Mug
The Pot
Made with this tea
The Classical Cup
How to make The Classical Cup with Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based.
- Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based: 1 bag
- 250ml just boiled water
- A slice of lemon
- Pour 250ml of water as it comes off the boil, over one bag.
- Cover the cup and steep exactly three minutes.
- Lift the bag out without squeezing it hard.
- Add a slice of lemon, and no milk.
What you'll end up with: A clean, perfumed Earl Grey with a dry citrus-peel finish. The saucer on top is not fussiness; uncovered, the bergamot ends up in the room.
London Fog
How to make London Fog with Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based.
- Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based: 2 bags
- 120ml just boiled water
- 200ml milk or oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla syrup or honey
- Brew two bags in only 120ml of boiling water for four minutes, covered, to make a concentrated base.
- Stir in the vanilla syrup or honey while it is still hot.
- Heat and froth the milk, then pour it over.
- Dust with a little grated lemon zest.
What you'll end up with: The café standard. Bergamot needs a concentrated base to read through milk, which is why two bags in a small volume beats one bag brewed longer.
Iced Earl Grey
How to make Iced Earl Grey with Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based.
- Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based: 3 bags
- 300ml just boiled water
- Ice
- Lemon peel
- Sugar to taste
- Brew three bags in 300ml of boiling water for four minutes.
- Sweeten it while hot, if you like it sweet, and let it cool afterwards.
- Fill a tall glass to the brim with ice, then pour the tea over it.
- Twist a strip of lemon peel over the top and drop it in.
What you'll end up with: Bergamot survives chilling better than almost any other flavour note, which is why iced Earl Grey tastes designed rather than accidental.
Overnight Cold Brew
The method for Overnight Cold Brew using Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based.
- Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based: 5 bags
- 1 litre cold water
- A sealed jug
- Drop five bags in a sealed jug of cold water, a litre in all.
- Refrigerate for six to eight hours.
- Lift the bags out, and drink the brew within two days.
- Serve over ice, straight, with no milk.
What you'll end up with: Rounder and sweeter with the citrus softened and no bitterness at all. Cold water never reaches the compounds that make a long hot steep harsh.
Earl Grey Posset
How to make Earl Grey Posset with Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based.
- Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based: 3 bags
- 600ml double cream
- 150g caster sugar
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Warm the cream with the sugar and the three tea bags, without letting it boil.
- Infuse off the heat for ten minutes, then lift the bags out and press them gently.
- Bring back to a bare simmer, then stir in the lemon juice.
- Pour into four small pots and chill for at least four hours until set.
What you'll end up with: Bergamot and lemon are the same family, so the tea reinforces the posset rather than competing with it. Infusing off the heat keeps the citrus clean rather than stewed.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Bag | described as plant based in the product name | We record the phrase as it appears on the product and nothing further. The material, any sealant and the correct disposal route are on the current UK box. |
Ingredients and allergens. This barcode's published ingredient list leaves all 14 major allergens unnamed. The allergen advice and the formulation can both change, so check the UK pack as it currently is before you purchase.
Ingredients, as published for this barcode: Tea, bergamot flavouring (4%), natural lemon flavouring with other natural flavourings (1%).
Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. Should the pack in your hands say something different, the pack is right.
Pack: Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g; bergamot-scented black tea in bags described as plant based. Sealed, cool, dark and dry, and kept apart from other flavoured teas. Take the ingredient list, allergen advice, bag disposal guidance and best before date from the current UK box itself.
What we list is limited to components the product name, pack weight and count clearly support. Plant based is quoted from the product name as a description of the bag, not asserted by us as a compostability claim.
Sourcing & blend. Twinings puts the Earl Grey Plant Based together; as a family tea house it has traded from London since 1706. Treat that as company heritage; it says nothing about where this box was packed. Further down the page, the tasting profile reflects our editorial assessment, tested against the pack as it stands now and the brand's published description.
What's in Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g, and what isn't:
- In: black tea leaf with bergamot flavouring, in a bag described as plant based.
- No added fruit or petals: this is the plain classical Earl Grey, not a Lady Grey or a French Earl Grey with cornflower and citrus pieces.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Twinings the Earl Grey Plant Based, 40 Tea Bags 100g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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