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The dessert name leads plenty of people to assume this is an evening herbal, and it is not: underneath the toffee is a full-strength, caffeinated black tea. What makes it work is that the flavouring rides on the malt a Yorkshire-style blend already has, so it drinks like tea first and pudding second.
Why toffee and black tea usually fight
Sweet flavourings and tannic black tea tend to pull in opposite directions, which is why so many dessert teas end up tasting like sweetened water. Malt is the bridge between them. A malty Yorkshire-style base already carries a warm, caramel-adjacent note, so a toffee flavouring laid over it reads as the tea's own character stretched a little further, not as syrup.
The leaf dose supports it. Forty bags weigh 112g, about 2.8g each, which is a proper everyday amount and more than dessert teas commonly carry. That is where the body comes from. In the mug, a buttery, caramelised aroma arrives first, the malt takes over across the middle, and the toffee comes back again as the tea finishes.
Three to four minutes, then milk
Timing decides whether this tastes of tea or of flavouring. Use freshly boiled water and give it three to four minutes. Pull the bag too early and the toffee arrives with nothing underneath it, which is when it seems artificial; leave it much past four and the tannin climbs over the sweetness. A saucer over the mug for the first minute keeps more of the aroma in the cup.
Milk is where this one parts company with most flavoured teas. A splash softens the toffee into something nearer butterscotch, and the malty base has the weight to carry it. Sugar is another matter: the flavouring already reads as sweet, so taste the cup before adding any. We would always start without and see whether it is needed.
Choosing it over the other Brews
Taylors keep their flavoured teas in the Brew range, and the nearest neighbours here are Biscuit Brew and Caramelised Biscuit Brew. Biscuit Brew is the drier, malted-biscuit take on the same idea, and Caramelised Biscuit also finishes drier. Sticky Toffee is richer and sweeter-tasting than either, with a caramelised edge. It and Caramelised Biscuit are the closest pair in the range, so choose one of the two rather than both.
It is best treated as an autumn and after-dinner tea, a cold-kitchen mug with milk rather than an all-day brew. Remember that it carries the caffeine of any strong black tea, so give it the same thought at bedtime that you would give a builder's mug. Forty bags make forty mugs, which we think suits a flavour best kept as one of several teas in the cupboard.
The packs we stock
- Taylors of Harrogate 40 x Sticky Toffee Brew Yorkshire, 112g (barcode 615357000551)
What to eat with it
- McVitie's Rich Tea Biscuits, 300g: a plain, light biscuit that lets the toffee note lead.
- McVitie's Digestives Dark Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: dark chocolate cuts across the caramel sweetness and suits the malty body.
- Border Lemon Drizzle Melts Organic Biscuits, 150g: lemon drizzle brings a citrus contrast to a sweet, toffee-led mug.
Elsewhere in the Taylors of Harrogate range
- Taylors of Harrogate After Dark Roast Ground Coffee, 200g
- Taylors of Harrogate Brasilia Ground Coffee, 200g
- Taylors of Harrogate Decaffe Beans Roast Coffee, 200g
- Taylors of Harrogate Decaffe Ground, 10 Coffee Bags
- Taylors of Harrogate Decaffé Roast Ground Coffee, 200g
- Taylors of Harrogate Decaffeinated Yorkshire, 160 Tea Bags 500g
The full range is on the Taylors of Harrogate brand page.
FAQ
Does Sticky Toffee Brew have caffeine? Yes. It is a caffeinated black tea with a toffee flavouring, not a herbal infusion, so it carries the caffeine of an everyday black tea.
Should I add sugar to Sticky Toffee Brew? Taste it first. The toffee flavouring already reads as sweet, and a splash of milk is often all it needs.
How long should I brew it? Three to four minutes with freshly boiled water. Shorter tastes of flavouring alone; longer lets the tannin take over.
How is it different from Biscuit Brew? Biscuit Brew is drier, more like a malted biscuit. Sticky Toffee is richer and sweeter-tasting, with a caramelised edge.
How much tea is in each bag? About 2.8g, which is a full everyday dose and the reason it keeps its body under milk.
Curator's note: Make it on a cold afternoon, with milk, and skip the sugar bowl. If you already dislike flavoured black tea, this will not change your mind, and it is not trying to. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.
In short: Yorkshire Tea Sticky Toffee Brew: A Pudding Flavour on a Malty Tea
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Brand | Taylors of Harrogate |
| Packs we stock | 112g |
| Category | Everyday Tea Bags |
| Caffeine | caffeinated |
| Caffeine | Yes, it is a black tea |
| Brew | Three to four minutes, then milk |
| Occasion | Autumn afternoons and after dinner |
More from the tea wiki
- Yorkshire Tea: Range and Buying Guide
- How to Make Tea Properly: The Eight Step Method
- Caffeine in Tea
- Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
- Builders' Tea: The Working Class Story
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