Yorkshire Tea Victoria Sponge Brew: vanilla, jam and a proper tea base

Only two ingredients are listed on this box, black tea and natural flavouring, and the flavouring makes up just 7% of the blend. That small share sitting on a sturdy everyday base is why the cup reads as cake but still behaves like a proper mug of tea.

Two ingredients and a cake in the cup

Victoria Sponge Brew belongs to the Brew family from Taylors of Harrogate, the run of flavoured Yorkshire Tea blends that Biscuit Brew started. The ingredient list could hardly be shorter: black tea, then natural flavouring at 7%. There is no fruit, crumb or cream in the bag. Everything that suggests a slice of cake is aroma laid over the tea, which is why the way you brew it matters so much.

What sets the range apart is the base. Many dessert teas are built on a thin leaf so the flavouring can do the talking, and they fall apart once milk goes in. This one keeps a full everyday blend underneath. In the cup the vanilla comes first, soft and more like sponge crumb than syrup, and a jammy note follows it, which is the detail that stops it being just another vanilla tea.

Where it sits among the Brew teas

Biscuit Brew is the malty, bready one and makes the better breakfast mug. Cherry Bakewell Brew is the loud one, with almond and cherry out in front. Victoria Sponge is the quiet member of the family: vanilla and jam, more floral than baked, and easy enough that a second cup never feels like too much. If you only keep one flavoured Yorkshire Tea for the afternoon, we would make it this.

Compared with a plain everyday mug it has less lift and a softer edge, and that is deliberate, because a hard, tannic brew would clash with the sweetness. Do not mistake the softness for anything else, though. It is a full-caffeine black tea, not a herbal and not a decaf, so it belongs in the middle of the afternoon rather than last thing at night.

Brewing it for cake, not candle

Pour water straight off the boil and give the bag three to four minutes. The shorter time keeps vanilla at the front; the longer one brings the tea up alongside it. Leave it much beyond five and the tannin takes over, pulling the vanilla bitter with it. A saucer over the mug while it steeps is worth the bother, since vanilla is the lightest part of the aroma and the first to drift off into the room.

Milk does more here than in most flavoured teas. Taken black, the cup comes across mainly as vanilla; a splash of milk rounds it towards actual sponge cake, and the base has enough body not to go watery. The box holds forty bags for forty mugs. We would keep it as a treat tea in rotation, because drunk all day the flavour soon stops registering.

The packs we stock

• Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea Victoria Sponge Brew, 40 Pack 112g (barcode 615357000568)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea Victoria Sponge Brew, 40 Pack 112g names none of the 14 major allergens. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Black Tea, Natural Flavouring (7%).

Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Ginger Nuts Biscuits, 250g: Ginger brings warmth and spice to a soft vanilla cup, a contrast rather than more of the same sweetness.
• McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, 266g: Dark chocolate adds a bitter edge that keeps a jam-and-vanilla mug from tipping over into sugar.
• Border Lemon Drizzle Melts Organic Biscuits, 150g: Lemon supplies the sharpness the cup lacks, the way a lemon drizzle sits beside a Victoria sponge on a cake stand.

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

Is there any real cake or jam in Victoria Sponge Brew? No. The published ingredients are black tea and natural flavouring at 7%, and the sponge-and-jam character comes entirely from that flavouring.

Does Victoria Sponge Brew have caffeine? Yes. Underneath the flavouring this is ordinary caffeinated black tea, so treat it like any other caffeinated mug rather than an evening herbal.

Should I take it with milk? We think so. Black, it reads mostly as vanilla; with a splash of milk it moves much closer to cake, and the base has the body to carry it.

Which is better for breakfast, this or Biscuit Brew? Biscuit Brew, which is maltier and more bready. Victoria Sponge is the softer, sweeter of the two and suits the afternoon.

How many cups are in a box? Forty. The 112g box holds forty bags, one to a mug.

Curator's note: Four minutes, a splash of milk and a sharp lemon biscuit on the side is how we would have it. One mug an afternoon keeps it tasting like a treat. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Yorkshire Tea Victoria Sponge Brew: vanilla, jam and a proper tea base

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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