Twinings Earl Grey Discovery Collection: Five Greys Side by Side

Most people form a lifelong view of Earl Grey from a single version of it. This box puts five teas from the same family side by side, so the verdict can rest on more than one cup.

What the label says about each tea

Earl Grey is black tea scented with bergamot, a small bitter citrus, and the published ingredient list shows how Twinings varies the idea. The standard Earl Grey pairs bergamot flavouring with a touch of lemon. Strong Earl Grey lifts the bergamot flavouring from 4% to 4.5% and adds bergamot peel. Vanilla Earl Grey puts vanilla ahead of the bergamot, and Lavender Earl Grey adds lavender in equal measure to its bergamot flavouring.

Lady Grey is the outlier. Its label lists orange peel and lemon peel with flavouring and does not name bergamot at all, which sets it apart from the other four. The black tea in every one of the five is marked Rainforest Alliance Certified on the published list. Across the box the base tea is kept light, because it is there to hold the scent up, not to fight it.

A tasting plan for the box

Bergamot tires the palate quickly, and by the third scented cup in a sitting everything starts to smell alike. Take one tea a day instead, in the same cup, with the same water and the same brewing time, and jot down a single word after each: bright, floral, perfumed, heavy, thin. After a week or so the words sort themselves into a clear preference.

Four envelopes of each tea means you can run the comparison more than once, and a second pass is a good check on a first impression. Anyone who has always found Earl Grey soapy should pay close attention to Lady Grey and the vanilla version. Anyone who finds the standard one too timid should go straight to Strong and see whether more bergamot is the answer.

Lemon, not milk, and daylight hours

Brew each bag for three minutes in water straight off the boil, and cover the cup for the first minute so the bergamot stays in the drink instead of scenting the kitchen. None of these teas turns hard at three minutes, so consistency matters more than precision. A cup left standing loses its perfume long before it loses its strength, so drink it while it is fresh.

Milk covers the bergamot, which is the very thing you are tasting, and the light base teas go thin under it as well. Lemon is the classic companion instead, and it suits all five. Every tea in the box is a black tea and contains caffeine, so work through them in the morning or the afternoon rather than after supper.

The packs we stock

• Twinings Earl Grey Discovery Collection, 20 Tea Bags 40g (barcode 070177236564)

What the label says

Ingredients, as published: Earl Grey: Black Tea¹, Bergamot Flavouring (4%), Natural Lemon Flavouring with other Natural Flavourings (1%), Vanilla Earl Grey: Black Tea¹, Natural Vanilla Flavouring with other Natural Flavourings (5%), Bergamot Flavouring (2.5%), Bergamot Peel (0.3%), Lavender Earl Grey: Black Tea¹, Natural Bergamot Flavouring with other Natural Flavourings (8%), Lavender (8%), Strong Earl Grey: Black Tea¹, Bergamot Flavouring (4.5%), Bergamot Peel (0.3%), Lady Grey: Black Tea¹, Orange Peel (3%), Lemon Peel (3%), Flavouring, ¹Rainforest Alliance Certified.

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

• Nairn's Dark Chocolate Chip Oat Biscuit, 200g: a gentle oat biscuit with dark chocolate chips, restrained enough to let the bergamot lead.
• Nairn's Gluten Free Oat & Ginger Biscuit Breaks, 160g: warm ginger on oats sits well beside the citrus of the standard and Strong Earl Greys.
• Lotus Biscoff Sandwich Cream Biscuits, 150g: a sweet cream sandwich biscuit for the Vanilla Earl Grey, where the sweeter notes agree.
• Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: a buttery, sweet crunch that softens the perfume of the Lavender Earl Grey.

Elsewhere in the Twinings range

• Twinings Assam, 80 Tea Bags 200g
• Twinings Assam Loose Tea, 125g
• Twinings Black Tea Discovery Collection, 20 Tea Bags 40g
• Twinings Darjeeling, 40 Tea Bags 100g
• Twinings Decaffeinated Everyday, 80 Tea Bags 250g
• Twinings English Afternoon, 80 Tea Bags 200g

The full range is on the Twinings brand page.

FAQ

Which teas are in the Earl Grey Discovery Collection? Earl Grey, Strong Earl Grey, Vanilla Earl Grey, Lavender Earl Grey and Lady Grey, with four sealed envelopes of each.

What is the difference between Earl Grey and Lady Grey? On this label, Earl Grey is scented with bergamot flavouring and a little lemon, while Lady Grey lists orange peel, lemon peel and flavouring.

Should Earl Grey be drunk with milk? We would leave it out here. Milk hides the bergamot and thins these light base teas; a slice of lemon suits them better.

Why does some Earl Grey taste soapy? That is usually a heavily perfumed bergamot. Tasting several versions is the easiest way to find the level that suits you.

Is the tea certified? The published ingredient list marks the black tea as Rainforest Alliance Certified. Check the current pack, as marks can change.

Curator's note: One a day, same mug, no milk, and a word in a notebook. By the second week you will know exactly which Earl Grey is yours. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Twinings Earl Grey Discovery Collection: Five Greys Side by Side

More from the tea wiki

• Twinings: Tea Range and Buying Guide
• How to Make Tea Properly: The Eight Step Method
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Earl Grey: Taste, Brands & the Bergamot Test
• Lemon and Ginger Tea: The UK's Working Remedy Cup

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