Taylors of Harrogate

I have had the bagged version of this tea, and it is good with cream and sugar, but depends on cream and sugar. Otherwise way to strong, astringent, and dehydrating.

I’ve tried Scottish Breakfasts before that were a little…shall we say raw. This one isn’t raw at all. It’s very complete and coherent. I’ve been a fan of Irish Breakfast for years, but this one might top it. It’s such a rich black tea that it has a dark chocolate overtone to it. Of course I’ll always trust anything Taylor’s of Harrogate produces. They sell spectacular teas.

This tea is like candy. It has a strange sweetness on its own, but a little sugar and a lemon wedge really livens it up. The actual black tea flavor is a bit muted, but it makes up for it with the sheer deliciousness of the fruit flavorings. Also, this is a British tea, so you can act all fancy around your friends and exclude them from your fancy tea parties.

You can begin speaking with a British accent, causing everyone to trust your opinion more than they normally would. This will lead to promotions and general success in your life.

Then, one day, atop your mountain of gold, you will inevitably tell your supermodel wife some sweet nothing in your original accent and the world will come crashing down. She will divorce you and take everything you own, leaving you with nothing, right back where you started.

This glorious tea has the power to change your life for the better or worse or not at all. Basically, it’s just like any other tea. Enjoy!

This is my go-to bagged tea for busy mornings at work. I add plenty of sugar and some cream to this, and I love the malty taste. Besides, it’s one of the only teas in my arsenal that can truly make me feel ‘awake’ despite the fact that I’m not a morning person.

This is the second try on this one. I found both the English Breakfast and Scottish Breakfast sachets at the grocery store and figured I’d give it a try as a cheap desk drawer offering for those days I need tea but don’t have the time to make a more quality mug up. I do like their Yorkshire Gold on occasion as a cheap tea option, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose trying these.

The first go of it, around a month ago, I found pretty lacking. Not much flavor. No real distinction. No real impression made. I didn’t steep it long, knowing that Yorkshire Gold goes bitter on a dime.

For today’s second round, I steeped an English Breakfast bag and a Scottish Breakfast bag together in my big mug, and I steeped it for about six minutes. It didn’t get bitter, but the longer steep didn’t pull out any more flavor, either. I’m still not impressed. The best word I think I can use to describe it is “muddy”. There just isn’t any nuance to this tea at all that I can discern.

I think I might “donate” it to the cupboard down in the lounge at work and stick to Twinings Irish Breakfast as my go-to desk tea for when I have no real time to do things up right.

There isn’t too much bergamot, but I don’t care for strong bergamot so yay! I think this is going to end up being my go to Earl Grey :)

This was a gift from a friend. She passed on several bagged teas to me. Since I’m on a horridly high dose of prednisone right now, sleep is hard to capture. So NO CAFFEINE TEA after 5pm!!!

Last night I made this one. I am not a fan of chamomile, but it’s supposed to help relax you, right? This didn’t taste absolutely horrible, but it wasn’t my fave. Again, I don’t like chamomile, so it’s probably not fair for me to even rate this. Do you have suggestions for calming, soothing evening teas?

This is what a morning cuppa should be. I actually crave it in the morning! So malty (which is one reason why I prefer this to PG Tips — there is a bit of a maltiness and less of an astringency that I like). Note: This is coming from someone who is more of a green tea drinker – I’m not a big black tea person. I’ve been picking it up in the English import section of my supermarket and I really like it for those busy mornings.

It is morning and I just finished my first cup of tea for the day, Earl Grey by Taylors of Harrogate. A decent black China tea with a noticeable shot of bergamot. Out of the many Earl Grey teas out there, while this is not my absolute favorite it is one that I would probably purchase twice. I am drinking it from the beautiful Anne of Green Gables cup that my friend Bonnie brought back for me earlier this summer from Prince Edward Island. Does a beautiful cup, given with love by a friend make the tea taste better? In a way it does. At least it definitely adds a positive touch to the experience.

I like plain black tea mainly iced, but when I’m in the mood for it hot, I reach for either Yorkshire Gold or PG Tips … neither have any characteristics to me that differ one from the other. They’re both very excellent black teas to have on hand. If for whatever reason I need to use one to ice – which is rare as I have my favorites for iced – I prefer PG Tips just slightly. I do have several breakfast blends I sometimes bounce between. Depends on what I have on hand at the time.

Yorkshire Gold is smoooooth and bold and I love it. No frills, just a delicious blend. Having it on hand is a great addition to your tea collection.

This makes a great iced tea, but I still haven’t figured out how to cut the bitterness in a hot cup.

I lowered the time and temperature on this one, plus added way more honey and cream than should be necessary, and it’s still just bitter. It’s also a little astringent but that’s not bothering me so much. It’s growing on me about halfway through the cup.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 195 degrees + 18 minutes

This makes for a good second cup. I’m not sure I should push it for a third, but this one is satisfying.

This cup is bitter and somewhat astringent but also rich and full in flavor. Maybe next time I’ll remember to steep at a lower temperature.

I won’t lie – I caught a whiff of the teabag after steeping and it smelled fishy. Thank goodness the liquid doesn’t smell the same. The tea is quite a bold red color. It certainly looks and smells strong. The taste is very bitter so I think next time I’ll steep at a lower temperature. Even with loads of cream and sugar, this is a bit too much for me.

Paid HK$88 (roughly GBP7.5, USD11.5) for 125g loose leaf.
I will choose Twinings’ classic Earl Grey over Taylors’ any day.
Taylors’ Earl Grey tasted flat, the bergamot flavour tasted artificial, at least to me. I had to take this tea with sugar, couldn’t finish the cup plain black.

I will not re-purchase this tea. Actually it may take me a while just to finish this tin.

Note: I always make my tea in teapot. I put 240ml water at first steep, another 240ml second steep.

This was my first time trying Scottish Breakfast tea and I loved it! The malty flavor was very yummy!

Strongest black tea I’ve been able to find so far. Great with milk and sugar.