TWG Tea Company

I’ve found that trying to do reviews while drinking the tea as a morning tea is a bad idea. I can’t pay attention to flavours because I’m half-awake and trying to get food into my system.

However, it smelt strongly of strawberries, followed by other, less identifiable berries. The first sip was tingling and delicious strawberry, and every time you take a very small sip it’s everywhere throughout it and trailing into the aftertaste. The tea itself isn’t passive here, though. It’s a strong tea, not sharp, Ceylon. You taste it more with larger gulps.

There’s a nice sweetness throughout. Not as strong as Marco Polo, but I’m rather liking this anyways.

Popped into the Urban Tea Merchant today, and after smelling this tea at the counter decided to give it a try. Sadly it wasn’t on the Tea to Go menu, but he offered me a pot instead. It was the first time I’d had tea in the sitting-room at the UTM. It was a little more awkward than I would have liked, because a) all the tables are set for two, and I was alone and b) I was only having a pot of tea, no meal or tray of petit fours.

I didn’t realize this tea had rose in it until I sat down and glanced over the little menu. I hadn’t seen/smelled it in the sample. However, surprisingly it didn’t completely turn me off once I got my pot. The ingredients listed rose, berries and almond (although the description on the tin and website list ‘bergamot’ instead of berries). I smelt the berries as I poured the tea, but couldn’t find it too strongly in the taste. The rose was at the front of every sip, but surprisingly smooth (although I still wouldn’t say I “liked” it). Each sip finished with sweet almond cream; It was, overall, quite delicious. The tea base made a minimal appearance, but it often does in flavoured teas. It’s odd, because you can tell it’s Ceylon, but it’s not that wonderful /Ceylon/ you get when you have a cup of unflavoured Sri Lanka alone. It was barely there, but it gave a good base for the flavours added. I think this is a good tea for rose fans.

I got to enjoy the ambience of the tea room, although I think next time I’ll order some food as well.

Pretty darn fantastic and tasty. I wish they sold TWG more freely in the USA. I believe there is 1 store in NYC – come to San Francisco guys!!!! Paris-Singapore was very solid, and you know it’s gonna be good when it comes in one of those fancy cloth teabags. I got this one and a few others at the Singapore Airport Lounge and snuck a few away to have when I got home. This one was probably one of my favourite of the TWG options. Very tasty and an interesting twist. Only had one cup and it was a while back so it’s hard to remember the details, I just remember that it tasted great and the presentation/quality of the tea and teabag itself was stellar. TWG’s gift set would be a perfect gift. I might buy on for myself :)

Still my favourite for a comforting brew.

A soothing cuppa, love the fragrance! Great for a cold rainy day.

If they could bottle the fragrance of the dried tea leaves, I’d wear it forever. The tea itself is pretty awesome, mellow and delicious. The taste of green tea is less pronounced, so it depends on whether you like that or not (I prefer my teas a little assertive). The description given by TWG fits this brew well.

Tea courtesy of Doulton, and idea to drink an Earl Grey courtesy of Miss Sweet! Check out her Ode to Bergamot in her tasting note for Earl Grey Excelsior!!

Taken with a little pinch of sugar.

This one is different! I’m not tasting an overly bergamot flavor. I taste lime! The tea is dark and bold for a Ceylon – I think it would have taken a drop of milk nicely if I had any. It resteeped very strong, too!

It’s not knocking me over – and I think it’s because I really want milk with it! I think I also like my Earls a little less of a gentleman ;) Give me some more Calabrese bergamot of the peasantry, wontcha!

Nice Moroccan mint-y sort of tea. Can’t really taste the vanilla, but the balance of green and mint is very pleasant.

Ah, that’s a nice cuppa.

Once again enjoying this generous sampling from Doulton

This time I decreased the steep time by about 30 seconds and found that the cup was even better than I remember it. The slight bitter taste that I noticed the first time around is not present now, just a very beautiful bergamot flavor. The tea is robust – surprisingly robust for a Ceylon. The bergamot is very strong here… citrus-y with a pleasing floral note.

Nice!

Another gift from Doulton! Thank you!

And like Doulton, I too adore Earl Grey teas. There is just something so amazing about that bergamot – the aroma, the flavor, the way it lingers on the palate. Pure delight.

The aroma of this Earl Grey is strong, especially true of the dry leaf. No big surprise there, because most Earl Grey teas boast that same strength in aroma. Generally, if I find an Earl Grey that is lacking in it’s aroma, it’s been my experience that the tea is lackluster at best. Not always true, but, it is generally the case when it comes to Earl Grey.

The tea base is quite bold, with a slight bitter note to it – not distastefully bitter, though – so it surprised me to learn that this is a Ceylon base, as they tend to be much more mellow.

The bergamot is pleasant in this blend – not quite as floral in flavor as in other blends. No perfume-y flavor to it, just a very delightful, slightly sharp bergamot flavor.

This one courtesy of Doulton!

Again, I was so looking forward to trying this one!

My first impression was that it tasted like flavored coffee. The caramel was pronounced for me, and very toffee coffee. Dark. I didn’t pick up on vanilla or spice. It was a very enjoyable after dinner cuppa, but it was almost like an after dinner cup of coffee! Because of that, and the high cost of this tea, it is probably something I wouldn’t go ahead and order. To totally misconstrue James Joyce for my own purposes:

When I takes tea I takes tea, And when I takes coffee I takes coffee …

I packed up 6 samples to go out to various members of the Steepster community and still have a couple to go…in the meantime, I decided to reward myself by steeping Napoleon.

I really cannot say that I am disappointed at all but my expectations get very high for some tea brands. If this were a TeaVana or an Adagio I would probably rank it close to 100. Keeping that in mind, the brew smells and looks rich, honest, and sincere. The predominate flavor that I get is a great solid black tea with generous vanilla overtones. As a lover of vanilla, I am certainly pleased. There’s nothing synthetic here, nothing cheap or cheesy.

Overall, I’m delighted and will almost certainly reorder unless I find a better black vanilla. TWG stands for “The Wellness Group,” by the way. I can most certainly see this tea promoting wellness. Named in honor of Napoleon, this tea makes me feel a bit more successful and a bit European!

ICED TEA: I put this on ice last night and the results are very pleasing. The appearance is cloudy (does not bother me but I might not serve it to guests) but the taste is delicious—the vanilla comes through loud and clear. Very nice!

This tea is absolutely lovely. A blend of green and black with a subtle spice aroma. I’m carefully conserving my supply!

I’m burning through my tin of this stuff awfully quickly. I stare into the tea cabinet and wonder what to brew, and I never think I want the Singapore Breakfast. Then I smell the vanilla, and it’s over. The blend of green and black teas is even and surprisingly stout, and the vanilla on top makes it sing. Now the indoor respite is perfect. Look at those poor fools outside the window, tromping through the old snow. Nah nah nee boo boo.

If I were given one of those impossible philosophical chores—-you are stuck on a desert island and can only bring one tea, or if you had to pick one tea only to drink for the rest of your life, my immediate answer would be Earl Grey. I’ve loved Earl Grey teas and tasted quite a few of them. When I saw that I could try TWG via mail order, I was ecstatic.

The packaging is delightful. When you open the inner lid on the canister (yes, there are two lids) that Earl Grey aroma is overpowering in its seductive goodness. I noticed this first—many Earl Greys signal their presence with a whiff of vaguely citrus aroma. TWG most certainly has the full fledge bergamot odor—indeed, I felt that I was romping about in a Calabrian bergamot grove. The citrus aroma has overtones of pear, and you can make out the distinctive touches of orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime clearly.

I loved this tea! Drinking this tea after another Earl Grey is like having the most expensive, exquisite, carefully made deep chocolate after a Hershey’s bar. They are from two different planes of experience. Compare the pedestrian, everyday life, which can be drab and dismal, with the most exquisite day you can imagine—a day in sun-drenched Italy, perhaps and you can conjure up the sense of discovery I had with TWG Earl Grey Gentleman. It’s deep, rich, satisfying, filling, and almost a full meal on its own. It does not need sugar and milk, but I tried some with my second cup and the sugar and milk are not strong enough to mar the flavor at all.

A second steeping was flavorful and satisfying. I plan to try other TWG Earl Greys.

They have nine listed on their website:
Breakfast Earl Grey
Earl Grey Fortune
Smoky Earl Grey
Earl Grey Gentleman
English Earl Grey
French Earl Grey
Earl Grey Theine Free
Earl Grey Buddha
Earl Grey d’Amour

This is one of those teas that you can’t drink every day. You have to be in the right mood for its white/oolong/floral-ness. It’s fragrant, and sometimes overwhelmingly so. Reminds me of certain vienna green teas, except without the chocolate nibs.

I’d forgotten about this as it was sitting in the back of the cupboard. 2 cups. Great if you’re looking for a lighter morning tea.

Oooh, haven’t had this one in a while. It’s delicious at any time of day.