Yorkshire Gold Tea

A good strong British tea. A staple for me.

What was I thinking expecting loose leaf tea from a tea bag company? Having said that, I think if I can find a fine sieve, this tea will be similar to the bagged version. The price was right at 7.50 for 250g! The size of particle is similar to Twinings English Breakfast. It also tastes better. Little dark right now, so will work on tweaking the brew. By the way, a good tip is that fine teas are much heavier, so use 1/2 as much otherwise you will end up with bitter tea.

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.

I bought this today at The World Market, probably paid way too much for it too! It’s a decent cuppa, more mellow than Yorkshire red, so don’t expect this to be stronger. Nice malty flavours that don’t have a bitter after taste. Yorkshire Gold is a really good black tea, however, it won’t replace my PG Tips .

THE RUNDOWN
1) I can’t drink this tea straight. I’m still acclimating to assams for their malty bitterness. I added one Splenda and about a tbsp of unsweetened almond milk. I tried brewing today for 6 minutes at boiling to see how it would affect brewing in cup. Great aroma and great color, as always. This is my morning cuppa.
2) First Taste: Wow. What a taste this rich nutty blend has. I call them tea grounds because they’re so tiny (and so caffeinated) but I love how they bloom as they brew. I get nutty, vanilla, caramel, salty, and a bit of earthiness.
3) Second Taste: Fantastic mouthfeel. I get a bit more bitterness this time around. And I can smell some of that saltiness. I’m still getting that earthiness but maybe a bit less.
4) Final Thought: If you like strong rich teas, you really have to try this tea. It’s sort of famous for its strength (someone once told me it’s twice as strong as regular drip coffee) and that makes it the perfect wake-up juice. And best of all – it tastes incredible. I never go without having this in my cupboard.

Windchills of 13 below. Snowing. This calls for a no-nonsense, malty black.

This is one of my absolute favorite teas. There’s a small British import shop in town which I occasionally visit, and I knew that they had this in loose leaf, so I had to pick it up. My wife had just bought me a teapot, so I was looking for a good, everyday leaf tea. I had heard good things about this one, but what made me decide to buy it for sure was reading an interview with Nigel Melican. His favorite tea for special occasions the same as one of mine (though I assume he has access to a much higher quality golden tippy Yunnan than I), so I figured we might have similar tastes. He said that Yorkshire Gold was his favorite “everyday” tea, and that it contained Rwandan leaves. This was when I made up my mind. I’ve got friends in Rwanda, and have visited there. I’ve ridden with fifteen other people in a matatu bus meant to hold nine or ten and looked down across the lush valleys filled with camellia sinensis. And I’ve drunk pure Rwandan tea black, and been pleased by the incredible smooth flavor and lack of bitterness. I had to try this tea.

So, we made our way down to Willy’s Emporium to get a bag. Not long after we got home, I fired up the trusty electric kettle, prepared the teapot, and made a pot full of Yorkshire Gold (well, not really full—we figured a six-cup pot would be more versatile, allowing us to have tea alone or with company). I was a bit worried that I’d been building it up too much in my mind. I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong.

This really is an incredible tea. It’s strong, full, and malty, and certainly has good kick. And yet, perhaps due to the Rwandan tea, it’s not bitter. Indeed, it has a remarkably brisk flavor in addition to its stoutness. The pour is golden and beautiful, and the aroma is pleasant the whole way through. It takes milk wonderfully, and sugar, too. I see what Mr Melican means—this has quickly become my everyday morning tea (I usually have other tea at work, where I don’t have access to a pot, a kettle, or milk). I’m down near the bottom of the bag now, and am already planning my next trip to the store to replenish my supply.

Couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting as good of a cup out of the loose leaf as I was from the bags. I think it just boils down to (see what I did there?) the bags being really strong. I usually put one tsp of tea, plus one for the pot with loose leaf, but I think I just need an extra teaspoon or two. This tea is cut very fine, which is what allows it to steep so quickly, but that is a problem with the loose leaf as more of it gets through my strainer. Still, this is the quintessential English tea for milk and sugar.

to be honest, i did not like this tea the first few tries and it is probably better by the cup than by the pot because over brewing this tea is a not good thing. however, as i have tried several more blends during the last 7 weeks, i have come back to this at least once a week and will continue to do so if for nothing other than value. it is not the most flavorful tea blend around, but it does taste pretty darn good with sugar and milk. plus, it is definitely strong enough to start the engines.

My house always has this in stock. A very good, high quality black tea that can drunk in any way. If I’m drinking for fun, I often steep this moderately strong, and then add milk and sugar for a nice hot work drink. On days where I have a paper to write or edit, I go through at least 3 to 4 cups a day. On mornings (or nights) where I need to be caffeinated, I steep this very strongly and sip it black. For some odd reason it keeps me awake better than coffee without the headaches, so I like it for this reason.

I’m surprised at some of the lower ratings on here, but most of them seem to be written by people who prefer fruity or chai teas. If you enjoy a simple black tea, this is a great tea to have at home.