Tealicious Tea Room Earl Grey Tea Review
It’s always a good week when I can start the day with a steaming mug of Earl Grey tea. Today, it’s Tealicious Tea Room Earl Grey that’s filling the room with that sweet citrus note of bergamot and black tea.
I am eager to add this to my Best Earl Grey Tea list, as I love to support British tea brands. Tealicious Tea Room is in fact an actual tearoom that you can visit in Durham. I have been there myself and I can vouch for how delicious the cakes are as well as the tea!
You can also buy Tealicious Tea Room Earl Grey online via there shop – I have included links below. These are not affiliate links and I won’t receive any commission or similar if you make a purchase.
Tealicious Earl Grey Tea at a Glance
Izzy's Rating
3.5/5
- Blend: Ceylon black tea with bergamot, lemon, orange, and orange blossom
- Flavour: Cleansing, astringent black tea with notes of lemon and orange
This is an astringent black tea with subtle citrus notes. The drying texture is super cleansing, so it’s a great Earl Grey to sip alongside a rich slice of cake or malty hot cross bun!
Full Review – Earl Grey by Tealicious Tea Room Durham
Izzy's Rating
3.5/5
- Type: Loose leaf
- Tea: Black tea from Uva, Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
- Additives: Orange peel, lemon peel, orange blossom, bergamot oil
- Flavour Notes: Light black tea, astringent, subtle lemon orange, cleansing
- Aroma: Classic Earl Grey, rich, orange, orange blossom, sweetness, lemon
- Milk or Lemon: Either, plus honey to taste
- Where to Buy: Tealicious Tea Room
The dry aroma from this tea is initially very reminiscent of a classic Earl Grey. Black tea and citrus notes melt together beautifully. You will also be able to detect a delicate orange blossom aroma that is so juicy and inviting.
Once brewed into a dark, cloudy brown tea colour, the aroma sweetens and the black tea notes develop. It’s rich and full-bodied with a note of lemon – any freshness to the aroma has completely died.
The flavour follows that vein and is very strong and very bitter. The lemon and orange notes are subtle and any sweetness only occurs a few seconds into the aftertaste. As a result, it is very cleansing and drying in your mouth.
Overall, it is quite a challenge to drink this tea black. However, once you bring a buttery toasted hot cross bun into the mix or add some milk, the tea balances out nicely and it goes down a treat. No regrets.
How to Brew Earl Grey
To brew Tealicious Tea Room Earl Grey, the instructions recommend using 2 heaped teaspoons per 400ml of boiling water. A single teacup typically holds 200ml to 250ml, so I recommend using 1 and a half heaped teaspoons for an average mug.
The tearoom recommends letting it stand for 3 to 4 minutes before straining out the tea. This is quite long for an Earl Grey, especially if you are drinking it without milk. So, start with 2 minutes and work up from there.
For this review, I followed the instructions closely, stopping at exactly 3 minutes. I do this for all the teas I review, so I can give you an honest opinion of the tea that the manufacturer or supplier intends you to drink!
You can try adding a slice of lemon to this tea, for additional citrus notes, but I’d advise milk instead. The strong astringency of this tea and lack of traditional bergamot notes make it a great tea to sip with a generous amount of milk and honey.
Why Tealicious Tea Room Durham?
Tealicious Tea Room are a small, independent café style tearoom based in the city centre in Durham. Their collection of tea includes classics, like this Earl Grey, and more unusual blends like the Vanilla Earl Grey I reviewed recently. You can buy any of their blends as loose leaf tea pouches, or a select few blends in teabag format. There’s shipping across the UK.
Looking at the quality of the tea leaves, I love that they are relatively long and curled. The ingredients are stellar too, with real curls of dried citrus fruit. The orange blossom adds a very delicate note and I am amazed that Tealicious Tea Room are using bergamot oil. Most brands, such as Twinings and even Whittard of Chelsea, use bergamot flavouring in their tea blends due to the high cost of the ingredient.
Although I wish that the bergamot and citrus fruits had a stronger flavour, I am impressed that the orange blossom pulls through well in the aroma. It is balanced well, with a little room for improvement, but is still incredibly drinkable and not a tea that I would turn my nose up at!
Summary
This tea is cleansing and refreshing. If you like an Earl Grey and want to try something with a sweet citrus edge, then I highly recommend Tealicious Tea Room’s Earl Grey blend. The only place you can buy this tea is from the tearoom, either by visiting Durham or ordering online.
Tea-Ware Recommendation
If I could select just one item of tea-ware to sip Tealicious Tea Room Earl Grey from, it would be a teacup. With a small volume and cute design, they are perfect for a cosy afternoon tea when the weather is a little chilly. You can buy these from the Immortal Wordsmith shop, with free delivery across the UK.