Twinings Floral Range: Lavender Earl Grey Makes For A Comforting Brew

One of the most popular ranges of tea that Twinings make is their floral range. They are normally black teas with either a spiced or floral flavour. The ranges in the brand are:

- Mulled Spice (no longer produced)
- Blossom Earl Grey
- Jasmine Earl Grey
- Lavender Earl Grey
- Rose Garden.

When I first started drinking tea, I really fell in love with Mulled Spice. Then, gradually, over time, I invested in each of the floral teas. I received samples of Blossom Earl Grey and Rose Garden many years back and initially disliked them. (That was down to how I brewed and made the tea, so my fault!), but as my tastes changed, I began to enjoy them.

I will review the floral range one by one, as they really are very different and varied, and warrant their own page.

Each floral tea is available in caddy form, and refills are also available. The caddies, which come with 20 teabags, are available in Waitrose stores and online at the Twinings shop. The caddies are priced £6.00 each and the refills priced around £2.09 a box for 20 teabags. You can also purchase individual envelopes of the floral range in Twinings pick and mix.

I decided to start with Lavender Earl Grey, as it was the tea that I was sure I wouldn't like. In fact, I really only brought the caddy to make up the set. I'm funny like that, I get twitchy when I know I'm missing one of a set.

Upon opening the caddy, I found that the individual envelopes where in a box. I opened up the box and the smell of lavender was really strong, in fact I almost flew to the opposite side of the kitchen. It was very intense. I had a feeling that I would not like this tea at all, and in fact, it was only my friend, Elena, who lives in Italy and who likes the blend that persuaded me to try it.

Here is a picture of the individual envelope:

When I undid the individual envelope, and poured the water onto the teabag, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the aroma of lavender, when you have just one teabag, is gentle, subtle and not at all overpowering. As the tea brewed, the kitchen filled up with the warm lavender scent, and it was indeed very pleasant.

Twinings suggest to brew the tea for three to four minutes, and I would say three is about right. When brewing it takes on a lovely dark colour, which is lovely. It's a tea that looks, as well as smells, inviting.

Although it is suggested that you can add a "splash of milk", I would say it's better to drink it black. With all flavoured teas such as Earl and Lady Grey, and indeed the floral teas, (with the exception of Mulled Spice) I find that milk either masks the flavour, or, in the case of Rose Garden, makes it sickly sweet, particularly if you drink full fat milk. Also, there is no need to add sugar or sweetener to this blend, as it's more then tasty enough.

Once the tea had cooled I took my first sip. I still expected some strong, synthetic lavender taste, and I was more then pleasantly surprised. The taste is subtle, and is more backstage then centre stage. The flavour is rich and lingers in your mouth way after you've finished drinking, but not at all in an unpleasant way. And although the lavender is a rather feminine blend, it still is as full bodied a tea as you get with black tea.

A strange thing happened when I had my first cup of Lavender Earl Grey. From being certain that I wasn't going to like the blend at all, as soon as I finished the first mug, I immediately boiled the kettle and made a second. In fact, less then a week after ordering the tea, I'm almost half way through the box. Quite an unexpected turnaround!

Summary of Lavender Earl Grey

- Caddies available from Waitrose and Twinings online shop priced £6.00. Refills cost £2.09 for 20.
- It's suggested that the tea is taken black or with a splash of milk. I would recommend black, unsweetened.
- Brew for three minutes, but no longer then four.