Sainsburys: Taste The Difference Fairtrade Earl Grey

As a dedicated Earl Grey lover it takes quite a lot to please me when it comes to the beautiful, bergamot infused drink. I'm fussy. I do give the variations of Earl Grey a go. Some I've loved, some I've liked and others I've not been at all keen on.

Supermarket own brand Earl Grey are not normally the first I turn to, I will admit. It tends to be weak, wishy washy and lacking any type of oomph. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, it's can be synthetic, overly perfumed and burns the roof of your mouth. Normally, I will only turn to own brand Earl Grey when Twinings is too expensive, as it can be in some places.

Earlier this summer I visited a friend who always buys me a box of tea when I go to stay. She very kindly read out the options and for some reason I decided to opt for this Taste The Difference Fairtrade Earl Grey from Sainsburys.

Not sure why I opted for this over Twinings as there wasn't much different in the price (Twinings was on offer at time of ordering)  but perhaps I just fancied something new and different. After all, though a devoted lover of Twinings Lady Grey, I've equally been impressed by Marks and Spencers Empress Grey. Variety is the spice of life so perhaps I just fancied shaking things up a bit. Stepping out of the tea comfort zone.

From the offset this tea doesn't compare to Twinings. However, it's not a bad second. Here's why I feel this.

The base tea is of unknown origin, it doesn't state on the box where it comes from, simply that it's a black tea. It's quite strong and robust, and in itself makes for a good tea (note to self: maybe I should next try their English Breakfast  and Assam blends) which is tasty and gives you a real kick start in the morning.  However, the strength of the tea causes a problem.

Those of us who have drunk our body weight in Earl Grey will instantly know the warm, familiar taste of bergamot. That citrus taste which is hard to pin down to either lemon or orange, but takes the plain black tea and blasts it into a different stratosphere. In this tea, it's slightly lacking. It's more reminiscent of Twinings Delicate Earl Grey then the ever popular The Earl Grey available in every supermarket and convenience store in the UK.

The flavour of the bergamot is gentle, tasty, but does lack a certain oomph. It's there, but I just wanted it to be stronger to stand up against the tea they have used. And it just lacks a bit of something. However, the actual taste of the bergamot is nice and natural - thankfully this isn't one of those perfumed disasters found in some Earl Grey.

What I will say about this tea though is it's incredibly refreshing, and leaves a gorgeous taste in your mouth long after the cup has been finished. It's refreshing on a hot day and doesn't seem to sit heavy on my stomach during the mini heat waves we've had recently here in the UK.

Going back to the bergamot flavour, because it's - shall we say - dainty, I would avoid adding milk to the tea for fear of wiping out that Earl Grey essence completely, however, I find this tea really is spiced up by adding a slice of lemon. That seems to bring the bergamot out a little and I've found that since adding the fruit, I've had some really gorgeous cups of this tea.

I have tried leaving the tea to infuse to it's maximum time, but I found it went bitter and didn't actually alter the strength of the bergamot at all - rather it just made the tea taste a little stewed.

I do apologise for this mish mash of a review. It's a little all over the place granted!

However, I did actually like the tea. The bergamot is a nice flavour, but I just need a wee bit more of it added so it stands up against the high quality, but strong, black tea that Sainsburys have decided to use in this tea. It just needs a little bit more oomph and if Sainsburys read this and decide to make the flavour a little stronger, this will be a surefire hit.

But, do not be in doubt, this is a pleasant tea and I can't praise highly enough the black tea used. It's a robust, nice quality tea that will give the tea drinker a satisfying cup of tea.

I like the packaging too, it's really pretty.

I also can't fault Sainsburys for the options it gives their customers. You can buy this tea in boxes of 50, 100 and 200. You can buy it as a loose tea also (good for the traditional tea drinkers) and they also provide a decaff version too - and that's great because I know at least three people who need to drink decaff coffee and tea as part of a healthy diet.

I will easily give this tea 8/10 for the quality of the ingredients (I really am impressed with the black tea used). But to get it up to a 9 or 10 then Sainsburys need to add more bergamot flavouing. Not a huge amount more, but enough for us to taste the special element that makes Earl Grey, well, Earl Grey!

As a supermarket own blend this is really quite good. And I don't think the price, £1.20 for 50 teabags is bad at all. But, honestly, put it up to £1.50 and get a smidgeon more bergamot in there.

Then, it would be the perfect cup of Earl Grey.