Twist Tea: Earl Great

Aside from getting to taste all manner of glorious tea's, one of the loveliest aspects of being a tea blogger is that you get to work with new start up companies. I've had the pleasure to do this several times and it's always lovely to be there at the start and see how the company and their products develop.

Earlier this week I was followed on Twitter by a company called Twist Tea's. They are a new start up and are in fact so new that their website isn't quite live yet! After a brief chat with a lovely lady called Claire, I found a box of samples arrived on Wednesday.

The tea's arrived in a lovely metal caddie as you can see in the picture above. It was rather like Mary Poppins bag. Though small the caddie held a extraordinary amount of tea samples!

Along with the samples came a little book about Twist and the products they make and sell. I read through the company biography with interest. Twist believe in taking traditional tea's and adding a spin on them. Either by pairing up flavours in a new and different way or adding herbs so that favourite classic's become a functional tea with the added benefit of being really healthy for you. It's a interesting company and cannot wait till their site is live so I can browse at my leisure!

Within the tin of sample sat the tea I'm reviewing now - Twist take on the ever so classic, and my personal favourite, Earl Grey. They have called it Earl Great!

This particular tea came in silky pyramid form. The tea is also available in various sizes and in loose form too. As you can see in the photograph about, the bag is filled with a generous amount of tea and looks absolutely delicious. And very pretty too.

I couldn't wait to try this. Not only is it a Earl Grey but it's also the first cup of tea I'm having today so I was more than eager to try! I filled the kettle with fresh water and waited for it to boil. Popping the hot water over the bag it instantly took on a lovely light tan colour which developed through the infusion to a lovely dark hue.

Instantly I knew that this wouldn't be a traditional Earl Grey. This was going to be different.

The base tea used in this blend is a Ceylon - which regular readers now know is a favourite of mine - and it has a lovely robust, rounded flavour which I instantly fell in love with and which I recognised after having drunk a lot of Ceylon recently.

What immediately struck me about this tea is that Twist have toned down some of the traditional elements of Earl Grey - though the bergamot is present and is detectable, it's only very lightly there. For me it's the bergamot that is the make or break to Earl Grey. As I've stated in previous reviews of Earl Grey's if the bergamot is wrong it ruin's the whole cup. So, for instance, some bergamot flavouring can taste artificial with perfume like qualities making for a hideous, bitter mess.

Twist have shown restraint with the bergamot and I find this a pleasant and interesting change. Due to the delicateness it allows you to really experience some of the other flavours within the tea.

Also included in the tea is orange blossom which I think is a tasty addition to the tea, it gives it a lovely, delicate floral feel to the blend.

With many of their blends Twist also add in a secret blend of herbs to provide more health benefits to the tea drinker. This tea does have herbal elements, you can taste it within the tea and smell it too. However, I do not know what these herbs are, they are secret of course! But they add a lovely earthiness to the blend and make this Earl Grey different from the rest.

This is a tea that you can get your teeth into. It's solid, strong and robust. And it's as satisfying as any good Earl Grey should be. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this very new and fresh twist on Earl Grey. Twist have managed to blend both the familiar traditional elements of Earl Grey whilst bringing it bang up to date. I loved the added herbs they are just so interesting.

If you are a die hard Earl Grey traditionalist then this may not be the one for you as it does take you out of your comfort zone somewhat when it comes to our beloved blend. However, if you like different flavours, if you are willing to step out of that familiar comfort zone and give something new a try then I'd highly recommend this satisfying tea.

I found it really refreshing and brilliant for that first cup of the morning. The Ceylon tea is lovely and for me anyway, gave me a great kick start this morning.

I cannot wait to try the other tea's Twist kindly sent to me and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take their tea's in the future. Exciting times, indeed!