Sir Williams Tea

Malty, relatively deep and solid for a cheap casual brand.

Bland, watery, grassy, totally uninteresting.

Casual Earl Grey tea with only a trace of bergamot. Not bad for a cheap tea in a hotel, but nothing much.

Complex fruit flavour with slight sourness and a bit of tartness. Great black currant undertones in the background and aftertaste. Not bad for a cheap hotel tea.

Not bad for a cheap brand. Malty, slightly astringent, with subtle earthy and very subtly smoky undertones. Definitely better than I expected from this gifted tea.

236/365

Home again! I travelled for at least 9 hours today, so when I got home I really just wanted something straightforward; caffeinated, but simple. Earl Grey seemed to fit the bill pretty perfectly, and so I pulled this one from my Varieteas box.

It’s not a brand I’m familiar with, or one that I’ve come across before. It claims to be 99% ceylon and 1% bergamot, and I’d go along with that. It’s perhaps a little more floral than I’m used to in an Earl Grey, but the base is smooth, bright, and a touch lemony. The bergamot isn’t too strong, but it doesn’t disappear either. A nice balance!

There’s many an Earl Grey in the world, though, and this one isn’t particularly different when you really get down to it. It’s pleasant, drinkable, decent, and I’d drink it again if I came across it, but I don’t think I’d actively seek it out. It’s an Earl Grey. Even though it’s a good one, you know how it goes.