Teas Fit For A Queen

With the run-up to Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee to celebrate her seventy years of service, we'll be celebrating with a nice cup of tea. 

Tea has always been synonymous with the British Empire and cross-Atlantic trade between India and China, and we know that Her Majesty loves tea. Royal rumours have it that she is a big fan of Earl Grey tea, and we can see why. Named after Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey, the prime minister of Britain in the 1830s. Famous for abolishing slavery across the British Empire and the 1832 Reform Act, Earl Grey was somewhat of a celebrity. Numerous accounts suggest the commercial provenance of Earl Grey. One hints at Lord Grey's wife, Lady Grey, entertaining politicians and prominent individuals by serving Earl Grey tea at functions and benefits. This 'new' tea became hugely popular among the upper classes and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Traditionally, Earl Grey tea is a refreshing flavoured black tea blended with the oil from the rind of the bergamot fruit. As a result, the tea is highly aromatic and the perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea. Conventionally made with black tea, Earl Grey is produced using teas from China, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India or Africa. The refreshing and distinctive flavours make Earl Grey tea one of our favourites!

We can imagine that Her Majesty enjoys the finest teas, and an afternoon is not complete without a delicious Darjeeling or a robust Assam tea. Both black teas are renowned for their flavour and respected as one of the finest tea producing regions in India.

To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, we have selected our favourite, most-loved and prized teas fit for a queen. Discover delicious teas that we know Her Majesty would enjoy too. 

 

Teavelope English Breakfast Teabags 

 

 

Our Teavelope English Breakfast teabags contain delicious Ceylon black tea from the island's east. The tea leaves are typically dark with a tart and lively flavour. We love this tea in the mornings, with a dash of milk served with breakfast. 

Each tea bag is individually wrapped in an aroma protection sachet for perfect freshness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Andrews English Breakfast Loose-Leaf Tea

 

 

Our English Breakfast St. Andrews is a robust and full-bodied breakfast tea. A dark colour when brewed, this traditional tea has a hearty feel that stays true to the exacting standards of the popular tea. This tea is good any time of day with a dash of milk. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tippy Golden Earl Grey Loose-Leaf Tea

 

 

One of our best-sellers, this Tippy Golden Earl Grey is a fragrant black tea flavoured with Bergamot. The delicately flowery black tea is aromatic and a delight on its own or with a slice of lemon and honey or sugar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joy of Tea Earl Grey Tea Bags

 

 

Our Joy of Tea Earl Grey is a delicious leaf-graded Indian black tea with Bergamot. Intense and vigorous in flavour, the real leaf tea is conveniently bagged in a filter teabag that provides all the space for the tea to unfurl to deliver great taste. Each teabag has an innovative clip to hold it in place on your cup or mug while brewing and is individually wrapped in an aroma protection sachet for perfect freshness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darjeeling Singell – Organic Black Loose-leaf Tea 

 

Our organic Darjeeling Singell is a fantastic first flush tea with slight flowery notes. This tea is in a class of its own, from one of the oldest tea gardens in India. The hand-rolled tea buds are light-coloured, making this loose-leaf tea an absolute pleasure. The golden yellow brewed cup colour enhances this high-quality tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assam Nahorhabi Loose-Leaf Tea

 

 

A rare loose-leaf tea, Assam Nahorhabi is from one of the oldest tea gardens of India in the Sivasagar district. The name Nahorhabi comes from the Nahors trees, also known as Mesua ferrea, which used to be common in this area. The region's climate is very humid with a lot of rain, but also with a lot of sunshine.

The fine dark leaves with golden tips provide a soft yet highly aromatic Assam with hints of malt and caramel flavours. This tea brews a bright gold-brown cup colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earl Grey Cake Recipe

We're convinced that Her Majesty would love a slice of our Earl Grey cake that our operations guru, Alex, developed. The fluffy sponge cake is perfect with fresh fruit and a nice cup of tea!

 

Ingredients

• 20g Special Earl Grey tea 
• 200g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 
• 120g butter 
• 330g caster sugar 
• 3 large eggs 
• 120ml buttermilk 
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract

 

Drizzle Grey Icing: 

• 100g icing sugar 
• Grated zest of ½ lemon  
• Strong cold Special Earl Grey tea – 1 mug full (1 teaspoon of loose-leaf tea) 
• Fresh fruit to decorate

 

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/fan 160ºC/gas mark 4
• Grease and line a loaf tin, then dust the insides with flour 
• Use a pestle and mortar to grind the tea leaves to a fine powder 
• Sift the ground tea, flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and set aside 
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy 
• Add the eggs (one at a time) 
• Slowly fold in half of the flour mixture until thoroughly combined 
• Add half the buttermilk and mix well
• Fold in the remaining flour mix, buttermilk and vanilla extract and mix well
• Pour the mixture into the tin 
• Bake the cake for 40–50 minutes, until golden brown and springy 
• Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely
• Once the cake is nicely cooled, make the icing
• Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest
• Add the cold tea a little at a time, stirring thoroughly until the desired consistency of icing
• Drizzle the glaze all over the cake – we encourage lots of drizzling! 
• Leave the icing to set, and then decorate with fresh fruit.

Posted by cup of tea admin
16th May 2022

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