A close-up image of loose leaf Earl Grey black tea.
  • Black tea
  • Caffeinated · 40-60 mg
  • Loose leaf or sachets

Ellie'sEarl Grey Black Tea

4.94 · 33 reviews
$24.00 $0.60 a cup · about 40 cups
Feeds a shelter cat for 7 days. per pouchWe send money, not kibble.
Variety
Black tea
Notes
OrangeVanillaMalt
Origin
Sri LankaCeylon orange pekoe base
Caffeine
40-60 mg per 8oz cup A cup of our coffee is about 95–120 mg.
Ingredients
Ceylon OP, bergamot essential oil, cornflowers Nothing else. No added sugar, no artificial flavour.
Type
How often
Quantity

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  • Blended & shipped daily
  • Free shipping over $35
  • Carbon neutral

This bag feeds a shelter cat for 7 days. per bag

We send money, not kibble. Shelters put it where it's needed that week: food, vaccines, spay and neuter, a vet bill.

Every order this month supports Freeman-Fritts Vet Clinic & Shelter.

Illustration of Ellie

Meet the cat

Ellie

Ellie was rescued through the connections of Kitty Town Coffee! She was discovered on the side of the road abandoned and injured; we were looking for a sweet lap cat to keep me company due to a physical disability. Within minutes of meeting Ellie, she laid on our laps and curled her tail around our arms. If you’re ever going through a tough time, this kitty will be attached to your side. Not only is she a gentle soul, Ellie is popular at parties and makes friends with everyone (we may or may not have suspicions that our friends visit just to see her). She’s had health challenges after adoption, one of which resulted in an ear canal ablation that sewed her ear shut. So she may have a crooked ear, but she’s a straight up cutie! Ellie has since passed away, but we will forever be grateful for her companionship during a hard season of life.

The tea on this page is named after Ellie.

A pouch of Ellie tea

The tea

A Ceylon that leans citrus, not perfume.

Most Earl Grey is bergamot first and tea second. Ours starts from a Ceylon orange pekoe with enough body to hold its own, so what you get is orange peel and a little vanilla sitting on top of an actual black tea, rather than a scented cup that tastes thin underneath.

The cornflowers are there for looks and we are not going to pretend otherwise. A spoonful of this in the tin is a genuinely pretty thing, and that has never hurt a morning.

You'll like it if
you want a classic Earl Grey that still tastes like tea, hot or iced, with milk or without
Maybe not if
you want a heavy, perfumey bergamot — ours is deliberately restrained

Getting it right

How we'd steep Ellie's.

If it tastes good, it is good. These are guidelines, not gospel — start here and move whichever way your cup wants to go.

Water
195°F
Time
5 minutes
Leaf
2.5g per 12oz

One sachet per 12 oz mug. No measuring, same numbers otherwise.

  • We'd start here

    Hot, in a mug

    Infuser basket, water at 195°F, five minutes. Take the leaves out when you are done — leaving them in is what turns a good cup bitter halfway down.

  • Over ice

    Brew it double strength — twice the leaf, same water — then pour it straight over a full glass of ice. It dilutes to about right instead of washing out.

  • A second steep

    Loose leaf only. Run the same leaves again a minute longer. Lighter, rounder, less bergamot — a different cup rather than a weaker one.

If it's not right

Too weak
Add leaf before you add time. Past five minutes black tea gets bitter, not stronger.
Too bitter
Pull it a minute earlier, or use slightly less leaf. Water temperature isn't the culprit with black tea — it wants the full boil.

Reviews

33 people have opinions.

4.94
4.94 out of 5 · 33 reviews

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Ellie's Earl Grey Black Tea · 3.5oz Loose Leaf 7 meals