Grapefruit is not my favourite fruit, but the intense aroma it produces is always alluring! Today, I am reviewing H. R. Higgins Blue Lady tea, a mix of black tea with flower petals and grapefruit. Don’t get this tea mixed up with Zest’s High Caffeine Blue Lady, as that brew will really blow your socks off.
Citrus and black tea is a classic combination – lemon slices in plain black tea is a delight, and let’s not forget that bergamot and black tea is the perfect recipe for a classic earl grey. Yet citrus and black tea can still go wrong, especially when flavouring is used. If the black tea is too astringent, it can create a super bitter and sharp flavour profile.
So, let’s see if H. R. Higgins Blue Lady is as artfully blended as their other luxury teas.
Higgins Blue Lady Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Keemun black tea with grapefruit flavouring and flower petals
- Flavour: A soft and warming black tea with smooth grapefruit notes and a hint of pith
Don’t be fooled by the super pungent grapefruit aroma – this tea is delightfully smooth, gentle and has just the right amount of citrus fruit in every sip.
Full Review – Black Tea with Grapefruit Flavouring
- Type: Loose leaf tea
- Tea: Chinese Keemun black tea
- Additives: Mallow flowers, marigold petals, grapefruit flavouring
- Flavour Notes: Soft and warm black tea, mellow grapefruit, citrus pith
- Aroma: Intense grapefruit, floral, tannins, lemon zest
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: H. R. Higgins Teashop
I have a sample packet and a metal tea caddy of this tea (thanks again, H. R. Higgins, for your generosity) and both have an absolutely lush aroma. The black tea leaves are dotted with colourful yellow marigold petals and blue mallow flowers that add a very subtle floral note that hides behind the juicy, fresh grapefruit scent. It is very strong, but also very authentic. Impressive!
Once brewed, this tea is a fairly dark burnt umber colour but dust-free. The aroma from the brewed tea is much calmer, with less grapefruit and more warmth from the black tea tannins. I can also detect a hint of lemon zest, which works nicely in the profile too.
As for the flavour, I love it! Despite not being a fan of the tartness of grapefruit juice, I think that grapefruit flavours work very well with the smooth black tea. There’s a good warmth to the body, with gentle fruity notes. You can detect a hint of citrus pith (that white part between the segments and outer zest) that adds a little astringency too. Overall, it’s well-balanced and very very drinkable.
Hats off to you, H. R. Higgins!
How to Brew H. R. Higgins Blue Lady Tea
Mr Higgins’ instructions for brewing Blue Lady tea is to brew one heaped teaspoon for 3 minutes and 30 seconds using freshly boiled water. They recommend serving the tea black (I second that) and also point out that this tea is fabulous iced.
Okay, so they don’t actually say it is fabulous iced. But they do suggest trying it iced and I, personally, think it is fabulous consumed that way. I certainly plan to brew up a huge batch of iced tea of Higgins Blue Lady in the summer. You’ll get bonus points for adding slices of fresh grapefruit and perhaps a few mint sprigs to the iced tea as well.
If you want to enjoy this tea hot, which is also delicious, then this is a good after-dinner tea. The flavour and aroma of grapefruit is very strong, so it can clash when served with strong-flavoured foods.
Why H. R. Higgins Mayfair?
H. R. Higgins are a London-based coffee company with an excellent line of loose leaf teas. All their teas are available only in loose leaf format and I am super glad. If it wasn’t a loose leaf tea, you would never get to enjoy the visual delight of Blue Lady. The sprinkling of floral petals and twists of dried black tea are so pretty.
The ingredients are great as well. Mr Higgins uses Keemun black tea from China, with whole mallow blooms and marigold petals. The grapefruit is added through flavouring, but it’s surprisingly authentic in aroma and flavour. This is a good indicator that it is a very high quality.
If you want to order some tea (or coffee) from H. R. Higgins, you will need to either visit their café in Mayfair or order from their online store. This is the only place where you can purchase their tea. I definitely recommend buying two or three (or four or five) different teas to explore the range of flavours. I am currently working through a metal caddy of their Mayfair black tea blend, which is a wonderful everyday kind of tea to rival your usual Twinings or Yorkshire Tea blend.
Summary
This tea is delicious and I don’t think you need to enjoy grapefruit juice or fresh grapefruit to like this tea. The black tea base is smooth and warm, the floral notes are subtle, and the grapefruit adds a well-balanced citrus taste. I highly recommend giving it a try.
Tea-Ware Recommendation
If I could pick just one piece of teaware from our tea shop to use when brewing and drinking this tea, it would have to be the Glass Tea Bubble Flask. It is great for brewing tea on the go, or just keeping your tea hot at home while you’re busy working, gaming or just watching Netflix. Our teashop ships to the UK for free, as well as the US via our Etsy shop.