The History bit:
In the 1930s Arthur Brooke of Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in the UK tea market under the name of Pre-Gest-Tee. The name implied that the tea could be drunk prior to food being digested. Grocers abbreviated it to PG.After the Second World War, labelling regulations ruled out describing tea as aiding digestion a property previously attributed to tea and by 1950/1 the PG name was officially adopted. The company added "Tips" referring to the fact that only the tips (the top two leaves and bud) of the tea plants are used in the blend.
Yorkshire Tea is a black tea blend produced by Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, one of the few remaining family tea and coffee merchants in the United Kingdom. Bettys is also a famous tearoom in Harrogate that my twin raved about when she went there.The company was founded in 1886 by Yorkshire tea merchant Charles Taylor.
Now i'm going to make some tea! to see how to make your tea the English way please see How to be English aka how to make tea a video by youtuber charlie who actually earns a living now making videos hmm back to the point below are tea terms borrowed from, 'Tea a Global History' by Helen Saberi.
TEA TERMS
Body: with a strong liquor.
Brassy: With a bright taste.
Bright: With a good pronounced colour, usually orange or coppery.
Brisk: Refreshing or lively.
Clean : A pure neutral aroma.
Coarse: With a a harsh and vegetable aroma.
Dull: An infusion that lacks aroma.
Earthy: With an unpleasant taste, (usually caused by storing tea in damp conditions.)
Flaky : Badly manufactured, producing flat or badly rolled leaves.
Flowery: High quality.
Golden : A term used to describe tea containing light tips.
It may be useful to start by saying PG Tips comes in a pyramid bag and Yorkshire Tea comes in a rectangular bag. Now it is claimed that the pyramid bag gives extra room to help the tea brew, however this is debatable and anyway i'll be doing a post on tea bags in a bit so go look at that.
First I popped the tea bags into the mugs full of boiling water without stirring for ten seconds, and i found that the PG tips pyramid bag certainly did get a head start as the tea coloured the bottom of the mug easily within that time. The Yorkshire tea bag didn't quite manage that but hey who makes tea without a teaspoon!?
Next I stirred the tea each five times then left for 30 seconds to brew, I guess they'd already had a while after I appraised their non-stirred spreading abilities so then I squeezed the bags with the spoon and took them out, now comes the jargon bit.
Colour: The colour of both of the teas was predictably similar seeing as they are both types of black tea. When tilted so that the tea was see through against the white of the inside of the mug they certainly could not be classed as bright, in fact more pale with a yellowy colour that screamed end of the barrel. Also PG Tips created a bit of oily scum on the top of the water which wasn't very pleasant, its well known that Yorkshire tea is better brewed in harder water and did not give a scummy look to the water.
Smell: PG Tips gives a vague chemically smell which is coarse compared to the Yorkshire tea even perhaps a little dull. Whereas Yorkshire tea has a more homely smell a slightly cleaner aroma than PG Tips and which in general is kinder to the nostril.
Taste: PG Tips gives a very tangy taste on first sip, a strong even acrid taste that seems to coat the tongue. Yorkshire Tea is somewhat less acrid and less strong a taste although it still coats the tongue which doesn't make it very appetizing.
Conclusion: Fortunately for us it seems both teas were made with the English in mind, Saberi lists ways in which tea is combined with different things in her book, "In America they serve it iced. The Tibetans add butter. The Russians serve with lemon. Mint is added in North Africa. Afghans flavour it with cardamom. The Irish and British drink it by the gallon with milk and sugar. The Indians boil it with condensed milk." We like milk and sugar in our tea, both things which combined with the taste of plain tea actually accompany it and accentuate its unique taste very well, and that's just fine for our moderate climate! I enjoyed using new terms to describe tea and comparing two seemingly different brands although i think i might go make myself a cup of coffee after all that.
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