The Art of Natural Flavouring

Adding flavour to black tea is a craft with ancient roots. Some of the most celebrated examples — Rose Congou from Fujian Province, scented teas from across China — have been made for centuries using traditional layering methods, where natural ingredients are placed with the tea and their oils allowed to infuse slowly through the leaves. The finest flavoured teas still work on the same principle: the character of the ingredient — rose petals, cinnamon bark, bergamot oil, dried fruit — merging with the tea rather than sitting on top of it, so the result feels like one harmonious cup. Every tea in this collection uses natural flavours exclusively and is blended in small batches to ensure the quality of both the base and the flavour are preserved.

Flavour and Character

Three teas give a sense of the range within this collection. Rose Congou Emperor is perhaps the most classically beautiful of all flavoured black teas: a Chinese black tea from Fujian Province, layered with fresh rose petals five times during the scenting process so the natural oils permeate the leaf completely, producing a cup of delicate floral elegance made in essentially the same way since the 18th century. Cinnamon flavoured black tea takes the category in a warmer direction: crushed cinnamon bark gently releasing its natural spicy oils into the steeping tea creates a cup that is aromatic, rich and deeply satisfying — one of the most effective cold-weather brews in the collection. Dammann Frères Jardin Bleu brings the expertise of one of France's oldest tea houses: founded in 1692 when Louis XIV granted the Dammann family royal privilege to sell tea in France, Dammann Frères has been blending teas with complementary natural flavours for over three centuries. Jardin Bleu combines wild strawberry and rhubarb with a black tea base — bright, fruity and characteristically French in its elegance.

Brewing Flavoured Black Tea

All the flavoured black teas in this collection brew well with freshly boiled water and a steep of three to four minutes, adjusted to taste. Rose Congou Emperor is best taken without milk or with very little, so the rose fragrance is not masked; three minutes is ideal. Cinnamon black tea takes milk well and can be brewed for up to four minutes if you want the spice to come through more fully. Dammann Frères Jardin Bleu is best without milk, brewed for three minutes, where the fruit notes stay bright and the black tea base keeps the cup clean and lively.

The collection extends much further: from chocolate and orange to cardamom, lemon zest, the smoky rose character of Anna Karenina, and the full range of Earl Grey styles from classic to lavender, Baroness Grey and Russian Earl Grey. There is a flavoured black tea here for every mood, every season and every occasion.