Hell hath no fury...

[Gob]

like a tea drinker scorned...

Furious tea drinkers have slammed Twinings for changing the taste of its Earl Grey and are demanding the company reinstate the old version.

Twinings has been attacked by consumers after revamping its Earl Grey in April this year by adding extra bergamot and citrus to the blend and renaming it The Earl Grey.

An article on the Twinings website that asked drinkers for their views on the new blend has received more than 150 responses the majority negative.

Among the comments were: "It is vile. I shan't be buying any more of it"; "What on Earth were you thinking of?"; and "Why would you want to change something that was already perfection?"

Some consumers said they were seeking out boxes of the old blend left on supermarket shelves, while others have set up a Facebook group called 'Bring back the original Twinings Earl Grey tea'.

Twinings said it conducted extensive market research before changing the product, and claimed the decision to do so was prompted by calls for a more refreshing blend. "As with all changes to blends, our new Earl Grey has undergone rigorous consumer testing, receiving strong preference feedback over the previous blend," said Twinings brand manager Lindsey Williams.

Despite the complaints, sales of Earl Grey are now higher than before the new blend was introduced. Volume sales soared from 57,976kg in April to 87,123kg in May immediately after the revamp when the tea bags were on promotion and dropped back to 63,070kg in the four weeks to 9 July [SymphonyIRI].

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/articles.asp ... &ID=220611

[Guinevere]

Oh my, I'm just out of my Twinings EG and was planning on new this week. I love bergamot, but too much of it could be horrible. Will check it out and provide some feedback later this week!

[Timster]

Ahh. New Coke - Old Coke?

[Scooter]

Except that sales are up almost 10% vs. the old version.

A few squeaky wheels are making themselves heard; otherwise this looks like success.

[dales]

I'll have to try the "new" Earl Grey.

The "old" mixture was delicious, but who knows?

[rubato]

Earl Grey is nasty tannic slop. The Chinese sold their worst tea to the English who mainly wanted a vehicle for the sale of tons of sugar and milk.

Dreck. Crap.

Pour it out.


yrs,
rubato

[loCAtek]

I don't do tea, but Captain Picard liked it;

[Long Run]

Of course, the uptick in sales could be due solely to people rushing out to buy the last of the old Earl Gray, let alone a surge to try the new stuff. On the other hand, negative comments are far more likely to occur than positive ones, human nature being what it is. I've always favored, or favoured, English Breakfast, so I'm safe . . . for now.

[kristina]

I had a cup of Twinings Earl Grey over the weekend at a friend's house, and thought that I had misremembered the taste because it seemed so much stronger. Will have her check the package.

[loCAtek]

This is probably a PR stunt like the 'New' Coke.