Earl Grey Tea coffee in London
4 speciality roasts from 3 London roasters feature earl grey tea notes.
Earl Grey tea as a coffee flavour note describes a delicate, floral quality with a light bergamot-like citrus character and a smooth, slightly tannic undercurrent reminiscent of black tea. In the cup it tends to feel refined rather than sharp, sitting somewhere between a floral and a citrus note with a gentle aromatic lift. This quality typically arises from specific aromatic compounds, particularly linalool, that develop in high-altitude-grown beans, and is more likely to be preserved through lighter roast profiles that avoid burning off delicate volatiles.
Earl Grey tea in coffee carries that distinctive bergamot character — floral, lightly citrusy, with a soft tannic quality that sits somewhere between black tea and fragrant oil. The four London roasts carrying this note come largely from Colombia and China, with cafēn, KillBean and Hermanos among the roasters coaxing it out. Anaerobic and honey processing tend to be the methods behind it, both encouraging the kind of fruit-forward sweetness that lets those tea-like aromatics bloom.
Top rated earl grey tea coffee roasts in London
Speciality roasts carrying earl grey tea notes, ordered by community rating.
Roasters producing earl grey tea coffee
London roasters with the most approved coffees carrying earl grey tea notes.
Flavours that pair with earl grey tea
Notes that most commonly appear alongside earl grey tea in the same roasts.
Where earl grey tea coffee comes from
Origin countries that most often produce earl grey tea-forward coffees among London roasts.
How earl grey tea coffee is processed
Processing methods associated with earl grey tea notes in London roasts.
How earl grey tea notes develop
Coffees from Ethiopia, particularly those from the Yirgacheffe region, are often associated with Earl Grey tea notes, owing to the genetic diversity of heirloom varieties grown there and the region's elevated, cool growing conditions. Washed processing tends to emphasise this note, as the clean fermentation and careful drying allow the bean's inherent floral and citrus-adjacent compounds to come through without interference from fruit-forward fermentation flavours. Certain coffees from Kenya and some high-altitude Rwandan lots can also carry a related tea-like quality, though the precise character differs by terroir.
What to look for
On a bag or cafe menu, look for descriptors such as bergamot, black tea, floral, or jasmine alongside citrus notes, as these often indicate the same underlying aromatic profile. Washed Ethiopian coffees labelled with Yirgacheffe as their region of origin are a reasonable place to start. Filter brew methods, such as pour-over or Chemex, tend to highlight this note particularly well, as they produce a clean, transparent cup that allows delicate aromatics to read clearly rather than being masked by body or texture.
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