Britons Upset With Twinings Earl Grey Recipe Change

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DAVID GREENE, host:

Our last word in business today is tempest in a teapot. I know it's a cliche, but there is really no other way to describe the storm brewing over a change that the British tea maker Twinings made to its Earl Grey recipe in the UK. The distinctive flavor of Earl Grey comes from bergamot oil. Bergamot is a kind of orange, and Twinings recently jazzed up the 180-year-old recipe with some extra citrus flavor.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Somehow consumers are not refreshed. According to Britain's Daily Mail, comments on the company's website describe the new tea as foul-tasting dishwater and say it tastes like lemon cleaning product.

A campaign on Facebook is urging Twinings to bring back the original Earl Grey. It's enough to make you boil over.

GREENE: But it's not enough to change the company's minds. They're not budging. The company says it carried out market research before making the changes.

(Soundbite of music)

GREENE: That's the business news on MORNING EDITION from. I'm David Greene.

INSKEEP: And I'm Steve Inskeep.

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