A while ago Kashyap had a fund raising contest in which donaters could win a VAST amount of this tea. I was lucky. And I do mean vast. I haven’t seen so enormous a bag of tea since the time the Black Powder blend was taken off the shelf at my then local teashop and they let me relieve them of the remainder of the stock. (I do miss that Black Powder…) Anyway, huge amount of tea. Have tinned some and put the rest away and only now got around to trying it.
Disclaimer: I’m very very ambivalent about EG. The majority of the time I find them slightly unappealing, but there have been a few famous exceptions. Kusmi’s Smoky Earl Grey, for example. That one is made of awesome. This one, in the company description, also mentions smokyness and other related sorts of words. I find that a good sign.
For the aroma, I’m getting mostly bergamot. Citrus-y and sour, but without that dusty dry sort of association that I got from those EG’s I found the most unpleasant. This actually smells like something that is edible, not like licking a storage shelf.
Rather a lot of that bergamot on the flavour too. A little too much for my taste to be honest. It makes a very tart-ish cup, although a deeper sort of tartness than biting a lemon. Also a touch of dustyness right at first on the sip.
It’s early in the morning, and I can’t really get any closer than this. It’s Earl Grey. Those who like EG with lots of bergamot in it, might find this very nice. Me I find it drinkable, probably in the better end of drinkable, but still just that really. I’m sure I’ll get through the big enourmous bag sooner or later, though. Probably I’ll share some of it.
