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Roughage

Roughage drank Classic Earl Grey by Canton Tea Co

I received this as part of my Canton Tea Club membership. Apparently it is not yet available in the Canton webshop, but will be soon. So, I am privileged to get to try it early! I’m neck deep in work with important deadlines looming even as I type, so naturally I dropped everything to try this. So, how was it?

The dry leaf smells overwhelmingly of bergamot. I cannot actually pick out anything else in that aroma. When steeped, it releases the bergamot aroma but there are floral elements too. Steeping seems to reduce the power of the bergamot, which is a relief. It is still there, but it lets other flavours through too. Overall the description that Canton Tea Co gives is about right for me. You can taste the bergamot and the citrussy flavours it releases. There is a floral overtone to it that is quite pleasant too. It is a relaxing tea to drink that makes for a nice treat when you are in the mood.

2013-01-12 07:15:14 -0500

205 °F / 96 °C

2 min 0 sec

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6 comments

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Bonnie 2013-01-12 11:30:35 -0500

Methinks you are not that fond of Earl Grey though.

Roughage 2013-01-12 13:16:32 -0500

I don’t really do flavoured teas, that’s true, but I found the bergamot a little overwhelming in this one. I need to write up my notes on the Organic Darjeeling Earl Grey, which was much more to my tastes. It reminded me of a better version of Twinings’ Lady Grey tea, with its cornflowers, Darjeeling base and much less bergamot in it. This latter tea had more subtlety and just felt more refined. I have enough of the Classic left to try it with milk. Milk in tea is normally anathema to me, but I am interested to see how it fares.

Bonnie 2013-01-12 21:21:18 -0500

If all else fails, cook with it. I have some on hand that’s too strong but is a good steeper in milk for pudding. Makes a nice vanilla or lemon pudding enhancer or frosting. Anything where you can steep a syrup or milk and then dilute it into the recipe. (I just hate throwing good tea away!)

Roughage 2013-01-13 05:28:28 -0500

Well, there is not a lot of left now. We had friends round and one those likes the classic Earl Grey, so I fed it to her. She thought it was great. I have enough left to try it with either milk or perhaps a slice of lemon. I may experiment with both and do a side-by-side tasting.

Bonnie 2013-01-13 08:36:58 -0500

Your cats might want some!

Roughage 2013-01-13 09:17:38 -0500

Milk or Earl Grey? :-)

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I am a professional Vikingologist and I like tea! To be honest, I have always liked decent tea, but in 2011 I started working at learning what good tea really is. I am busily expanding my tea horizons quite significantly, much to the chagrin of my wife, who despairs of my enthusiasm. My favourite teas are Darjeelings and sheng puerhs, but I struggle to find black teas (other than Darjeelings) that really float my boat. My absolute favourite teas at the moment are Anji Bai Cha and Dong Fang Mei Ren both from Canton Tea Co, neither of which are shengs or Darjeelings. Seems odd, but that’s the way it is. I do wonder if the scores I give out actually reflect my predilection for Darjeelings and shengs.

I am slowly adding to my experience by trying as many different products as possible. I like to think that I am developing my palate and becoming more learned about tea, but I suspect that may be wishful thinking!

I find rating the teas difficult. Often a particular tea will appeal to me because of my mood, even though it does not get a top rating on here from me. As a general guide, I use the following ratings:

0-25 Undrinkable
26-50 Really not to my taste
51-75 Ok to good
76-99 Always welcome in my pot
100 – There ain’t no such thing as a perfect score!

As I rate teas, I try to revisit my scores and check that my old scores are in line with the new ones.