Woo! That Earl packs a punch! Very strong bergamot and what seems like a mild note of lemons hiding under the bergamot. Not an unpleasant potency, it would be perfect as a wake up aroma. I often amuse myself by comparing a good Earl Grey to Victorian smelling salts, it would make a better fainting remedy I think! The aroma is very tart with little whispers of malt from the base tea.
Sweetness, that was something I was not expecting! After the initial surprise of the sweet aroma I get lots of citrus: lemons, oranges, bergamot, it is a veritable citrus melange. There is also a very pleasant underlying maltiness to the aroma that I am thoroughly enjoying.
I did not like this tea, and I feel really awful for saying it. I thought perhaps it was a fault on my end so I brewed a new cup with a lower temperature and I still did not enjoy it. The taste was unpleasantly bitter, the bitterness you get when eating a citrus fruit and you make the mistake of accidentally eating the rind. After the initial (almost medicinal tasting) bitterness fades you are left with the taste of sweetness and bergamot. As the tea cools the bitterness fades some but it is replaced with tartness, it is better but still not my…umm…cup of tea
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Hi Amanda,
I enjoyed reading your review. I’m a bit confused about the 12 point rating, though. The first two paragraphs sound actually very positive to me. Ok, you seem to not like the bitterness (which I in fact enjoy very much) and subjectively don’t like the tea (which is great, critical reviews are often more informative than overly positive ones) but 12 points seem a bit harsh to me.
Anyway, thanks for the review, also on the other two teas from Justea. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on that one. Good to see that you also liked the black tea, it’s amazing!
The black tea was amazing! I gave it the rating I did because the bitterness made it unpalatable, in order to drink it to give it a full review I had to cringe while doing so. The aroma and such was wonderful and even the aftertaste was good, but the initial bitterness was so intense that it felt like I was drinking a medicine instead of a tea. I love a little bitterness in tea, it wakes it up and really brightens it, especially the astringent bitterness you usually get in blacks, I do not however like a tea that is so bitter that I cannot drink it. I really wanted to like the tea because the aroma was so fantastic, I even tried rebrewing it, but I really feel that no matter how good the tea is, if I find it undrinkable then what can I do?
If anything I should have been more clear with how critical I was being, but saying ‘this tea was so bitter it made me spasm because the intensity of the bitterness’ seemed too harsh.
Ah, now I understand. Thanks for clearing that up! And thanks for the detailed additional information!
And yes, the tea has a bitterness but I actually thought for this kind of tea it’s not that bitter at all. None of those astringent tannins. But I probably brewed mine not very strong, since I knew that I don’t like Earl Greys in general.
Maybe trying it with milk would be a good idea. Unfortunately I was out of milk yesterday ;-)
Hi Amanda,
I enjoyed reading your review. I’m a bit confused about the 12 point rating, though. The first two paragraphs sound actually very positive to me. Ok, you seem to not like the bitterness (which I in fact enjoy very much) and subjectively don’t like the tea (which is great, critical reviews are often more informative than overly positive ones) but 12 points seem a bit harsh to me.
Anyway, thanks for the review, also on the other two teas from Justea. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on that one. Good to see that you also liked the black tea, it’s amazing!
The black tea was amazing! I gave it the rating I did because the bitterness made it unpalatable, in order to drink it to give it a full review I had to cringe while doing so. The aroma and such was wonderful and even the aftertaste was good, but the initial bitterness was so intense that it felt like I was drinking a medicine instead of a tea. I love a little bitterness in tea, it wakes it up and really brightens it, especially the astringent bitterness you usually get in blacks, I do not however like a tea that is so bitter that I cannot drink it. I really wanted to like the tea because the aroma was so fantastic, I even tried rebrewing it, but I really feel that no matter how good the tea is, if I find it undrinkable then what can I do?
If anything I should have been more clear with how critical I was being, but saying ‘this tea was so bitter it made me spasm because the intensity of the bitterness’ seemed too harsh.
Ah, now I understand. Thanks for clearing that up! And thanks for the detailed additional information!
And yes, the tea has a bitterness but I actually thought for this kind of tea it’s not that bitter at all. None of those astringent tannins. But I probably brewed mine not very strong, since I knew that I don’t like Earl Greys in general.
Maybe trying it with milk would be a good idea. Unfortunately I was out of milk yesterday ;-)