I just received my free samples from EpiTea, and I had to go straight for this one — it seems to be one of their more well-liked teas on Steepster, and I’m a nut for anything floral even though I’m not much of a bergamot person.
In the sachet, this seems like a pretty typical tea. There’s not a huge number of lavender buds, but they’re visible and I can smell the lavender as well. The dominating scent, however, is something I can’t place… it doesn’t smell like tea or bergamot, so the only other thing I can think of is it being the sachet itself. In any case, the liquor itself has exactly the scent I would expect (it smells like, well, the ingredients, although it’s not very strong) so I can’t complain.
Tasting it… this is nice! The initial flavor is lavender, which I appreciate and am mildly impressed by considering the lavender-to-black tea ratio. The second half of the sip tastes more of the base, a black that’s very strong and spicy — the aftertaste actually leaves the same burning feeling in the back of my throat that I usually only get from spicy food. (Disclaimer: I am very sensitive to spicy food) That’s not to say that I dislike it, but I would have preferred a more delicate base.
Oh, right… this is an earl grey! I never would have guessed or noticed if I hadn’t been told; I can’t taste even a bit of bergamot. That’s fine by me, although now I’m curious as to what it would be like if EpiTea had gone for a less flavorful base and a greater amount of bergamot.
Overall, I’m digging the lavender content of this tea even though the black tea that was selected could have been better for me! It’s a solid offering from this new company.
