Emperor’s pride leaf & whole bud green tea from China with bergamot and orange peel. The dry leaf smells of bergamot and tea. The leaf varies from tannish to dark brown. There are bits of orange peel in the blend. According to the website this is good for multiple steeps. I used 1tsp of leaf – approx 2g and I use sweetener. My mug holds about 10 ounces.
First steep – 3minutes. The leaves did not appear to have completely opened but this is a full leaf tea. The clarity of the brew is amazingly crystal clear with only a mild amber color. I thought maybe I had not used enough tea or needed to steep longer. Tasting says otherwise. The bergamot is more flowery than citrus and very strong. I couldn’t separate the orange from the bergamot in this or any of the subsequent steeps. I want to be careful with the wording of this review as this is obviously a quality tea. For my tastes the bergamot is overdone. As a reference point, I like my bergamot a little less bright than say Twinings. This tea is more along the lines of Republic of Tea Earl Greyer in taste. I can’t pick out the tea in the brew on the first steep.
Second steep – 4 minutes. The leaves have opened all the way. The brew is still crystal clear and very light in color. Bergamot still strong.
Third steep – 4 minutes. Starting to taste tea. Bergamot is less intense. This is the best cup so far. A little sediment in the bottom of the cup.
Forth steep – 4 minutes. Surprised how much the flavor is still present.
Fifth steep – 5 minutes. Very light color. Still flavorful.
Empire tea says 1 tsp will make six cups. I am fully convinced this will go another steep but my bladder is not up to the task.
Conclusion: 100g of tea will make 250 cups of quality tea if you want to take it that far. That’s like 4 cents a cup. Now since I think the first two cups are too overly flavored I plan to cut this with another earl green I have that lacks enough flavoring and settle for two cups (maybe 3) more in line with my tastes.
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For the last few years I have used Ahmad earl green. It is a loose leaf of very large broken pieces. 500g (a little over a pound) can be found for around 6 USD. That’s cheap. Lately the quality has been hit or miss (imagine that, its 6 USD!), with one pound having great flavor and the next simply tasting of a pleasant green tea. I decided to cut the Ahmad lacking bergamot with the Empire tea in equal portions. The result is really good. The excellent quality of the Empire tea with a greatly toned down bergamot. It will still produce multiple steeps – at least 3 – and I like the flavor of all of them. I am going to bump up my rating with the qualifier that when I reorder the Empire tea I will order a equal portion of green tea for a custom blend.
For the last few years I have used Ahmad earl green. It is a loose leaf of very large broken pieces. 500g (a little over a pound) can be found for around 6 USD. That’s cheap. Lately the quality has been hit or miss (imagine that, its 6 USD!), with one pound having great flavor and the next simply tasting of a pleasant green tea. I decided to cut the Ahmad lacking bergamot with the Empire tea in equal portions. The result is really good. The excellent quality of the Empire tea with a greatly toned down bergamot. It will still produce multiple steeps – at least 3 – and I like the flavor of all of them. I am going to bump up my rating with the qualifier that when I reorder the Empire tea I will order a equal portion of green tea for a custom blend.