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This is a decaf black tea with fruit pieces, cinnamon, and orange rind. I can’t find this on their website. My wife bought this one. I need to write them and find out more about it. The color of the brew is almost grape Kool-Aid. I cannot place the taste. Maybe black currant (which I have only had one time) or cherry and hibiscus? It isn’t terribly tart . I really can’t form an opinion. I don’t hate or love it. My wife is happy with it so I will gladly sip it in the evening with her. No rating yet.

The ingredients listed on the sample are a bit different than that on the website: Black tea, lavender, lemon myrtle, orange peel, Spanish safflower, red berries, flavors.

This was a sample given to me with my recent purchase. The leaf is really interesting to look at. It resembles herbal tea. The pieces are all fine and feathery – like potpourri. I am not sure how they came up with the name for this, as bergamot is not a listed ingredient. I do taste the lemon myrtle. I was concerned that the lavender would be too much but that is not the case. If you add sweeteners, take it easy as this has a natural sweetness but I don’t think it contains stevia as I don’t detect any bitterness. It isn’t tart. If there is hibiscus in this it is very well done. I actually like this. Too bad it isn’t decaf. It kind of reminds me of a flavored rooibos but not really. It’s kind of cherry but not really. The best I can describe it is Yankee Candle meets dried flower craft aisle meets hippie incense. Far out. Solid man. Peace!

This tea is the main reason I went to ETS this week. I have had several of their teas and all have been exceptional. This one, like most of their offerings, was either $7.50 or $8.00 for 3 1/2oz (100g). I have never had a white Earl Grey before so I really don’t know what to expect with this one. The Earl Green has an outstanding leaf base and is heavily bergamot flavored with peppery notes. The De La Crème from yesterday was wonderfully chocolate and vanilla. The bergamot started more subdued but brightens into a delicious creamy cup of Ceylon based Earl Grey.

On to this tea. Taking the leaf out of the bag I see long wiry, almost black strands (stems?), along with the traditional looking green/white fuzzy leaf. The dry leaf smells of bergamot. It is a just guess at how much leaf to use. I don’t have a scale and this is so wiry I had to judge by how it looked in the bottom of the press.

I ignored the brewing directions on the package. I have enough experience with Empire to know I like tea prepared differently than they prescribe. I used just steaming water and a two minute steep. The liquor is bright and clear with a beautiful yellow/green tint. The wet leaf is Empire’s bergamot and a fresh green leaf scent.

There are three guys at work that I rotate sharing my tea with. Today’s lucky taster’s reaction to this was, “flowers”. The bergamot is strong but not overpowering. It is not bright or tart and not perfumey. I do think I would prefer it be just a tick lighter. This is a white tea after all. You can taste the tea base. You just aren’t going to pick out melon or cucumber subtleties in this flavored tea. Three solid steeps. The fourth was weak until it really cooled off.

This is like earl green lite minus the pepper notes and add in some stems. Resteeps well. A pretty good value. I’m not blown away but do like it a lot.

Way too much caffeine today. Switching to decaf. This is a really tasty herbal, or tisane, or tea – whatever you call it. I like clove and the taste of tulsi is similar, so liking anything with tulsi in it comes pretty easy for me. The papaya, orange, and other ingredients blend nicely to make a light refreshing sip that doesn’t add to the buzz.

This is one of two samples I received during my visit to Empire Tea Services. The dry leaf is very finely cut pieces of Ceylon. Also in the mix are blue cornflower petals, and pieces of orange rind . The smell is fantastic. Very chocolate, amplified by the vanilla. The bergamot is understated in the dry scent. In the Earl Green it grabbed you before you could even open the bag.

I used a healthy scoop of leaf and 12oz of boiling water. Steeped for 3 minutes in my French press. ETS says to steep 5 minutes, but for my tastes 3 was sufficient.

The root beer colored liquor, when hot, tastes just like it smells. Chocolate and vanilla with just a hint of bergamot in mid sip. There is also a roasted note in the back of the throat. It’s not smoky, or even roasted like a charcoal firing. It is more like a burnt caramel or like the scent of roasted coffee beans. There is also the sensation of drinking warm milk.

As the cup begins to cool the bergamot comes out of hiding to take center stage but doesn’t forget it is part of a group. The chocolate/vanilla notes become Pips to the bergamot’s Gladys. Sure they can perform solo but together they are magic. The more the cup cools the stronger Gladys becomes until the bergamot nearly reaches the intensity of the Earl Green. Wow! Encore! Encore!

I was going to pass the second cup to a co-worker but I just couldn’t part with it. Yeah, it’s that good. Second cup also three minutes. Cup was half empty before I slowed down to taste it. This steep picked right up where the first cup left off.

This is a bit drying but not at all bitter. This is my first crème Earl Grey, so I can’t compare it to other blends. What I can say is this is really, really, really good. A fine Earl Grey with major yum factor. The empty cup even smells amazing. This sample isn’t going to be around long.

Today is our anniversary – 31 years! Took the day off. Started with breakfast at Steak N Shake and this tea. They said they were out of the little metal pitchers so they brought the water in a Styrofoam cup. This actually made this far more aromatic. If you have to have bagged restaurant tea it might as well be one you enjoy.

Afterwards we went to an outlet mall south of Indianapolis. About 10 minutes south of the mall is Empire Tea Services. I picked up 4 teas I will be reviewing soon. They told me their peach apricot green tea that I bought last year was their most popular tea. It is sooo good.

Anyway, we have these high quality teas in the car and I order an iced tea at McDonalds. It is supposed to be unsweet, cause that’s how I roll with iced tea. Unfortunately, some one goofed and put sweet tea in the unsweet canister. How does any one drink this stuff? I tried but just couldn’t do it. First thing I did when we got home was to grab some iced tea out of the fridge. Good day.

Here’s to the next 31.

I know this is everything a serious tea person is supposed to dislike – a bag of green fannings, and not much of them, and (shudder) its Lipton. I know, but I had one bag of this left, and dog gone it this is an enjoyable cup. I don’t have to think. I don’t have to look for subtleties. All I have to do is set back and enjoy my Jolly Rancher Watermelon Stix in a cup. Happy times.

This combination just sounds so wrong especially for a tea. It is amazingly good. It starts out sweet and gentle on the tongue and ends with a mild but wonderful pepper attack on the throat (ok maybe medium attack at times). The cup is empty long before you are ready. I can drink this without sweetener but using a little really enhances my enjoyment factor. It intensifies the flavors from beginning to end.

Sip down. But it’s OK, because I have more on the way. My wife went into withdrawal already on the Chamomile Vanilla Bean and it isn’t even gone yet. So since I am paying shipping anyway might as well take advantage right? Also grabbed the Earl Grey for a friend.

For those of you who avoid fruit teas for fear of hibiscus – this one does not have it listed as an ingredient. Super fruit is pretty accurate – pomegranate and gojiberry, but you can taste the Sencha base, and that is important to me. The lemon grass is just a hint. Definitely my favorite from Fusion. It is my second favorite fruit tea from any I have tried. (Number 1 is Empire Tea Services Peach Apricot – it is amazing.) I love this one steaming hot or room temperature. It remains consistently good through out.

Backlogging from Friday:
I enjoyed yesterday’s cup enough that I wanted to see how well the leaf would survive the night. 12 oz boiling water, 1 minute steep in my press. The orange flavor and the heavily oxidized roasted (charcoal like) oolong are both kind of extreme flavors, but the short steep balances them pretty well. I can pick each out if I think about it yet neither stands out in a casual sip. It still has a cooling affect on my mouth and throat, which I find fascinating from a hot drink with no mint. I must admit the bizarre nature of this combination is beginning to grow on me.