Not entirely sure on the steep time of this, as I was finishing making lunch at the time. Could have been 30 seconds in either direction.
That doesn’t really matter, though, because this tea tastes virtually the same no matter what I do to it, as long as it doesn’t wind up oversteeped by some ridiculous margin. The aroma of the dry leaves is still fantastic. I love the smell. I still prefer this Earl Grey to the one I tried earlier from Golden Moon, but I suspect that it’s the additional cream element that draws me and not so much anything else. This one has the sweetly aromatic fullness of an Earl Grey cream tea that I love, but the more tea I expose myself to the more I’m forced to come to terms with the fact that Tea Guys teas are always going to be somewhat limited by the quality of the tea leaf they’re using. It’s not of such quality that it could stand alone and compete with most other plain, unadorned teas I’ve been drinking, and no matter how decent the blend is, that’s always going to make a difference.
I can’t help but feel that I’m still searching for the perfect cup of Earl Grey. What I really need is a delicious black paired with the sweet, buttery richness of actual Madagascar vanilla and just enough bergamot to lighten the flavor of the brew. That is what I want. Someday, I will find it.
It’s still one of the most fragrantly pleasing teas in my cabinet. Or maybe that’s just my pre-existing bias; this is a holdover from the very earliest days of my digging into tea, generally, and for a long time it was my go-to morning tea.
