Earl Grey Bravo

Earl Grey Bravo, nice to taste it again. I had a cup of this the day before yesterday at a friend’s house. I haven’t had it in a very long time. Maybe around a year or two.

Anyway, it was just how I remembered it. Strong bergamot, lemony zest, and a decent amount of caffeine. The black tea itself could be a little stronger. It reminds me that I should try more Earl greys. Also, I’m inspired to make some of my own one day. I’m already growing my own tea… I could grow the bergamot easily, too.

I’ve taken to brewing this tea in Gong Fu style, using a very hot water and leaving the leaves in contact with the water only for 15-30 seconds. This method keeps the tea from becoming seriously over brewed and bitter, which happens VERY FAST with this tea. Latest batch is a bit light on the bergamot.

Its official, I like this tea…it got reordered. Just drinking the first cup from my refill order and remembering why I like it so much.

Last bit, finished the 4 oz tin. good to the last bit. ’nuff said.

’nuther cup…mmmm

I think I’ve finally perfected this tea. I kept getting bitterness but I’ve overcome that issue with the following: 1 Tsp leaves to 12 oz hot water @ 200 F for 30 seconds. basically, when you’re done pouring and have put the kettle back, its done steeping. I get the nice bergamot aftertaste without the bitterness.

Check out the steep time…yah, forgot about this one. It actually cooled off while steeping. Decided to give it a shot anyway…no pun intended, but my coworker asked me if I was doing “shots” when he saw me take a drink . Wow! I’ll hand it to Adagio though; even though the tea was waaayyyyy over strong, the flavor of their Earl Grey came through loud and clear. I ended up diluting it 50/50 with fresh boiling water and brought it back to something approaching only mildly oversteeped…a testament to good tea, I believe.

I really like this tea. I don’t get why others don’t. The dry tea smell is powerful…this could be a potpourri. The brewed tea has the same smell and the part that I really like is that the tea has the citrusy, bergamot taste. IMO, to many Earl Grey’s are all show and no go…they smell nice, but they have no flavor beyond English Breakfast at best, or a crappy mud tea at worst. To each, his own, I guess.

Drinking this again today. Its now 3 hours old and stone cold and, while its developed a bit of bitterness, it still has the bergamot flavor and is quite tasty. I had a cup of this sit overnight…wouldn’t recommend drinking it after its sat for any serious length of time as the overnight cup had apparently oxidized??? Anyway, it turned black…seriously, black like ink.

2nd cup today… putting this one on my “short list” of teas I’d like to keep around. Brewed a bit strong today, but still tasty. I like this one best after its cooled to lukewarm…it lets you keep it in your mouth and savor the flavor a bit longer. Makes my tongue tingle!

2nd Cup!

Backlogging a bagged version of this. I was in a pinch. Backlogging 3 cups worth actually. It’s been a hellish week!

Why is it that some teas seem to give you the best steep – at the last loose leaf in the tin? This happened to me today. It was SO Delish! I will prob re-order this at some point. I really like it!

I was so happy to receive this in the mail for link rewards as some of you know I recently ran out. I must say this ‘batch’ smells quite different than my last. Not that that is good, bad, or indifferent just that is smells different! It seems to be more perfumy. I noticed more of the ‘blue-ish/purple’ in this blend too. While tasting – it’s pretty much the same but a little less of the bergamot. Regardless this is still a great tea. I love it! Thanks!

First cup of the day…something happened with the hot water pot at work and the water wasn’t hot enough to make this tea flavorful – other than the orange – but I still drank it…sigh…

2nd Infusion…MUCH better (when your water is hot) LOL

Bravo is right!

The perfect steep. Good on the 2nd steep too!

Extremely Strong today. Nice and BOLD for a Monday Morning! LOVE IT!

Needed a Black Tea to start my day…this will do the trick!

backlogging

Backlogging from earlier today. GREAT on the resteep. Awesome! Had 3 cups!

YUMMY to my TUMMY

Yup! This does the trick for a Monday Morning! Awesome Cup…I like to oversteep this one…

I don’t know if I keep oversteeping this or what, but the first sip is always horribly bitter.

I still think it’s crap as an Earl Grey, but I love the lemony sweetness and just can’t get enough. Going to have to get the decaf version for afternoons!

Mmm, lemon cake.

Had two cups of this tonight. Actually, these cups were the best cups of Earl Grey I’ve made. The first cup I steeped for about 4 minutes and then the second for a full 5. I still got a bit of the dry taste to it, but no bitter taste, which is something I wrestle with often when it comes to Earl. Good times all around.

Decent cup today, brewed 4 minutes and added honey in for good measure. Oddly enough, didn’t get much of a sweet taste from the honey.

Just a resteep. I’m never sure of how long I should let the second cup of Earl steep. I kept it going for 8 minutes, and it tasted fine.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this tea and I finally ordered some from Adagio. Made a cup first thing this morning and this is STILL my all-time favorite Earl Grey. LOVE. THIS. TEA. If you like Earl Grey and haven’t tried this, you are seriously missing out. It’s just a perfectly balanced, flavorful, delightful Earl Grey. Absolute perfection, and one of my favorite teas from any company. The day Adagio stops making this tea is the day I may actually cry over a tea.

Visiting an old favorite today. Had a big cuppa. :)

This is my all-time favorite earl grey. Reviewed on STeaP for our second ever episode. What a walk down memory lane. :) http://www.steaptv.com/2007/09/10/steap-episode-1-earl-grey/