Earl Grey Shanghai

This is another one that came from Auggy. Slowly but surely I’m making my way through her offerings. There are definitely more tried than untried now anyway.

Earl Grey for me have always been somewhat touch and go. I won’t ever grow to love them, but I do seem to be able to tolerate them better today. Just a couple of years ago, I would say I didn’t much like it at all. I believe flavoured teas is the place where Auggy’s and my Taste Twinniness stops. We don’t always appreciate the same flavours. Or maybe it doesn’t stop as such. It just runs parallel. Even if it’s not the same flavourings, we still seem to look for approximately the same qualities. I guess ultimately it probably has to do with the balance between flavour and body, and then, when there is a difference in our tastes regarding a flavoured tea, the recent Burrough’s Brew being a good example, it has more to do with the flavour itself than anything else. If that makes sense.

Anyway, this one smells like a regular Earl Grey. Bergamot-y. That’s it. I’m not sure what the Shanghai element is at this point, and looking up the company’s description doesn’t make me any wiser. Apparently the base is Yunnan on this one, but… Shanghai isn’t anywhere NEAR the Yunnan province! They’re actually on opposite ends of the country. Unless there’s more than one place called Shanghai which I suppose is possible, but… Maybe, since the base is a purely Chinese tea, they just wanted something in the name that was very Chinese? Oh well.

After brewing the aroma is less bergamot-strong and more generally citrus-y. A bit orange-y even. Yes orange. Bergamot and orange. I skimmed through Auggy’s post on it and she mentioned that it reminded her of the Romanoff blend, and I have to say I agree. I’m glad for that orange note. It brightens it all up and makes everything lighter. Bergamot on its own is often a dark and heavy smell, but with the orange addition here it’s positively lively.

It’s still lively in flavour, although the comparison to Romanoff stops there. It’s not the rampant blend of myriads of citrus that Romanoff is, but I wouldn’t say this comes across as a regular Earl Grey either. I believe that must have something to do with the base. Hardly a regular Earl Grey base, is it? But even the flavouring seems different. Whether it just interacts differently with different bases, I can’t say, but it doesn’t have that dusty, prickly, perfume-y bergamot characteristics that are the main reason I don’t normally go much for Earl Grey. Sometimes they even taste like soap! It doesn’t actually come across as bergamot at all. Just… citrus that isn’t any of the more common citrus-fruits. Just generic citrus, with maybe a smidge of bergamot in the background. Not soap-y though.

It’s an Earl Grey that understands how not to make a spectacle of itself. In spite of its fancy and exotic name, it’s down to earth and confident in itself enough to not have to be very loud in the cup. And that is the best way for me to have Earl Grey.

My first real tea in three days! (Because I accidentally poisoned myself with something and have been dealing with a super-sensitive stomach that couldn’t handle more than ginger ale and white tea.) This might not be the best return-to-tea choice but I’m sharing with the husband and he’s a big EG fan, so I felt we needed to give this one a shot.

The dry leaf smells a bit perfume-y and spicy. Perhaps like a spicy perfume? It’s rather strong. I must fight the urge to sneeze. But, as I’m learning, ATR tea post-steeping tends to be much mellower and more balanced than the smell of the dry leaf.

The liquor smells quite a bit like Romanoff – elegantly orange, but stronger. As for the taste… For being steeped for five minutes, this is remarkably smooth. It is a bit overwhelming in the Earl department, though. Earl Grey flavoring runs such a range, from spicy bergamot to perfumed bergamot. I tend to like the former – peel and pith type tastes – more, but this seems to be in the later category. It’s a bit like eating flowers at times.

The tea base, though, is quite lovely. Not the star of the show, by any means, and I kind of wish it was. It’s nice – smooth, a bit earthy, soft, with a full mouthfeel… but dressed in many layers of bergamot perfumed flowers. I think it deserves a tad more than to be tarted up like an Earl Grey floozy. A hint more screen time would be nice.

Some sips aren’t as perfumed and the tea just tastes sweet with a tiny squidge of spicy. I like those sips. And I seem to be coming into more of them as the tea cools. Or maybe my tastebuds have been coated so that they don’t recognize the perfume anymore, just the other flavors? These sips almost feel silky and that’s fun.

I’m a bit torn on this one. I think it’s well done in a way – easy to drink straight (no additives) and there’s no harshness to it. But it’s a bit too floral for my tastes and so seems to be a bit out of balance, at least in comparison to the other ATR teas I’ve had so far. If the EG were taken down a notch or the tea-base ratcheted up two notches, this could make me much happier.

That being said, the husband (who is this house’s EG fan) gave this 4/5 stars and said the bergamot was nicely balanced. So perhaps if you are like the husband and find most Earl Greys don’t deliver on the Earl or require milk and/or sugar to smooth them out, this one might be up your alley. Lots of Earl, no sugar required!

What an excellent tea! I’ve been off Earl Grey recently because I’ve had too many pallid, callow, and scantily flavored Earl Greys. I ordered a sample from American Tea Room because it sounded good and they have never disappointed me. They’ve become one of the tea vendors from whom I’ve placed multiple orders and their shipping is speedy.

But I digress. I think that the success of this tea is based on two equally important features: the strong Yunnan base and the fact that they were not skimpy with the Earl Grey bergamot. This tea has some natural sweetness and some natural smoke—not enough smoke to scare away those who dislike smoky teas, in my opinion, but enough to anchor the bergamot into a marriage with the Yunnan.

If you love Yunnan, you’ll want to try this. If you love Earl Grey, you’ll want to try this. This tea successfully balances a few flavors and never loses its grasp on any of them. It’s going to be one of those teas I will need to have on hand.

This is, simply put, a really good earl grey.

Put your nose in a bag of American Tea Room’s Earl Grey Shanghai and you get a fresh, sweet, and naturally smelling bergamot scent. Not perfumey or artificial like many competitors, the scent is not all that dissimilar to a freshly-cut orange. It’s inviting. American Tea Room blends the bergamot with an organic Yunnan base. The Yunnan hides behind the bergamot when sniffing the wet leaf and liquor. But fear not…

Upon tasting, you instantly notice the delicious smoothness of this Yunnan. There is enough strength for a morning wake-up, but it never overpowers. The terrific balance between the Yunnan and bergamot can not be overstated. The tea revels with harmonious fluidity and incredible smoothness. It’s strong, yet gentle. Graceful.

This earl grey has become a staple in my tea stash. It’s an earl grey done right, joy!