Earl Grey

Yesterday’s Steepster Select reminded me about this wonderful Earl I have in my collection!! Sometimes I forget about him because I transferred him to a plainer tin. I loved the A+D tin so much that I had to use it before I was done the tea for all of my sewing pins in my studio!!! (A Thomas tin holds my paperclips at work. Good tea + good design = very, very, very happy JacquelineM!)

I am enjoying him immensely today! The bergamot is very citrusy and present, but not perfumey or overwhelming. The tea base is delicious – this is one Earl who makes an absolutely perfect resteep! Actually, the word perfect keeps coming to mind as I sip and sip. This is one heck of an Earl!!

Free shipping or no, as soon as I finish buying my holiday presents and come up for air, I have to get the latest two A+D series. I love their tea!

I got the shock of my life when I asked my husband what tea he was in the mood for this afternoon. He said “Earl Grey!” Wow! Remember this is the gentleman who only likes his Earl Grey iced, liberally mixed with a solid black tea so it is not “perfumey” or “girly” !!!

I knew that this could be a delicate operation, so I chose Andrews and Dunham’s Earl, since he has loved every single tea I’ve made for him from them. I’m so glad I chose right! He loved it! He didn’t say it was “perfumey” he said it was “good” and “interesting” and he would like to add it to our afternoon tea repertoire!

I, of course, enjoyed it greatly. I find the tea and bergamot well balanced and delicious. It was an extra special afternoon tea at home treat to have it with a little milk and sugar today. I love the creaminess with the bergamot.

I’ve been so Earl Grey crazy in this horrible heat. There is something about the bergamot that I find so refreshing (I think I’m just making excuses because I love to drink EG in the winter too. Let’s face it – I just love Earl Grey!!!). My tin of Earl Grey Supreme is at home doing iced tea duty, but I found this in my tea drawer at work, almost forgotten about. Poor Earl!

I’ve already had it twice since the temperatures have gone up. It’s a real classic. Perfectly bergamot-y (moreso than the EGS) and with the addition of a half teaspoon of sugar, really round and sweet. A true delight!

I added a little Rosy Earl Grey to the second and third steeps and had such a heady and enjoyable tea experience!

This Earl Grey is delightful. The more I drink it the more I am liking it. I still maintain that I prefer Lupicia’s Earl Grey… but, it certainly is NOT the worst I’ve ever had either. I find the bergamot in this tea to be quite remarkable as it possesses a fruitier flavor to it. Yes, I know that bergamot IS indeed a fruit… but my experience has been that bergamot possesses a very “fragrant” flavor that I can liken to a flowery quality (since flowers are fragrant). This bergamot is less flowery and more fruity. That is to say that while it is quite fragrant to the nose, it is less fragrant to the palate.

Eh… suffice is to say that I like it.

I am glad that I have time to be able to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea before the craziness that is my Monday ensues!

I wanted something strong and comforting… and this is what I grabbed… And it is indeed strong and comforting! The black tea is not as stout as some other teas that I have in my stash, but, it works well for this particular Earl Grey. The bergamot is very pleasant. Not a hint of perfume. Just delicious fruity bergamot with a hint of flowery sharpness in the background. I love it.

Yay! Earl Grey!

I really like this tea. I steeped it a bit longer than I did previously. Even though Andrews & Dunham suggest 5 minutes steeping time, I just can’t do 5 minutes for a black tea. I think my palate tends to be overly sensitive to bitter taste, and since most black teas do take on a slight bitter edge when brewed over 4 minutes (there is the occasional exception, but, for my palate, I have found this to be the standard), I don’t usually take a black tea beyond 4 minutes for the first infusion.

So I decided to push it to the 4 minutes this time (usually, with a black tea, I have a “standard” time of 3 minutes, regardless of what brewing parameters might suggest). Only a slight bitter note at the back of the palate… but not off-putting. But what I do notice is that brewing it longer brings out more of the floral qualities of the bergamot, whereas the 3 minutes, I’m left with a fruitier bergamot with only hints of floral.

It’s quite good both ways … but I think I prefer it with the 3 minute steep time…

Finishing off the last that I have of this Earl Grey. It will be missed.

Waking up to a cup of Earl Grey this morning. It’s been at least a couple of weeks since I’ve had A&D’s Earl Grey, and I could hear it calling out to me this morning. (Yes, it’s still morning – only officially 9 minutes left to the morning)

Lovely – I like the bergamot in this blend. Pleasantly citrus-y, only hints of floral. Smooth. Rich. Delicious.

Starting my day with this Earl Grey, today! (poetry!)

I want to thank Stephanie for so generously gifting me with the remainder of her tin of this outstanding Earl Grey. Thank you Stephanie!

Oh… delight! I do love this Earl Grey.

I think that I shall struggle with my splint today and finally finish the review of this tea that I started so long ago!

Enjoying my first tea of the day. This morning was my youngest daughter’s ballet recital and I didn’t take the time to brew some tea before we headed out. But this was really nice to come home to.

This is lovely.

I am THIS CLOSE to giving up on the spoiler prevention about the 52teas christmas box! I haven’t got it yet. Iirc there was some delay in shipping around the time when I placed my order due to illness and that’s just too bad and can’t be helped. I’m not complaining about that. I just miss checking the dashboard and hearing from you lot.
(And to be honest, right now I’m rather more concerned about my Kusmi package which according to tracking has been delivered, so that must be the one that was misdelivered to a package pick-up place in Copenhagen (other side of the country from me) and is now apparently caught in limbo somewhere between Copenhagen and here, likely due to the very icy weather we’ve been having lately)

On top of that I’ve run into some annoyance just now. It’s recurring sort of annoyance and I ought to know by now to steer clear of it, because I know it’s going to be there. But I DO wish that some people could just let go of that unhealthy obsession instead of coming after anybody who supposedly ‘does it wrong’ all the time. It’s called ‘nagging’ and it’s not a positive thing to do. grump

So to cheer myself up and hopefully stave off the temptation to go through the dashboard, throwing myself in the arms of spoilers galore, I decided to make me a cup of tea. This also put me in a bit of a pickle because I was in a citrus mood, but not an oolong (Lemon Oolong from Nothing But Tea) or a pu-erh (Orange Pu-erh also from NBT) mood, and that just about concluded my current citrus-y choice.

Apart of course from this one. Well, it’s bergamot, so it’s citrus. But it’s totally not what I had in mind. Me thinks I should put some thought into researching my perfect orange flavoured black, or alternatively dark oolong. Leave me a comment with your favourite orange flavoured black or dark oolong (or other interesting citrus flavoured things), please!

In the meantime, however, His Lordship is a very satisfying cup this afternoon. He turned out a bit too dusty and floral this time, but at the same time providing all the things that I was really looking for. Except the orange, but I shall eat one later instead.

And thus we bid His Lordship farewell.

The bergamot is fresh and juicy – it made my tastebuds do a little happy dance. Oddly enough, about half way through my mug it started reminded me of a chocolate orange. Not at all a bad thing but certainly unexpected. Added a little sugar and milk and this is a super EG breakfast tea. Mmm.

The first time I had this tea, I wasn’t that impressed. The second time (in the side-by-side tasting), I was. Shall we go for 2 out of 3? Stash busting again, I finished off my sample of this tea with this cup.

I’m going to go with a middle of the road on this cup? Somewhere between the last two, which isn’t helpful in the final judgement, I know. The aroma and flavor of this one is actually not too unlike the Joy’s Teaspoon with that warm, rich note that reminds me of a creamless Earl Grey creme (I actually called it that in my first tasting note on this tea four months ago, and unwittingly used the same description today on the Joy’s Teaspoon note). It is tasty and pleasant, but still not blowing me away. I have a feeling my cup of this isn’t as fresh as it could be, and that could be cutting down on my enjoyment. If they sold tins of this tea individually I might buy one, but I don’t think I like it enough to purchase a series where I know I won’t drink one of the teas.

Another round two tea from the Earl Grey side-by-side tasting. I’m doing 5 at a time, each tea brewed under the same parameters: in a tea filter bag, for 3 minutes with 205°F water. I dunked the tea filters around to make sure they were getting enough water flow since I don’t usually use them.

This tea was unexpected. The first time I tried it I wasn’t that impressed and it didn’t seem to stick out from other Earls. But tried side-by-side… woah. It was floral, almost oolongy in character. This floral didn’t seem to be a floral bergamot, but rather florals in addition to the bergamot. It was light, with a very distinct tea base. At one point I got an almost sweet aftertaste. It was totally weird! I’m not sure what to make of it, but I do have enough for another cup, thankfully.

In need of a robust black tea this morning, I decided to give this one a try again. This time I’m steeping it longer based on my previous experience.

I think the flavors come through better, and it certainly didn’t get any bitterness. The bergamot is much more forward and citrusy. I’m definitely enjoying this cup more, but I still don’t think it stands out to me among other Earl Greys. But the flavors are very well executed and blend well together, and I definitely wouldn’t turn down a cup of it.

Light on the EG astringency but still a damn fine tea.

SIP DOWN on this one too!
I like this one because it’s nice and juicy on the bergamot and not over doing in on the Earl…if that makes sense…anyhow…check out my previous notes…

So, I finally got the Zarafina I ordered some time last century. (Or maybe the beginning of the month, I forget which.) It was very, very used. To the point where I was worried it would still work when I took it out of the box. But I got it all cleaned up, figured out how it all went together, and then thought about what I should baptize it with.

I decided that an Earl Grey would be good, and opening my cupboard, the A&D tea darn near fell on me. Right then. A&D Earl Grey it would be then.

So I looked at all the dials, read the instructions twice, and just jumped in. And it worked fine!

And the tea was good, as usual. Yummy. The bergamot was bold, the tea was lovely and just – YUM. I love this tea. If you like an Earl Grey that is loud and lovely, this is for you.

Celebrating my ordering of the new Series 5 (with an OOLONG! YAY) from Andrews & Dunham with a cup of their Earl Grey. Bumping the rating slightly because it’s such a good, solid Earl Grey. Yum.

Another old friend is done. Goodbye old friend. You were a damn fine Earl Grey.

Per Alicia’s suggestion and an enjoyable one at the B&N yesterday, I decided to try to make a London Fog with A&D’s Earl Grey tonight after a yummy dinner of Indian food. I knew it was late but it sounded good and seemed like it would go good after Indian.

I made the Earl Grey as I normally would and added heated milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. I didn’t think it tasted right at first. I could taste everything, but it was off. Too little Earl Grey, too much milk. As it cooled, it got better. I think next time I could steep the tea much stronger and use less milk. But I liked it and there will be a next time.

1 cup Earl Grey tea, 1/4 cup heated milk, 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, 1 rounded tsp sugar.

I woke up this morning craving the creamy citrusy deliciousness of a London Fog. Remembering that last time I had wished the Earl Grey stood out more, I steeped the tea extra long and used a bit more leaf. The result was quite good and I’m not sure what I’d change. I do think a London Fog might be better with a different Earl Grey tea. A&D is very citrusy, but the black tea doesn’t show up much. I think a strong Early Grey with good black tea and citrus taste would work very well.

1 cup Earl Grey tea (steeped 8 min), 1/4 cup heated milk, 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, 1 rounded tsp sugar.

Made as a London Fog, this came out really well.

Backlogging. Yesterday morning.

From my experiments combining this Earl Grey with the Tiger, I firmed decided I like this Earl Grey blended with a plain black tea rather than on its own. It was quite good with the Tiger and I’ve no doubt I’ll drink them together again but I am also willing to explore other partners for it.

Today was my first attempt pairing it with A&D’s Ceylon and a very nice pairing it was. It may be a better match than the Tiger. I did a 1:1 ratio as a starting point and that worked just fine. I could taste the strong Earl Grey and I could taste the end taste of the Ceylon. The Ceylon also tampered the what-is-to-me overly strong bergamot of this Earl Grey. These teas did not create a smoothed blend as if they were meant to be one tea, rather it tastes like two teas that went quite well together or two teas layered nicely together, if that makes any sense. I did not try a resteep.

I’ve been using just a bit more leaves in my tea preparation in general recently and a bit less water in my standard sized mugs. I’ve noticed this seems to be improving the taste of the teas overall.

When I was getting up and thinking about what tea I wanted to drink yesterday morning, I was thinking I’d show the Tiger some love and have a thoroughly enjoyable cup of tea in the process. But when I got to the tea cupboard, my hand pulled out EG and I’m not sure sure why. I did realize something about EG. I like the taste a lot more than the smell, which is still a bit soapy to me. If I just think about the taste and ignore the smell, I like EG quite a bit more.

2nd steep: 6 min. If memory serves me right.

Earl Grey and the Tiger, take three. Yesterday morning, I tried 1 tsp EG to 1/4 tsp Tiger. The first steep blended very very well. It tasted like the EG with more black tea to it. I could not pick out that the black tea was the Tiger. The second steep tasted like just the EG. Honestly, I think I might prefer the slightly Tiger heavy first steep and delicious combo second steep of take two.

The question is will I try a repeat of take two next or move on to trying a different black tea with this EG? I think I definitely like this EG with a black tea better than on it’s own. Certainly the quest for a good combo and amounts is making me want to drink EG in the mornings.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

So I’ve been saying more bergamot than black tea for the past few tealogs on this one. The night before last I decided to do something about it. I’d add some plain black tea to it. Out of my plain black teas, I thought the Tiger, Thomas, and A&D’s Ceylon might pair the best. I decided to start with the Tiger.

So yesterday morning, I steeped a 1/2 Tiger:1/2 EG ratio. The first steep was mostly Tiger with a hint of EG. The second steep was a wonderful and delicious blend of the two. This seems to be a successful idea. I’ll just need to tweak the black tea:EG ratio. I think I’ll definitely be more interested in drinking up this EG this way.

PS This is only the second time I’ve blended two teas. I’m happy it went reasonable well since the previous attempt was only so-so. I now have a bit more confidence to keep trying.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

I had Earl Grey again this morning. This EG definitely is better by itself rather than as a London Fog. It’s likely it’s also better without any milk as well. This EG is more bergamot and less tea and that’s okay. It’s yummy but it’s prolly not my ideal EG. I think I’d prefer an EG that had more balance between the two, or one with a tasty strong black tea where the bergamot was noticeable. While I definitely like this tea, I think it may end up being my least favorite of all the A&D teas release thus far. I’m also noting that the second steep today was nearly as strong and flavorful as the first.

2nd steep: 7 min 30 sec.

After not acting on my desire for Earl Grey as my morning cup yesterday, I decided to make a London Fog this morning. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that A&D’s Earl Grey doesn’t make a good London Fog. It just doesn’t have a strong enough black tea taste to make the London Fog taste like tea. I used a bit extra leaf and steeped the tea for about 10 minutes today and used only a bit of milk. I got milky vanilla orange water, more vanilla than orange actually.

Backlogging.

I think I’ve nailed my combo down for sure finally. Half EG and half Ceylon for the 1st steep. Then Tiger as the bit of fresh leaf on the 2nd steep.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging. Sunday.

My husband and I shared a pot during a late afternoon lull to perk us back up. This was prolly the best I’ve had my EG and Ceylon blend to be. I used a rounded teaspoon of each for a two mug pot. The tea was strong. I could taste the bergamot and the Ceylon. I think A&D’s Ceylon is definitely my tea of choice to blend with this EG. Though I am not adverse to experimenting with others, I can’t say that I think I will.

2nd steep: 7 min.
I add a rounded half teaspoon of each tea as neither of these teas will steep quite strong enough on the second steep alone.

Backlogging. Morning, three days ago, the day after the previous tealog.

I tried the Earl Grey and Ceylon 1:1 ratio again that morning to see if I could get repeat results. I did! I also did a second steep this time, which was quite weak but drinkable. It would need a bit of fresh leaf from one or both teas to be truly drinkable regularly.

2nd steep: 7 min.

Backlogging.

It looks like I’ll have to find another plain black tea to punch up this one cause I’m all out of the A&D Ceylon that I’ve been using. Since I was using the dregs of the tin for the Ceylon, this mixture was not half Ceylon and half EG. Last time, I did that and the smaller bits of the remaining Ceylon made a bitter mug of tea. This time I compensated for that fact and was rewarded with a not bitter mug of tea.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging. Last Thursday morning.

Earl Grey. Mmm… Yum. When is it not a good time for Earl Grey?

Mixed half and half with A&D’s Ceylon as usual.
2nd steep: 6 min and a bit of fresh leaf.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Four days ago.

I did a heaping 1/2 tsp of EG with a level 1/2 tsp of the Tiger. This made for a yummy mug. This is also the start of no resteeps for the breakfast mug of tea. It just feels to hot here to drink tea really, yet I wish to drink more tea, until I actually drink some tea, that is.

Take two of the Earl Grey and Tiger blending. This morning I steeped a heaping 1/2 tsp of EG with a shallow 1/2 tsp of Tiger. I also used my steeping time for the Tiger instead of a steeping time in between the two. The first steep was still mostly Tiger with more EG than last time. The second steep was once again a great blend of the two. Either I need mostly EG with just a bit of the Tiger, which will be take three, or the Tiger is not a good first steep match for EG.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging.

Half EG, half A&D Ceylon. I have very little Ceylon left and some dust is getting mixed in with the leaf when I make tea now. Because of this, it came out very strong. In a good way I think. I made the addition for the second steep all EG and that evened out the cup.

2nd steep: 6 min.

Backlogging. Thursday morning.

I actually felt like I needed (and wanted) more black tea after drinking two mugfuls of LiberTea’s Breakfast Blend. I had just typed my tealog the night before for the second steep of my Ceylon and EG combo that I randomly decided to add the Tiger to as my bit of fresh leaf. So it was fresh in my mind how much I liked the surprising outcome of that mixing. So I decided to try to replicate the effect on purpose. I used one third each of EG, Ceylon, and the Tiger. Good, but not anywhere near what happened last time. I did not resteep.

Backlogging. Last Tuesday morning.

I had my usually half and half of this EG and A&D’s Ceylon and it was perfectly fine. But I wasn’t too interested in a second mugful. I needed some kick to wake me up. This combo usually needs a little bit of fresh leaf to keep the flavor up for the second steep. So instead of adding a pinch of EG and Ceylon, I added a pinch of the Tiger. Now I do not like the Tiger and this EG as a combo. But somehow the three of them together was magical. I will be trying to replicate this effect in the future.

2nd steep: 5 min. Pinch of Tiger.

I used the right extra black tea with this this morning. Delicious cup. No second steep.

^{Black pottery mugs = 12 oz. Even one and a half teaspoons.}

This morning I went to make my customary EG and A&D Ceylon blend that I so enjoy. I picked the top tin off my Series 1 stack and had already added the tea to my freshly washed and still wet infuser basket when I noticed that it was A&D Napal, not Ceylon. I’d had Napal out of Series 1 last. I usually have Ceylon on the top of the stack because I’ve been making a lot of these EG and Ceylon blends. I paused for a moment and considered just having a mug of straight Napal. Then I decided to go ahead and try a EG and Napal combo, thinking EG darjeeling. I should have went with my first instinct.

The resulting tea had a floral soapy taste that I did not enjoy and was quite drying. I poured out the last third of the cup and threw out the leaves without resteeping.

EG + Napal = NO

^{Maroon and teal striped pottery mug = about 14oz. Used a well rounded teaspoon and a half.}

A repeat performance of Earl Grey occurred the morning after the first (yesterday morning, that is). He auditioned this cat that goes by Milk for a trial show to see how he jived with the band. Not a bad fit, but EG preferred the original set up. Milk would certainly do if EG got in a pinch and needed a someone to fill in in the band.

2nd steep: 6 min 30 sec, 200° F.
Milk came out with EG for the encore. The song was weak but you could hear EG’s influence under it all.

Backlogging. Two days ago.

Halfed with A&D’s Ceylon. My mug came out strong that morning.

Backlogging.

Earl Grey with Ceylon and Tiger. Oh my.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging. Wednesday morning.

Before I tried the Ceylon and EG combo, I had tried the Tiger and EG in several ratios and decided they worked well enough together. So I tried them again then. They did not work as well as I remember them and I was not inspired to resteep.

1 TB for 500mL water, drunk bare.

Second go with the Earl. Another lousy working day; the Earl gives solace. Whispers to me of sunny citrus groves in Italy while outside fog coalesces into a sparkling wall. Smooth black tea base, really, really fruit bergamot — none of that dish-soap garbage happening here.

Tonight I steeped for 6 minutes instead of the recommended 5. (Started slurpting at 4 min, though.) The tea did not turn bitter. Not sure how much further I want to push a steep of this, as I don’t want to waste any. Overall flavour has deepened, become more complex: is that a bit of Indian tea I taste in the blend? Just a bit?

Has surpassed Stash as my second-favorite EG ever. Only Numi’s Aged Earl Grey stands in the way. Wish I could Numi and Damn Fine side-by-side and make a final decision.

A cheering tea.

BLEND: one part A&D Earl Grey, one part A&D Caravan. 1 TB tea for 500mL water, bare, drunk while nibbling peppered nuts and strong cheese.

The Earl spent the night at the pubs and finally a coffeehouse at the docks and just stumbled in to his ancestral home, where his mother entertains various hoity-toities with tea and cookies. Breaking out some peppered nuts and strong cheese, the Earl adds his smoked self to the party. While his mother worries he might be suffering an identity crisis, the Earl himself rests confident — if bleary-eyed — that the mind-altering night spent with that mysterious woman who writes and sings and wafts out ancient yet spicy campfire smoke each time she adjusts her pashmina is worth each and every strange look from his mother. His mother’s friend continue discussing a shocking new novel … and the author photo reveals to the Earl yet another layer of truth: the smoky pashmina woman.

A startling blend, the A&D Earl Grey and A&D Caravan on a 1 to 1 ratio, but bracing and unforgettable. The bergamot ultimately surrenders to the smoke, but only in the sense of the smoke riding on top.

BLEND: 2 parts A&D Earl Grey, 1 part A&D Caravan. 1TB tea for 500mL water, bare. (Water just off the boil; I find Earl Grey tastes better that way.)

I’ve been mulling over a blend of A&D’s Earl Grey and Carvan for some time. I even open both tins side by side and inhale. I’ve been wary of experimenting with blend ratios, only because I have a limited amount of both teas and really like them — especially, to my surprise, the Earl Grey. And A&D’s Caravan is a very bright Caravan blend, not just crappy stale black tea doused in liqud smoke and then laid out to dry. (I’ve drunk Caravans which taste like that.) Both the Eargl Grey and the Caravan seem to lean very much to the China tea end of the spectrum, so the tea bases, at least shouldn’t clash.

Liquor: dark copper.

Aroma: bergamot and smoke, big surprise there.

At 3 minutes of steeping: Top notes of citrus and bergamot, with a savoury, almost salty bite. Smoky finish. Wish I’d upped the Caravn j4st a bit — maybe a equal parts, but I want a marriage here, not a brawl.

At 5 minutes of steeping: more depth, more ‘ting’ from the Earl Grey and more ‘tang’ from the Caravan. Sharp and smoky finish. Hot toast with a bitter marmalade would go soooo well with this.

Conclusion: A really good wake-me-up-after-lunch tea. Will try equal parts next time.

Still wonderful. Time is taking it’s toll, as these beautiful tins aren’t exactly air tight, but it still tastes magnificent none the less.