Cream of Earl Grey (organic)

Looking through my cupboard I realised something today, I haven’t reviewed this tea yet!

Here goes: Let me just say that I am an Earl Grey Snob. Capital ‘S’. I take my Earl Grey’s very seriously, which has led to the conclusion that Numi’s Aged Earl Grey is the closest to perfection I will ever get. I’ve tried them all: Twinnings (tastes like cardboard, it kills me when cafe’s try and charge me $5 for a London Fog made with it. Kills. Me.), Tazo (both the loose tea bags—meh—and the old school teabags—really good in London Fogs), Rishi (a bit too potent, but we will get to that in a second), Two Leaves & a Bud (not bad, but not great either, take it over Twinnings in a heartbeat!), Second Cup (orange flavouring?? Really?!)… but I digress.

My sister loves this tea. Loves it. Every time she comes over it is the tea she asks for, I should probably just breakdown and buy her some, but then I’d have to mail it to Halifax, yatta, yatta, yatta. Anyways, back to this tea: it’s alright on it’s own with a dash of sweetener, I usually use raw brown sugar.

In a latte though, holy shamoles! I tend to blend in a little, teensy bit of the Rishi Earl Grey, just to pump up the bergamot a bit. Otherwise, if you are like me and Enjoy a good London Fog then this is your tea! Capital ‘E’.

I did not smell the leaves before I bought this one, because I knew I would loose my nerve and turn up my nose in disgust and look for something that pleases my olfactory sense better, so I ordered 100g (knowing co-workers and family LOVES this tea) and went home to steep this one, but ended up waiting until this morning. (Window shopping without any intent to buy wears me out, it is a useless activity wit no real end result)

This morning as it was steeping I found myself pleasantly enveloped in citrus and vanilla. I went with a slightly cooler water, and an exact 4 minutes steep time. Mmmm, this was palpable, although I did find the finish tough to savour at first. To the point that the next time the husband calls to ask what I want from the store I will eagerly say: “Cream please”

This is a note worthy tea and with some practice and perfecting has the potential to become another weekend treat, Vanilla just does not seem like a day-in-day-out kinda thing…

Another sample from TassieTeaGirl; I am smashing through these. It’s like Christmas!

This earl grey is beautifully sweet. I oversteeped a little so it was a touch bitter, but that’s just because I have the unfortunate habit of walking away from a steeping tea and forgetting about it (and I don’t yet have the machine that goes PING when steep time is up, but it sounds like a solid investment for me).

ANYWAY. Delicious and sweet tea. I added a bit of sugar to correct the bitterness and it worked a treat. Milk isn’t necessary, but also doesn’t take away from the deliciousness.

Ok, I admit it. My facination with earl grey tea started in my early childhood and it is completely Captain Picard’s fault. A nerd through and through, and too young to know any better, I drank it because I thought it was the cool thing to do. Now, it’s turned into a sort of comfort-tea for me, turned to when you need something a little snuggly.

This tea was one of the first loose leaf teas I’ve ever tried. Until recently I had no idea that there was a world of tea beyond the bagged grocery store pickings. So, naturally this was one of my first picks.

At first, the smell really surprised me. I’d known that earl grey was all about the bergamot, but until I smelled this tea I had no idea what the heck it was. I suppose my tastebuds and my nose just couldn’t figure it out. Maybe it was the fault of the store-bought brands, or it could be I’m just a complete newbie when it comes to tea. Either way, when I opened up this particular tea, boy did I figure it out quick.

I hate to say it, but I really did not like it. It just hit the tastebuds in all the wrong places, I suppose. I was dissapointed and determined not to like it. It got shoved aside for quite some time. But recently, that little tin keeps wiggling it’s way to the front of my cupboard. I keep giving it one more try…over and over again. I’ve come to realize that with a just a little bit of milk and sugar, I kind of like it. It’s grown on me so much that kind of liking it has turned into a daily thing, and I’m sad to say my tin is almost empty.

I may be a tea newbie, and not too sure about the finer notes and flavors…but I’m learning. I’ve learned to love this tea, and I’m sure the tin won’t be empty for very long.

I consider myself an Earl Grey Buff. This is one of my favourites. Perfect tea to go along with arrowroot cookies. Enjoying a cup right now. It tastes great iced with Agave nectar, hot with milk or hot black.

You can pretty much understand what this tastes like just by the name, not much else to say. It is indeed creamy, I would say the vanilla aspect outshines the bergamot a little bit in this blend. Both flavors are subtle and blend together very well into a very pleasant tea.

I absolutely love this earl grey. It’s still got a classic taste, but the touch of vanilla is where I fell in love here. It tastes so creamy and I did not add anything to my cup, and it tastes like I did! Yum! I’ve been having so many earl grey tea lattes lately that I kinda forgot about the “true” tea taste if you know what I mean. This cup was so enjoyable! Mmmmm!

I realised I was getting low on my DavidsTea Cream of Earl Grey. If I want to compare it to Murchie’s Earl Grey Cream, I’d better do it soon!

Dry: Visually the DT Earl Grey looks nicer as there are a lot of pretty blue cornflowers sprinkled throughout. It smells really pleasant with the bergamot and vanilla. Alternatively, M’s Earl Grey has yellowish cornflowers mixed with the tea leaves. It smells really good as well – perhaps it has a bit more bergamot? DT’s smells “creamier” but judging by smell alone I don’t know that I could pick one over the other.

Steeped for 3 ½ minutes: I… really shouldn’t have done this the day AFTER I really burned my tongue. But, here we go!
The M’s has a nice cream flavour with lots of bergamot, but it still tastes bitter. I really like Murchie’s black/green blends, but for some reason I keep finding their blacks too strong for my taste – it just gives me a bitter aftertaste. Did I get a bad batch? It’s too strong to drink without cream at least. The DT’s blend doesn’t have that problem. It tastes creamier and milder. If the Murchie’s blend didn’t have that bitter aftertaste, it might even have more flavour than DT’s, but as it is I have to go with DT’s.

With Cream: Murchie’s taste far less bitter without the cream in it. I even notice a bit of sweetness. No complaints here! With DT’s, it’s almost like the cream has washed out some of the flavours – it’s not nearly as good with the cream. I’ve had it with milk before and that was very good though.

Verdict: If I’m drinking it black, or with 2% milk, DavidsTea wins. If I’m adding cream, or making a latte, then Murchies all the way!

I love the scent of vanilla coming off this one! Smells so comforting. I can taste the vanilla too. Really well done and not overwhelming. Anything that diminishes the bergamot is awesome for me. I’m slowly finding more and more variations of Earl Grey to enjoy.

This one is smooth. I think I’ll be keeping it around.

I’m sitting here in training at work, learning about employment expenses. This lovely vanilla and bergamot cuppa heaven is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind. It has a wonderful calming effect, is soothing, and the black tea has enough caffeine to keep me from nodding off mid-section. Nice astringency, great aroma, and an overall well-rounded tea. The black leaves are fairly large and of good quality. I love watching the little blue corn flowers open up and then bleach to pretty white petals floating around in my glass tea tumbler. Puts a smile on my otherwise bored face. :)

Earl Grey has always been one of my last choices of tea. But when I took one smell of this tea, I thought I would try it. Well, this tea has now become one of my favorites. When I am not sure what I am in the mood for, this tea is always the one I am grabbing. I like the subtle vanilla flavor, and it tastes even better with a splash of cream.

Thank you Bonnie for this sample.
This is my 2nd Earl Grey Tea I have tried.
I boiled water.
I took the big sample and put it in the pot.
I let it cool.
I tasted the “Cream” It’s the taste in the beginning…
I got a little bored with it, so I added some organic Blue Agave sweetener.
The tea leaves plumped up and expanded.
I have a big pot that I will sample all day today.
Thank you, Bonnie

8/21/12 – I put whatever was left into the fridge, this tasted really good cold!

Mmmmm, morning tea on my day off. Bliss!

I’ve been drinking this for a while, then finally realized today that I’ve never actually logged it. I’m a big fan of Earl Grey tea, and this is the first loose leaf version I’ve tried. I love how the bergamot comes out strong. Yet it still has a lovely creamy feel that keeps things mellow. A teensy bit of bitterness this morning that tells me that I put too much in the steeper, but I don’t even mind that too much.

After reading the reviews, I’m definitely going to have to try this as a London Fog at some point. Since this has a permanent place on the shelf, it’ll be easy to do :-)

This tea is lovely. Nice cream vanilla and light creamsicle bergamont flavor without bitterness. I hate overpowering Earl Grey where you can’t distinguish the layers of flavor and this is just what Earl Grey should be. I tried with and without cream and light and heavy steep. Even second pour. Can’t find a fault. This is the tea you give as a gift to someone you really like! The perfume is awesome.

Day 15 of my Advent Calendar

Another tea i’ve been meaning to try

Dry leaves smell like bergamot and vanilla steeped it smells like bergamot and black tea the liqueuer is the color of pancake syrup.

Time to taste: Bergamot, Black tea and a smooth finish from the vanilla

I really like it! gonna add this to my shopping list

Wow, this is much stronger than I’ve expected! Next time I will definitely use less tea leaves…

If I drink it as a black tea, it is pretty nice. There’s a vague note of vanilla although it is even better if it is creamier (again, the tea is too strong!) But when they call it an Earl Grey, I am not too happy about it because I am not getting much bergamot… :(

This tea smells strong of vanilla. I am also getting a hint of bergamot, which pairs nicely with the vanilla.

This is not a strong black tea, at least compared to some of the other black teas I have been drinking lately. The lightness, combined with the vanilla and bergamot is delicious. It has a relaxing quality to it. I think this is one of the first black teas I have had that I would classify as “relaxing”.

I have the Around the World sampler from DAVIDs that I have slowly been working my way through, and I think this might be my favorite tea from it so far.

Really loving this tea, it is kind of like earl’s garden and buttered rum, but on the more subtle side. It really does taste like I’ve added milk to my tea without actually adding any. Really one of my faves.

This is my staple tea, I have a cup every day! It’s like a London Fog without the extra sugar, and is a great alternative to standard Earl Grey

I love Earl Grey (the Twinnings brand) and the Mighty Leaf Vanilla Black tea, and this one is a combo of both. It’s more like the Vanilla Black, really, as the bergamot is a bit overwhelmed by the vanilla. I don’t mind however.