Earl Grey

Picked up a box at Big Lots for $2 today, thinking for the price, it could be terrible and I wouldn’t care. I just needed some Earl Grey to hold me over until my teas from KeenTeaThyme got here…

I put two bags in a mug to steep for iced tea, set the timer for four and a half minutes, and then my phone rang. I ended up forgetting all about my tea and spent about eight minutes on my balcony talking to a friend who had just broken up with his girlfriend. Oh dear.

When I returned, it smelled delicious but very strong, and a little on the sharp side. It was dark, but not as dark as I would have expected. I sweetened it, hit it with ice, and hoped for the best. It’s actually not bad! The bergamot is more lemony than what I’ve had recently, but it doesn’t taste like Pinesol, so I’m happy. The actual Ceylon aspect is a little milder than what I would have hoped, but it’s going to keep me satisfied for a while. If I were broke and in a pinch like this again, I might lean toward Tazo since they add lavender, but this will do.

A surprisingly tasty tea! It stands out from other everyday teas. The colour of the liquor surprises me too – it’s really dark. Fortunately, the tea is milder than its colour suggests. I love, love, love the intense bergamot flavour, even though it is more lemony than I’ve expected. Seriously, I can’t understand those ppl who hate Earl Grey. It’s one of the greatest inventions in tea history!!

This tea is pretty common at coffee shops here in Warsaw, and I had a pot of it this afternoon. For a bagged tea, it was actually pretty tasty. I know for sure that this is a Ceylon base, since the company makes a big deal about how their tea is 100% single-origin Ceylon. The bergamot was strong enough to be the main event, but not overpowering, and overall the flavor was fairly well-balanced.

A nice basic tea, and a decent option when on the go, but once again I’m finding it lacking a certain depth of flavor, as with the bagged Twinings EG I had earlier, though I do think I prefer this one of the two, probably due to the origin differences of the black tea base.

Very finely cut tea with some dust, with a very intense, almost rank odor of bergamot in the dry leaf. I used about 1measuring teaspoon to a pint of boiling water, and steeped for about three minutes. This produced a ruddy dark brown tea, fairly clear, still with an intense bergamot scent and somewhat less intense bergamot flavor. Good breakfast tea, which is when I had it, together with toast, marmalade and a nice boiled egg. My husband tried it as well, and pronounced it “good.”

This was a Christmas present…sort of a stocking stuffer. I was expecting trash tea; I got a gold mine! I love Ceylon teas and this was advertised as a pure Ceylon based Earl Grey. The tea has a wonderful, sharp, acidic bite with a nice citrusy bergamot scent. For what is probably a bargin basement box of tea, I am much impressed.

I did not like this tea on my first cup but I think it was because I wasn’t used to the bergamot flavour. Once I got used to the flavour, I loved it. It’s fragrant and strong enough to keep me going through marathon study sessions. Although the flavour is strong, it isn’t bitter. However the tea may taste sharp if it’s steeped for too long.

This is another teabag tea from the discounted shelf at TJMaxx/Kmart/Homegoods. It makes a big point of being an earl grey with one hundred percent ceylon tea. A little bit dusty from the CTC tea but not so bad as other teabags I’ve had. The bergamot is light and not too overpowering. A decent way to start the morning.

Had this tea yesterday at the airport while waiting for my flight.
I did not leave it steeping long. And even with this extra short steeping time, what came out was a strong brew, with an underlying undeniable bitterness. The bitterness was actually so strong that I could not really appreciate either the tea or the citrusy bergamot flavor, which seemed rather nicer than average (for bagged tea).
Drinking this actually reminded me why I did not like tea at all when I was a teenager, as I only had had bad quality dust in bag oversteeped.
A complete miss for me, that I would not recommend to anyone. I was surprised to see so many positive comments on this one. I may have to try it again sometime to be really sure. The Twinings is however a much better bet IMO.

One of the best earthy tasting tea I had. A common tea in coffee shops in the Philippines.

I think the bergamot fragrance makes this tea bag exceptional.

It’s not a terrible bagged earl grey, but it was the only kind of tea they had in Belize while I was away. So naturally I came home with a whole box.

Plain, regular earl grey. Not spectacular. Not terrible. Again, the only tea that was really available. Not that you wanted hot tea in a hot, hot country.

A thoroughly enjoyable tea experience. Warmed up my esophagus and frigid hands this winter.

Much better than the usual bagged Earl Grey: it has decent tea in it, and a good bergamot flavor. I first bought this in Montreal, but have since discovered you can get a case on Amazon.