Countess Grey

This was another great tea today at tea party, again thanks to SimplyJenW!

Just as Earl Grey Supreme by Harney and Sons is the pinnacle of Earl Grey teas for me, so this has become the benchmark for Lady Grey type teas.

Lady Grey by Twinings is the only other one I have had, and I do enjoy it. It really FEELS like a foofy, holdyourpinkyintheair kind of tea. This is the same, but polished and with a rich daddy.

My guest today has not cared for ANY Earl Grey I have served – it just isn’t her thing, and it isn’t just the bergamot because she LOVES Paris. Yet this tea gained her approval today. Her main remark was how citrusy it was, and indeed it is. They do not mention lemon, but I did think I picked up some lemon notes. That may have just been the Ceylon base though, as they really just mention orange and bergamot in the flavors.

I will be in Raleigh again soon, and I will be hitting Williams-Sonoma and putting this in my basket!

Thank you, Jen, for another lovely addition to Wednesday tea party!

Thank you SimplyJenW for this tea!!

Mmmmmmmmm! Orangey! It’s like a very orangey instead of bergamotty Earl Grey, and it’s absolutely delightful. Very smooth tea base that lets the flavoring shine. And the flavoring! It’s so natural. I tastes exactly like the juices and oils that squirt out of an orange when you peel it.

When one has been through an earthquake (albeit minor) and hurricane (albeit minor) in one week, one needs a little something zesty, punchy and DIFFERENT to put everything back in its place, and this tea is absolutely perfect for this purpose. Bonus: this was a kind gift, which makes it 29834092840 times as wonderful, imo.

Thank you Jen! Another one I adore!

This pot of tea has been a long time in the making….

EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80. I loved the tea gift from my friend and wanted refills. See the places section for Fortnum & Mason – online for my review.

First of all, a dear friend was making a trip to London this past month where she usually stops at Fortnum & Mason. I asked if she would mind picking up some tea for me. After perusing the site, this is the main one I chose. It is a light and citrusy twist on Earl Grey. I really like it (which is good because she bought a big tin)! The bergamot is light and it almost tastes like there are lemons in there! Refreshing! Kind of like Lady Grey from Twinings but better.

24 oz teapot, 4 1/2 actual teaspoons tea, freshly heated water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

The other part of this was my new electric kettle.
Aside: I did buy an inexpensive plastic one on vacation last week because we did not have a kettle of any kind at the lake, and I was not wanting to pour boiling water on the counter every time I made tea (pouring boiling water from a saucepan is tricky and somewhat dangerous.) The plastic electric kettle was cheaper than the stovetop one at the store. Now, I have a serious electric kettle dependency…It is so fast! I am saving the plastic one for travelling.
Back to the story: I ordered the Adagio VarieTEA last May as a gift for my birthday and it arrived today. Thoughts on the Adagio kettle> Pretty slick. I was a little concerned when a few reviewed it on Adagio’s site and complained of leaking. So far, no issues, but if I had them, I am pretty sure Adagio would make it right. The buttons on the front are just touch sensitive and don’t really press. The only plasticy parts on it are the handle and a removable filter near the pour spout which is out of the way of the heating water. I am guesssing this gets pretty hot on the outside, and it was heavier than the plastic one, which is pretty much expected. The fill guage is under the handle and not super easy to read, but it works. All in all, I am happy with it, as long as it does not leak. I like that it has several setpoints at 150, 165, 180, 195, and 212, and a keep warm feature.

Thankfully I’m feeling much better today. Whether I’m actually improving or it’s just all the new cold medication I have now, I don’t know, but either way I’ll take it. I thought I’d dig into another one of my samples from SimplyJenW. Thanks! I know these Countess/Lady Grey teas are usually more of afternoon type blends, but I don’t follow the “tea rules” anyway, heh.

The dry leaf smells very orangey, with perhaps a hint of brighter bergamot backing it up. Steeped, I again get that orange aroma, along with some black tea. The orange is pretty fresh and juicy smelling. The flavor pretty much follows the aroma pretty closely. Primarily orange, but with just a hint of the brighter bergamot in the background. The tea base is smooth and pleasant, with a bit of maltiness, but it’s not a very strong component of the sip. This reads as a nice orange tea with a little something extra!

This is a fantastic blend. The citrus is quite strong as soon as you open it (which I like), and is prominent in the taste. I only steeped it for 4 minutes, though I think it could’ve stood a little longer. I had it with one milk. Will add more notes for sugar/steeping time.

This is certainly one of my favourites.

I was in London a few weeks ago, and went to one of my “tea heavens”—Fortnum & Mason. I picked up this gem and let me tell you, it’s pretty perfect.

It’s slightly citrus-y, complemented by bergamot. The nice thing about this one is that the citrus-bergamot flavoures don’t overpower the tea. Seriously, this is one well balanced blend.

Happy to have it in my cupboard now, so I have a little cup of London every morning!