Premium Earl Grey

Second tea of the morning….. (SRP #32)

This sample was provided by Fusion Tea Room. (Thank you, Thomas!)

I have had many an Earl Grey as it is one of my favorite flavor profiles, so I was more than willing to give this one a try before it goes up for sale. This one has a mellow bergamot. I would not call it light, just mellow in that it is not super citrusy. I guess that means it leans more to the floral side. Yes. Mellow and floral, but not perfumy. The tea base is interesting. I did notice it was a little more smokey than the usual Earl Greys I drink, and then I read the description here…..it has a Ceylon and Yunnan base. The floral bergamot and the slight smoke from the Yunnan is a very good flavor match. There is also a hint of a bite/briskness from the Ceylon, but again it works with the floral and slight smoke. All in all a very well done Earl Grey. I like that it is a bit different from the usual ones I have been drinking. I think Thomas mentioned that this would be available around June 1, 2012.

Usual mug method with about 200 water and a 3 minute steep. Lightly sweetened.

Sometimes I have trouble differentiating Earl Greys. There are just so many, and the basic ones blend together. I do love them though, but I prefer blends with a little something extra to make it stand out. But I’ve been looking for a good everyday, “plain” EG so I was pleased to get this as a sample from Fusion Teas.

This smells strongly bergamot-y in the bag, but it’s more subtle brewed. The citrus is complemented by some faint smoky and fruity notes, and the black base is just as strong if not stronger than these competing flavors. It’s a particularly smooth EG, good both with and without cream & sugar. This is a good evening earl, without some of the astringency or briskness in some blends.

Liberteas Thanks for this!
It’s a really great premium EG, indeed!

I really like the black tea base, here, it’s splendid!
The bergamot is a bit on the lighter side but I am ok with that. It seems to flow nicer than most EG’s perhaps because of this fact.

There is a hint of a crusty-bread after taste to this, too, and I REALLY like that about it! YUMMO!

I thought this was a very tasty and smooth earl grey. In my experience, you must be careful in brewing it and FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. I attempted to brew it like a standard black tea using boiling water but this produced a bitter tea. I tried again with a temperature of approximately 190-200 degrees Fahrenheit and it was DELICIOUS. It was a more mellow earl grey than what I am used to but it was very unique and delicious. Man, earl greys have really grown on me… I’m really enjoying my samples from Fusion and I’m thinking I’m gonna have to place an order in the future.

The scent is very strong! Okay, here’s the deal. I’m giving Earl Grey a second chance. The only times I had had it, years ago, were as bagged teas. I disliked it then, but I think I really ought to give it another shot. The leaves smell very strongly of citrus.
The tea black is really interesting. Moderately astringent and with a definite citrusy flavor but… I like it! Shocking.
I actually like it better without milk – the milk adds a nutty element that doesn’t blend so well.
I think I’m a fan though – hurray for (re)trying (old)new things!

Why yes, Fusion Tea apparently does have black tea. It just isn’t on their website yet. The ingredients on this one are listed as premium black tea and bergamot. The aroma is very different than any EG I have had before. The scent reminds me of fruit candy (grapes and oranges?) or maybe fruit punch. One of the guys at work said it smelled like one of the Hubba Bubba bubble gums he used to chew. I followed the instructions but did shorten the steep time to 3 minutes.

The bergamot aroma is accompanied by the fruity wine-like scent of the black tea. The sip is very balanced There are equal parts tea and bergamot. I find that sense of balance is what I like most about Fusion Teas. The taste of the bergamot is fruity – maybe peach and orange. Again, not like any Earl Grey I have had before. There is some dry mouth astringency in the cup. The leaf itself is good sized broken pieces, and definitely not fannings.

The 2nd cup tastes like a more traditional Earl Grey.

I think the key to enjoying this tea is to get all the preconceived notions out of your head. It is a unique take on a classic. With that understanding this is a complex yet finely balanced cup. A longer review can be found at http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2012/03/fusion-teas-premium-earl-grey.html

Sample provided by Fusion Tea Room (www.fusiontearoom.com)

This is one that I think I will try again tomorrow before offering a numeric rating. Today, it tastes pleasant enough, but I think I will do a little tweaking with the brewing parameters. On the package it suggests a slightly less than boiling temperature, and I steeped it at a full boil. I think I’ll go according to suggested brewing parameters tomorrow and see if I enjoy it more.

Today, though, it is pleasant enough – a deliciously robust black tea, and a soft bergamot note. I guess I find myself wanting a wee bit more bergamot here, and that’s why I want to try it the way they suggested it to see if I’m happier with the flavor. It’s ok now, but when I drink Earl Grey, I want fabulousness.

I want to send a big shout-out to Thomas at Fusion Tea Room for your amazing service (100 rating, I swear) and the wonderful (and generous) samples. My first review wasn’t great, so please read this one instead if you already saw that one!

This is a re-do of my first review. I am heating the water now, and I am going to ensure I have the proper water temperature. I’m going to let the pot cool for a bit, and then try again.

time lapse Yeah, because I’m not going to make you wait.

Smell: Dry, in the bag. OH MY GOSH OH MY GOODNESS OH MY……Just wow. I love the smell of Earl Grey, and I could just smell this the whole time I am waiting for it to steep. I mean, I don’t know if you can eat tea straight up, but if you could, I would want to eat this. That may be weird, but it just SMELLS SO GOOD TO ME! It’s a light, citrusy (did I spell that right?) aroma, and it isn’t too strong. It’s just….heavenly! :-) As it is steeping, the aroma isn’t as strong, but still as good. I am going to up the rating just because of the smell….

And my temp. slider won’t let me set it at 203 degrees……but 205 isn’t that off, so yeah.

Taste: Ohhh yeah, that’s perfect. This is a very smooth Earl Grey. There is NO bitter in here. None. So I take back my previous statement about Bergomot being bitter in general.Well, ok, I taste a small amount of…not bitter, but just the strong taste of tea in general, you know? But the Earl Grey! The flavor!! THIS IS AMAZING!!! And it’s amazing what temperature change can do! Two packets of sugar in the raw and this is perfect for me. And yeah, you may think my rating is high but THIS IS THE BEST EARL GREY I HAVE EVER TASTED!! It is even a bit better than my favorite, also 100 rated Earl Grey tea. I’m going to have to bump that rating down a bit, since it has been so long since I’ve had that EG anyway. I don’t think I’m ever going back to bagged tea again, not if it comes in a loose form. (Or if it is just one of those really high quality places anyway. I can do that.) I want to just ramble on. I LOVE this!

And this review is supposed to be completely honest. So here is my honesty: The first steep, before I re-adjusted tea temp, wasn’t so good. I could drink it but it wasn’t that good. But now that I have re-done it, THIS TEA IS AMAZING I AM NOT LYING!! BEST EVER! EVER!! And to know that I have CHOCOLATE CAKE HONEYBUSH BY FUSION TEA ROOM THAT I HAVE YET TO TRY? Oh……………boy.