Earl Grey

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea to try!

I was leery of this tea immediately upon opening the package. I could NOT smell any bergamot! I cannot recall (at least, not in recent memory) of an Earl Grey tea where I’ve opened the package and I couldn’t smell any bergamot. Sometimes the aroma is softer than other times, but, I can’t remember ever encountering an Earl Grey where there was no bergamot fragrance in the dry leaf. Discouraging, to say the least.

The scent of the brewed aroma did very little to relieve my dismay. I still can’t smell bergamot. Maybe a faint… chemically… somewhat orange-like aroma… but certainly not the bold, citrus-y, floral-esque bergamot that I adore.

This tea makes me very sad. Very sad indeed. I feel like someone stabbed my beloved Earl Grey right in the heart. This tea is no Earl Grey. Not at all. It doesn’t deserve that title. I don’t think it even deserves to be called tea.

Sad.

I am glad, however, that I got to try it. Why? I don’t know.

Just sad…

I bought this for 2 reasons…I needed some black teas as a back up AND I was looking for cheap. I honestly don’t know how I feel about this one. It has the floral/bergamot taste but it definitely tastes different than earl grey. Maybe it’s the fast that it tastes very FAKE that is the turn off for me. It’s not terrible but I certainly won’t be buying it again and it will probably last a while in my stash because I don’t think I will be drinking it often. But at least I can choke down the cup.

It’s a pretty standard-tasting Earl Grey – the bergamot is a bit on the strong side, but other than that nothing really stands out.

Delicious

This was one of the first Earl Grey teas I tried. This was when I first fell in love with the Earl. I still enjoy this brand, however, I found it could be a little tart/bitter and not so smooth. Does not taste too good if it steeps for too long.
My favorite tea but not my favorite brand.

Before this tea, I never understood those who say bergamot tastes like soap.