Elephant Blanc

Doulton provided this as a lagniappe when she sent me the Dammann Freres I’d ordered through her organized buying efforts. How nice to have something unexpected show up, and something I hadn’t yet tasted to boot!

It’s also something of a mystery as I can’t find a list of ingredients for it. Clearly there is black tea. There are also red and blue flowers and a slight rose scent to the dry tea. So I’m going with Alicia on this — rose and cornflower. Apart from that, mild spiciness, like a spicy perfume. Lovely fragrance.

I steeped this for a full 5 minutes, as suggested on Doulton’s label (with a giraffe on it, how cute!) I get a light floral note and some gentle spice as well as smooth tea in the aroma.

The flavor has this, too, plus a suggestion of citrus. I cheated and read the notes others had posted and it seems the consensus is this is bergamot and that this is in fact something of an Earl Grey variation. Hmm. I don’t think I would have got that at all had I not read it. If it is supposed to be an Earl Grey variation, it isn’t succeeding, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I liked the Earl Grey Special from Teafrog even though it didn’t seem much like an Earl Grey to me.

I like this, but it isn’t my favorite Mariage Freres, and it wouldn’t rank among Earl Greys for me.

I think next time I’ll try it steeped for less time and see what that’s like. I rarely steep anything for 5 minutes anymore except herbals and very late oolong and pu erh steeps.

This tea follows in the suit of Earl Grey French Blue except not as boldly spiced. The Bergamot is clearly there but adds a subtle depth to the tea and is no where as overbearing in this composition. The addition of cornflower and rose provide a sweet visual distraction to the collage of black tea.

There is a soothing tone to this tea which bares a similarity to my adored The de Paques. Not in the way that the vanilla and citrus woo one into taking another cup but in its warm familiarity which would pair well with any number of guest, reverie of solitude or delectable tid-bit or treat.

While I enjoy this tea I find it a bit ho-hum after the encounter with Narcisse’s smoky quality. I would place this tea in the “safe to grab on a tea day when not sure what to drink and to timid to go exploring” category. It will soon become my “Safety Tea” (or Saftea) of choice.

I’m not a huge Earl Grey fan, and this sort of tasted like a more sophisticated version of Earl Grey.