Earl Grey Impérial

I have a confession to make… I’m not usually a fan of Earl Grey. It’s the bergamot that has made me shy away in the past. It’s just so in your face. Like an over indulged child demanding “Look at what I can do!”. I get it bergamot. You’re bright, aromatic, and uplifting. Now, please let the other tea flavors have a turn!

Surprisingly, this tea may make me a drinker of Earl Grey. The leaf aroma defiantly has that bergamot punch in the face. I know, I know, it’s Earl Grey. The aroma of the liquor is pleasing and far more subtle. The first sip is bright and lemony fresh, (Yes, hello bergamot). That flavor quickly gives way to a nicely astringent Darjeeling body, and the finish is sweet, delicate, and floral. I actually like this tea.

Am I a tea snob? No, but I do have to admit that if my tin didn’t say Mariage Fréres, I may have stuck to my “I don’t care for Earl Grey.”, guns. Have you seen the Mariage Fréres apothecary style tea jars? I want to live in them! I have a sample of Winter White Earl Grey from Harney & Sons that I’m really eager to try now. I bet Vanilla Earl Grey would be very up my alley. Hmmmm…

And who do I have to thank for my Earl Grey turnaround? Well, this will come as no surprise, but the person’s Steepster name starts with a Quilt and ends with a Guppy.

Edit: I added a little turbinado sugar and almond cream to my second cup, and I’m liking the flavor even more!

Hard to believe I’m the first to write about this one. But here goes.

I’m starting to get to what feels like the mid-point in my Earl Grey exploration before I settle down with some favorites. I’m thinking a regular, a creme/vanilla, a lavendar, a rose, and maybe one or two others for the Earl Grey harem. I may have to reconsider the Upton chocolate since I haven’t seen any other chocolate Earl Greys. Hmm.

I remember liking another French Earl Grey, the one from The O Dor, quite a bit. I’m interested to see how this will compare.

The dry leaves smell very strongly of bergamot, but I’ve learned that isn’t necessarily indicative of how that agent will show up in the flavor. I noticed from the note here that the tea base is Darjeeling, which I suppose is why the tea doesn’t look overly dark in color. It even has some green to it.

The liquor is a light amber, almost a bronzed golden color. Much lighter than the typical Earl, and explained by the Darjeeling base. The aroma is not at all strong on the bergamot, but it does have a sharpness to it, which I associate with Darjeeling.

The bergamot returns in the flavor, where it takes center stage. This is not what I am looking for in an Earl Grey. I like more of an essence of bergamot, a suggestion around the edges, enough to make it obviously and distinctively an Earl Grey (as I’ve also had teas that didn’t have enough bergamot to seem to me allowed to claim to be Earl Greys) but not enough to scream at me. I’m worried this one is going to sit heavily in my stomach. Which is a shame because the little glimpses of the Darjeeling that I get are quite nice. It has a sort of butteriness to it, which if the balance were struck differently enough to make it assert itself more, could be quite lovely.

It should be noted that this tea is very honest. Its notes say that it is “heavily perfumed” so the centrality of the bergamot shouldn’t be surprising.

I suppose I must be something of an Earl Grey purist, as I didn’t care for the only green Earl Grey I tried, either. Bergamot is such a strong flavor to me that it needs something equally sturdy to stand up to it. But those who love strongly bergamot flavored teas (Miss Sweet?) :-) might really like this.

Having this at Cafe Vue at the airport. This is going to be my last cup of tea before leaving Melbourne!

I love Earl Grey. The name sounds so regal and posh, doesn’t it? Drinking it always makes me feel like a lady. And I think this Earl Grey Imperial from my beloved MF is a great one. It’s very delicate and subtly fragrant, unlike some Earl Grey that is so heavily scented with bergamot oil probably because the tea itself isn’t very exciting. MF uses first flush Darjeeling, it says. It’s so floral that I can almost see a French garden from the window… :)

This tea was a lovely end to a lovely day out yesterday in the more charming locales of this city. The Darjeeling base is delightful. A subtle but really interesting spin on the classic! More floral, a little spicy, and very elegant.