Lord John Grey

This was another goodie from LiberTEAS!!!

This is a lot like a few Lady Grey’s I have had…
a lighter version of an Earl Grey…not as harsh on the bergamot or floral tastes, ya know!?

This is nice – when you are in the mood!

The dry leaf does smell amazing. It smells more like orange than bergamot (which I know is actually an orange, but you know what I mean, right?)

The brewed liquor loses some of that aroma, which saddens me a bit because I really love the smell of the leaf.

The flavor is quite different from Earl Grey. The bergamot is altered by the addition of the orange, and this becomes a fruit flavored black tea as opposed to an Earl Grey (I guess that’s why they call this John Grey instead of Earl, eh?) There is also a faint bitterness that tastes rather odd when this tea is unsweetened – this one is so much better with a sprinkling of sugar or a drizzle of agave or honey… I chose agave.

It’s ok… not great… but not terrible either.

Well, this smells rather nice. I was alarmed when I saw what looked like dust floating on the surface after I removed the infuser, but on closer examination I decided it was a like skim of oil — or bergamot, I suppose. Which is in its own way a little alarming as well.

I’ve just realized I can’t see the color very well in my new tea mug. Should have bought a white one instead of a blue one. But I can dip out a teaspoonful and see that it’s a bright, golden amber color.

But oh my gosh it’s bitter. Did I steep it too long? Did I use too much tea? Or, since this is one of those unopened samples I bought a year ago, is it just too old even though it’s been sealed in a foil-lined packet? Advice from more experienced tea samplers hereby solicited.

Anyway, yuck.