Earl Grey Black Tea

I decided to have some fun with a flowering tea tonight! It was lots of fun. It was also a nice earl grey too. Especially if you are like me and aren’t really into a heavy bergamot flavor.

I posted a full review with pictures and everything on my brand new blog, if you want to check it out!!

http://apurpledress.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/dont-smell-the-roses-drink-them/

The friend that gave me this said he really liked it for the bergamot and some kind of berry notes. That sounded excellent. The dry pod does smell nicely of bergamot, not overwhelmingly so, but in a pleasant way. The display opened up nicely. It is a bit drab compared to the colorful Lovers Blossom. Still it is cool.

The clarity is good. The brew a golden amber. In the sip I get the berry notes my friend mentioned. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I will call it plum for now, maybe a little grapeish. The bergamot takes a major backseat here. It is more on the level of bergamot in Ahmad’s No 1 tea, its there, but way in the background. As an EG this is more than a bit disappointing. If the package only said London Fog I would not have a preconception that is a bit hard to overcome. Ok, if this is not EG, how is it? It is not brisk, bold, or astringent. It is very smooth like Prince of Wales but to my tastes, with the fruitiness, it takes on a Keemun/Ceylon afternoon blend quality. Works well with a little sweetener, which gives it some depth. This is really not bad. While I doubt I will buy this one (cause its not EG), I would definitely drink it if it were offered to me. One pod made two 6 cup pots (36oz each) or 7 medium strength 10oz cups.

The first cup smells light and delicate, while the first taste is really bland. I’m going to leave the tea flower in for just awhile longer. By the way, the flower is very pretty.

The second cup is much darker and the smell is less floral and more tea like. The taste is more vibrant. Having never had earl grey before, I can only say the taste is not like any of the tea I currently own.

The third cup is darker, I can see now that some tea got left behind in the teapot. The color is darker, and the tase richer. Definitely liking this now. I’ll have to try some real earl grey tea.

Not bad. Very pretty when it was brewing – I wish I could get a decent picture of a flowering tea. Damn you, refraction. On my third cup and it is getting a little bitter, but I enjoyed this more than the green tea flowering teas, but I am totally biased towards Earls. Thank you to atuinsails for send it to my wifey!