Decaf Earl Grey

What a day. Today was my first day in Vancouver, and I started it off with breakfast by the quay with a cup of this. They really didn’t have much else to choose from, and when I picked it from the basket, I didn’t notice that it was decaf.

What can I say, it was underwhelming and ultra bland. The bergamot in this was a sad attempt. Not even distinctly bergamot, but rather a dull, vague citrus. I had to resort to adding milk and sugar to make this more interesting, and even then, it tasted watery. I let it steep for around four minutes too.

But that’s ok. To all the Canadians out there, I ran into Rex Murphy today so that was cool. I felt bad talking to him but at least I made him laugh. Unlike this tea, the experience definitely wasn’t decaffeinated or banal.

1 bag for 250mL water, bare.

It’s a bagged tea. And a decaf bagged tea. So it has limits. I have found this one at once harsh and dull, and a bit thin in body.

But, the other night, quite by accident, I made it with water just off the boil, at much the same temp I’d make green tea with. I didn’t get to the kettle in time, and then got distracted, hence the cooler water. Guess what? It greatly improved this tea. Steeped in slightly cooler water, it comes out sweet rather than bitter, gentler, and almost creamy, with a touch of Keemunish smoke in the aftertaste. The bergamot balances quite nicely without smelling like either perfume or furniture polish. I really enjoyed it.

ehh, not so good. I had regular stash earl grey yesterday but ran out. The decaf version really can’t compare. The difference in flavor is obvious and I think I’ll only resort to this when I absolutely have to.

I wish I could find a strong DECAF earl grey (any suggestions anyone? I seem to even have a hard time at loose tea stores here) so in the meantime I drink this version. Its not bad, not my favourite. Occasionally has a bit of a soapy quality.

I added a little bit of silk soy milk today and it doesn’t seem to bad. At least it was enough to get me out of bed.

I’m such a black-tea addict that I like to have a good cuppa before bed, but for obvious reasons the caffeinated versions are no good.

For years I just gave up on finding a good, strong and tasty decaf and simply didn’t have any tea late at night.

Then I found the Stash decaf Earl Grey. Obviously you’re going to loose flavour with 1. Decaffeinated tea and 2. Bagged tea. So you really have to keep that in mind when drinking a tea like this. You can’t expect diamonds from quartz, you know?

With that in mind, brew this with a full rolling boil and let it steep for a good 4 minutes and you’re good. I like mine with a splash of skim milk and about 1/4 teaspoon of white sugar for a good comfort drink. Perfect after a long hard day when I still need to sleep at night!

This was an okay Earl Grey, but I didn’t find it anything special. As a sample it worked out well for the morning/afternoon I was drinking it at work, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to have it on hand in my house.

I like the bergamot flavor in this one, decaf isn’t the best for a morning wake me up tea, but I can’t have too much caffeine. this one is one of my favorite go to comfort teas.

The black teas used in this earl grey are a bit too harsh for me to drink it without milk, but other than that it wasn’t bad. The bergamot flavouring was fairly weak and the overall taste nothing special. A decent tea, but not one I’d write home about.