Cream of Earl Grey

Thanks to Lynne-tea for a sample of this one, which I think I’ve had previously, though not brewed myself.

This is a lovely example of an earl grey cream. Light on the bergamot, heavy on the creaminess and vanilla; I would swear that someone put cream in my tea. No bitterness at all with a 3-minute infusion. This is pretty darn delicious – delicious enough that I may very well pick this one up as my go-to EGC once I drink down what I have (which consists mostly of small samples from various places, including Upton).

Very tasty. Thanks again for the sample, Lynne-tea! Much appreciated :D

For a Cream of Earl Grey this one sure goes over the top. They should have just made it a Grey Variant. They ALREADY have one called ‘Charming Grey’, which I was also considering trying. Bergamot, vanilla, jasmine, rose, BOURBON?

It smells delicious, though. Although the smell reminds me mostly of this company’s Irish Cream, and I’m picking up no bergamot.

The taste… Wow. I got a hint of bergamot, a lot of cream vanilla bourbon. No jasmine, I think. Well THIS is a cup of deliciousness. I had feared that it would be using the same base as their collection of flavoured blacks, and thus would get bitter as it cooled. It’s still too hot to tell, but it’s very delicous and sweet and tasty right now. And I think I’m getting jasmine hints in the aftertaste.

Hmmm the bitterness is starting to set in. I had hoped, being a grey, they would treat it differently. Ahwell, it just means the reduced temperature I had to do to the others to get rid of the bitterness. Still quite nice.

Although now as I continue to sip it, I realize I can no longer make out the bergamot and wonder if I imagined it in the first place. This really does just remind me of a milder version of the Irish Cream. Huh. Well, that’s disappointing. I knew I should have just gotten up earlier and picked up some Earl Grey Cream from Tealicious to try instead.

Went back and got a second steep of this, and although the whole thing is very watery and doesn’t resteep well, I think I can taste a touch more bergamot.

There was no way I could resist this tea once I smelled it. I am sure glad that this was the case as I am not usually a big fan of earl grey tea.
This changed everything.

Dry: Very creamy, floral, bergamot with a layer of vanilla icing somewhere in there. Pretty rose petals.
Liquor: Tastes exactly as it smelled, though with a rounding out from the black tea. The rose was definitely notable and played on the delicious creaminess of this tea. Beautiful amber color. YUM!
This tea is extremely easy to drink bare, though sometimes it is nice to add a touch of cream for a treat.

As a fan of Earl Gray teas, I had higher expectations for this loose leaf tea than it was able to deliver. Perhaps the combination of the jasmine flowers and Bergamot Cream flavour were the downfall for me, as I found it to leave an astringent bitter taste after swallowing. I thought at first that I had perhaps brewed it too strongly, but after subsequent trials at later dates I still found it to leave a slightly undesirable after-taste. However, the opinions of others that I asked were generally favourable. Most drank it black with a bit of sugar whereas I added both sugar and milk each time.

The BEST cream of earl grey I have ever tasted. Really amazing!