Earl Grey

Wow — I get a bit inactive and all this craziness happens in the Steepsterverse! (Okay, so it was a lot inactive). Well, today I brought my newly purchased Kati cup-thingy and single-serving samples from Tea Forte to work (putting the packets in my newly purchased Tardis cookie jar!). Then I chose the Earl Grey to try my first cup in the Kati. Then I steeped. Then I had a small rush of patrons and got back to the cup several minutes later. Yeah. Undrinkable. I think that I may also need to rinse the leaves first since even when I went back and had a second much-shorter steep I was getting the “Pledge-furniture polish” sensation. But I did finish that cup. But I’m able to rate this fairly — so no rating for now.

All that said, I’m really loving this cup. It’s been crazy-cold in our library and the warmth of the cup was a bit of heaven on earth. I realized that with my other mugs I tended to turn the mug so that the handle was facing away from me. So this is the perfect mug to hold like that with no handle in the way.

I also started to get that feeling of “nom — tea is nummy” that I haven’t had for most of the summer. I’m hoping to get back to posting more often, at least between now and when I need to buckle down and focus on getting accepted into the Master’s Program.

Starting my day with Earl Grey! I really like Tea Forté’s Earl Grey, it has a very brisk and invigorating flavor. The orange with the bergamot softens the sharpness of the bergamot just a little, while enhancing it’s citrus qualities.

Delicious!

http://www.teaforte.com/store/gourmet-tea/black-tea/earl-grey/
I’m currently drinking Tea Forte’s LOOSE LEAF Earl Grey! YES, LOOSE LEAF.

I was first introduced to Tea Forte Teas last year when my mother saw their cute lil bags in the shape of a triangle and stood perfectly in your cup with their trademark ‘leaf’ sticking out of the top. She ended up buying me a gift set of 6 samples and I liked some and others were too tarty for me but was SO EXCITED to try them regardless.

Yesterday when I received my KATI via UPS there were three samples in it…one of the samples was their EARL GREY LOOSE LEAF. Yup! They have LOOSE LEAF, too!

Of course I am drinking this in my New KATI from Tea Forte!!!
http://www.teaforte.com/store/tea-accessories/other/kati-loose-tea-system/
Which I reviewed yesterday in more detail and will be testing a bit more and posting my personal tea blog which is located here…
http://teaequalsbliss.blogspot.com/
Later this week…

Anyhow…here is the review on their Loose Leaf Earl Grey…
I can smell your typical black tea, bergamot – but not too bergamot or fake bergamot smell which is a definite PLUS…since lately I have experienced some loose leaf teas that are mostly fake bergamot flavoring and it seems to linger for HOURS whether it be for scent or after taste…but like I said…this one is a happy medium with the bergamot. The actual black tea is very bold! This is a nice surprise…I wasn’t sure about the strength of the black tea taste based on the original scent of the tea…and then there is a hint of floral and a hint of something else that I am not sure I have smelled before in other Earl Grey’s. WHAT IS THAT hint of mysteriousness!? OH! It’s…almost a hint of rice scent!? It’s barely there but that is sort of what it smells like to me…freshly cooked rice…of course this isn’t a focus or a flavor that is even listed in the ingredients but I just thought I would mention that it is something that I picked up on…and I LIKE IT.

This Earl Grey doesn’t seem to have an aftertaste that bothers me either and that’s WONDERFUL!!! I think it’s one of the bolder teas – if not the boldest tea – I have tried so far – to date – from Tea Forte.

Now…as for the findings on this BLACK loose leaf in the KATI – since I did a GREEN yesterday – this is still perfect for Black Tea as well…as you know I have already drank several Black and Black Flavored Teas so far today and ALL of them have worked REALLY well in my KATI.

http://www.teaforte.com/store/tea-accessories/other/kati-loose-tea-system/

This link will tell you more about the KATI…which I have become more and more fond of and protective of in my office. I have non-tea drinkers EYE BALLING it! LOL

They are just jealous!
:)

By getting this KATI it just might encourage me to get into more accessory hunting (purchasing)…YAY!

My friend gave me this tea to try because she knows that I love Earl Grey. I decided to look up the steeping guide for this tea and was surprised by the low temperature to brew it with. I usually use boiling or near boiling water for my Earl Greys, but I was willing to try the lower temperature. I steeped it for four minutes.

The liquor was a nice light amber and smelled lightly of bergamot. The taste was light. Very light. I was getting a hint of spice at the end too. I think if I ever have this again I think I might try a slightly hotter temperature.

I received a sample of this from Dinosara. My first offering from Teaforte. I was expecting it to be in the pyramid bags that I’ve seen online but to my suprise a loose leaf sample. I noticed that this has a very strong aroma to it almost peppery. Subtle flavor need not apply here. Which is not a bad thing but if you are not ready for it might knock you over. Put a little milk in it that seems to subdue this monster a little bit. Not bad but a strong earl grey.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 loose tea single steeps packet
Water: Hot spigot water, 12 oz
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Very strong bergamot, citrus scent with a hint of floral
Steeped Tea Smell: Black tea, hint of bergamot and citrus
Flavor: Citrus, bergamot, followed by black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: Very astringent and slightly bitter after taste
Liquor: deep dark reddish-brown

Leaves expanded impressively.

Too much bergamot, and I am coming to believe Assam teas are not my cup of tea.

The kati mug is an excellent temperature on the hands when using hot spigot water, as opposed to being a bit too hot to handle when I used my electric kettle at home. Again, this is an excellent loose tea brewer for work, or beginners.

I think this little pre-measured packet is a great first step for converting bagged tea drinkers to loose.

Post-Steep Additives: +2 sugar a bit better, sweeter. It could have used milk as well.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-loose-leaf-black-tea-earl.html

I’ve owned this tea for quite a while without any impressions of it logged.

I don’t really have much experience with orange or citrus tea, but with the limited amount I have acquired, my impressions have been fairly great. I do recall a fabulous experience with a dark Darjeeling orange pekoe, as most of my experiences before that with orange pekoe weren’t favorable.

Opening the tin presented quite a strong and distinguishing Bergamot citrus aroma, so strong that the scent lingers, faintly. I would have thought the Bergamot overpowering, but it is more an initial and bold scent, with a citrus freshness that follows.

Steeping gives a nicely deep amber tone. The aroma of the brew is significantly less bold than the leaves, leaving a pale, almost flat, scent.

The initial sips show me why the cornflowers needed to be there, as they settle down the extremely bold flavor of the Bergamot. There is a dull astringency, which I could probably credit the black tea that is barely present, but it seems more the citrus as it is also a refreshing closer.

All around, this is quite a bold and delicious tea. I can see this working better with milk, as the Bergamot does call for it. Straight or sweetened with milk, this is a very full and rich cup of tea.

From the moment at which I remove the pyramid infuser from its cardboard cover, I know there is something different about this Earl Grey. The smell of bergamot is not very strong. In fact, it is hardly present at all. Popping the infuser into my Tea Forte Cafe Cup, I fill the cup with just boiled water and let it steep for four minutes…a happy medium in the 3-5 minute range that was given by Tea Forte’s website!

The tea being now prepared, I take a whiff of the steeping, once again surprised by the smell. It is spicy with a bit of a fruity smell. Intrigued, I go on to try this cup of tea, sip by sip. My first sip is possibly the most astringent Earl Grey I have ever tasted! The bergamot is finally hinted at in the aftertaste, but the tea itself is so incredibly astringent that I wonder if I mistimed this tea. I ditch this cup and prepare to steep a new one.

This second cup I steep for only two and a half minutes. I know this is less than what was suggested, but I figure it is better to be safe. This second cup still smells exactly the first one, which worries me slightly, but I forge onward with this tasting! Still astringent, even after such a short steep time. But it is not as bad as the first cup was. The bergamot flavor is very fake and overdone, which is a bit of a turn-off, considering that this is supposed to be Earl Grey, not cologne.

If hunting for a cup of Earl Grey, this is not the tea to which to turn. I recommend trying a different brand. Sorry, Tea Forte, but this tea needs to go back to the mixing room. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 45/100.

Thanks for the free sample tea forte. Backlogging. Now i am netural on earl greys. This smells like earl grey only with a bit more orange. I steeped it up. I could really taste the black tea with some bergamot and some orange. This would be good for someone that likes earl grey with more orange. I just thought it was decent.

This was a free sample of loose Earl Grey from Tea Forte. I don’t think I can give this a rating because I really hate Earl Grey tea. I did try a few swallows of this because I am supposed to review it, but I can’t tell you if it is a good Earl Grey or not.

The loose tea leaves smelled like a old man’s cologne. Once brewed it tasted very bitter and actually tasted like someone poured cologne in my tea. I really really don’t like Earl Grey. I had to rinse my mouth out and I can still taste it. Caveat – this is what all Earl Grey’s taste like to me.

I really appreciate the sample from Tea Forte so that I could try it but it’s definitely not my thing.

Link to full review and pics:
http://parkcityvegan.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-fortes-kati-loose-tea-system-and.html

It’s stronger than most brands’ Earl Grey… the bergamot flavour is overwhelming. Drinking it plain might be better than with milk and sugar, which was what I did just now…

Forgot and oversteeped—but the tea took it well, and didn’t get very bitter. Tasted more flowery than I like, but the tea flavor is nice and rich.

Gave my bag a second brew (for five min this time), and that came out even more flowery. The tea itself wasn’t as flavorful. Aww.

I love this tea. A reliable perfect cup every time I’ve tried it. Usually I put in two tea bags to achieve the bitterness I’m craving, but this brand in it of itself does great.

I still at a capful of lemon juice to bring out the bergamot, and it is quite stunning.

The price is devastating, however.

Possibly the worst tea I’ve ever had. It tastes like (cheap, gross) cologne, or maybe wood polish. Or a mix of the two. All I got was that gross faux-citrus; I couldn’t even really taste the base. I love Earl Greys and I’m usually all for strong bergamot flavor, but here it was so heavy and artificial, almost musky. There’s no way I would’ve even recognized this tea as an Earl Grey by taste if I hadn’t know what it was.

I found this tea bag lying around a relative’s house and have no idea how old it might be, so there is that. Still, I see other mentions of cologne-like flavor, so I don’t think it’s just that the tea has gone off.

Fist off, the tea leave are very fine and powder like. They smell VERY strong of bergamot.

I boiled water and poured in a mug and let it steep for 5 minutes per instructions from Tea Forte. The end result being a very dark liquor smelling a bit less of bergamot. I can smell the assam now unlike before. Onto taste, first sip I took tasted nothing like bergamot and very much like pure black assam. Second sip, all I got was bergamot, and not good bergamot, chemical tasting bergamot. I drank about 1/4 of the cup before throwing it out. This tea tasted horrible. Didn’t even taste like tea, just chemicals… I still cant get the taste out of my mouth. Very disappointed.

DO NOT EVER STEEP FOR MORE THAN 5 MIN!
Seriously, makes this tea undrinkable.

Details:
Kettle: Breville Tea Maker
Temp: 212
Steep Time: 3-5 min
Type: Black, Loose

Very bold flavor. If you are not a fan of Earl Greys I’d stay away from this one. If over steeped becomes undrinkable mess, bitter and coats your mouth.
Quality of tea leaves very poor, broken and leads to a granular mouth-feel in even when filtered twice.

Rating: Ok, unlikely to to purchase

As soon as I saw the cornflower petals in the ingredients, I thought of Twinings “Lady Grey”, and was very excited. When I opened the tin, the fresh bergamot, and other elements ensured a tasty liquor. This is definitely one of the memorable Earl Greys which I have tasted.

Alright, strong. I like a good strong tea sometimes. First steep was enjoyable and balanced, at least in my opinion, neither the tea nor citrus flavors outplaying one another. Second steep was much more unbalanced than the first, a lot of the bergamot had been washed away giving it a much more tart taste than the first steep… Certainly not bad but not worth the price when compared to any number of loose-leaf early greys that do the job just as well.

Great flavor, great over all, if not the best bagged tea that Ive had, although I prefer Twinnings Lady Grey, as I am not really a fan of Earl Grey.

This is the highest-quality bagged Earl Grey I’ve ever had. It’s hard to find in the UK, though, and pricy when you do.