Earl Grey Creme

I’m generally an earl grey purist: hot water, tea leaves, no cream, no sugar, and please no lemon juice (that’s for orange pekoe, or any of the UK breakfast teas). I feel like I’m cheating on the classic when I have my Lady Grey tea. I tried the Earl Grey Crème because it was in the DAVIDs tea advent calendar and I loved that it was creamy without having to add actual cream. I was planning on stocking up on the tea from DAVIDs but then after Christmas Teavana had a huge sale, and after the quantity discounts it was close to $1 for 2 oz, I think I got a total of 10 oz (just of this tea, don’t ask how much I got all together, it’s embarrassing). SO what all of that ramble meant was that I got this tea with really high standards. Which this tea didn’t really meet.

Not that this tea is bad, please don’t think that. It’s a good light tea, I just happen to prefer stronger teas. I find the bergamot and vanilla-esque cream taste stronger in the DAVIDs version.

A point in the pros column for this tea is I don’t think it’s possible to burn/over brew it. Throw some leaves in your tea travel mug of choice, toss in some boiling water, drive to work, and you can drink it when you get there (well you probably can, I have to pour it into a small tea cup so it doesn’t melt my tongue off).

I got this in a swap.. its previous owner scribbles was not such a fan of this one… I must say however, I MUCH prefer this one to David’s.. the bergamot is softer.. and the creaminess is richer.. I find the one I tried from Davids is very musky tasting, and way too much of a.. almost cigar room type of taste for my liking… I love the softness of this one :)

This is the only black tea I’ve tried at the moment. I really enjoy this one in the morning. Two tsp for three minutes. I get three steeps out of this tea. I put just a little bit of honey in each cup. Great smell dry and wet. Great taste out of all three steeps.

Found this in the back of my cupboard today and decided to have a cup. I don’t remember this tasting as good. Either it’s been too long since having earl grey tea period, or all the milk and sugar I added is significantly improving the quality. Tasty for sure, but I’m thinking the remainder of my bag will go towards some Earl Grey Infused Scones, instead of a straight cup.

This is definitely not my favorite tea, I love Earl Grey but the artificial cream flavor its too strong for me and taste/smell a bit like sour milk. But have about 6oz of this stuff and wanted to give it a try so I brew a cup, added a little bit of milk and voilà!!!! that cream now taste the way it should be and I always wanted a tea to mix with cream or milk (something I haven’t done ‘till now because I think it’s a sacrilege for fine or expensive tea). If you want to mix tea with milk without feeling guilty after the fact, this is the tea for you.

Going for a bit of a tropical adventure for my second cup of the day. Enter, Zingiber Ginger Coconut and Earl Grey Creme!

Used 2 tsp of Zingiber Ginger Coconut tea to just over 8 oz boiling water. Brewed for 3 minutes, then added Earl Grey Creme (1 tsp). Let brew another 3 minutes. Added a dash of vanilla coconut milk.

My cup smells of coconut with a hint of earl grey. This mix is creamy, tasting mostly of coconut with subtle hints of the early grey and vanilla. The tiniest bit of a ginger zip hits my mouth a few seconds after drinking. No unpleasant after taste or dry mouth feel. I’ve found from past adventures with mixing Earl Grey Creme that it does really well with other teas, especially fruity flavored ones. It’s a bit strong smelling, and I definitely think 1 tsp goes a long way with Earl Grey Creme. It also does best with a little something like sugar and/or creamer.

I am now totally in love with this mix and glad I tried it out. Also glad I have plenty of both of these teas on hand. I have a feeling this will be my morning mix for a while. I feel more alert and refreshed about halfway through this cup.

The only downside is that both of these teas have super small leaves. The single serve cup I used has a brewing basket with far too large holes for these two. Make sure to use a fine mesh strainer for this tea!

This is my “I’m sick” tea. I rarely reach for it unless I have a sore throat or a cold, but when I do, this is perfect. It’s quite citrusy because of the bergamot, and I get very little cream/vanilla flavor from it (which is a little unfortunate, but oh well). I usually drink this sweetened with sugar because it’s got a bit of a bite on its own.

I don’t really like Earl Grey. Bergamot just isn’t the flavor for me, though I don’t mind the smell. I don’t hate Earl Grey either, but it’s really a “take it or leave it”. I will drink it if I am served it, but I don’t seek it out.

That said…I drank this tea every morning for all of last winter. The vanilla really softens the harshness of the citrus while leaving the distincitive smell and deeper flavors. It’s excellent with a dash of milk and sugar; the black tea body is just strong enough to make a “full”-tasting mug without kicking you in the teeth with malty or “dark” flavors.

Bottom line, this is Earl Grey without the teeth. Take that as you will.

For some reason, I prefer the second steep of this to the first. I don’t know if more of the creme comes through on the second steep or what but it’s really my favorite.

Just tried a third and it’s pretty weak, but I only let it steep for 4-5 minutes so maybe that’s why.

After being enticed into the purchase of this tea by its lovely aroma, I am a bit disappointed with the brew because the bergamot is quite subdued. Really it barely tastes like an Earl Grey at all; it tastes good but don’t expect the crispness of bergamot. It is also a very light, yellow-y colored brew, also not quite what I had expected.

Even though it was not as I had anticipted, I do like this cuppa; it is light and I appreciate the vanilla-creaminess.