Earl Grey Le Creme

The scents of bergamot and vanilla are strong in the packet and seem to be duking it out between themselves. Steeped, the aroma is more of the creme than the bergamot. The flavor of the underlying tea seems to me similar to the Tazo Earl Grey. It’s a fairly stark, strong, bergamot, though it is mediated to some extent by the vanilla and therefore generally more pleasant.

This is my first Necessiteas black blend sample and I think it is a real step up from their green flavored teas, though it still seems to feel much more an assembly of individual flavors than a true blend.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp (recommended 1.5 tsp per 8 ounces)
Additives: none
Water: 8 oz / 1 zarafina cup
Tool: Zarafina black-loose-medium
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, fruity, floral, vanilla, delicious
Steeped Tea Smell: earl grey
Flavor: earl grey
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: none
Liquor: translucent medium brown

I should have added a bit more leaf, but I was too excited and didn’t read the directions before I began.

It came out as a very decent earl grey, nothing too different from the normal (creamy or otherwise) I could detect. It was a bit on the mild side and I wonder if using strong instead of medium would have served the tea better?

It was only a sample, and I split my samples with my mom, so no fiddling with this one for me. There are plenty more earl greys that are more unique and I would prefer for me to worry about revising the preparation of this one.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: Zarafina black-loose-medium
Weak but serviceable cup of tea

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

This is a very nice black tea. It tastes very creamy, although it didn’t feel creamy while drinking. The vanilla is a bit heavy tasting and the traditional Earl Grey flavor gets a bit lost; however, it’s still a nice cup of tea!

Used the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker – 212 degrees for 3 minutes.

I love Earl Grey; it’s my favorite blend. I also enjoy it when blended with lavender or vanilla / creme notes. I enjoyed this blend as well; I steeped mine for 5 minutes, and in the future would add 2 teaspoons per 8-ounce serving. Really nice Earl Grey and cream aroma; held up well with milk and sugar.

This was decent.