French Earl Grey

Oh man. The smell coming out of the bag reminds me of orange slice candy. Brewed the aroma gives off this root beer – grape soda vibe. This is an Earl Grey Crème using French vanilla.

If you love French vanilla this is going to please you. The description on the sample says, this is ‘estate black tea hand blended with fragrant oil of bergamot and a hint of French vanilla.’ Now I think their idea of hint and mine are a bit different. When the cup is hot this tastes highly of French vanilla. It isn’t until the cup cools that the bergamot and black tea can be more easily separated out in the sip. After you figure out the differences you become aware that you were tasting them all along. The aftertaste has a bit of a licorice twang to it that I liked.

The second cup is a little different. The aroma off the cup is black tea. The taste is a much more balanced blend of all the flavors. The aftertaste leaves a lot more black tea on your breath. This is an excellent cup.

The Tea Merchant! You had me at the old timey wax seal on the paper around the tea envelopes! I discovered a couple weeks ago that I love love love creamy earl greys when I thought I wouldn’t like them at all. Now I want to try any and all creme earl grey and I was happy to try some samples from The Tea Merchant. This is GOOD stuff. The french vanilla, bergamot and black tea offers a triple threat of perfection. They work so so well together. The black tea has the perfect amount of flavor to showcase the bergamot and creme. It doesn’t get better than that except for the gorgeousness of the cornflowers. The second cup was just as delicious as the first. The best of the four creme earl greys I’ve had in the last few weeks. (I’m not sure how much alike the creme and the french vanilla are, but this tastes a lot like the Element Creme Earl Grey I have so I’m guessing it is pretty similar.)Creme Earl Grey is my new favorite type of tea and The Tea Merchant is my new favorite tea company! I can not wait to try anything else they make. (I LOVED the Silk Dragon they also sent in my sample package.) I will DEFINITELY be ordering this when I run out of all my creme earl greys!

I will admit that I have never been able to tell the difference between French vanilla and regular old vanilla. It has always seemed to me that “French vanilla” taste can be achieved by using more regular old vanilla. I know it is supposed to be creamier when used in ice cream due to the egg base. Not sure how creamy is achieved when there is nothing but vanilla.

But, I will say that regardless of kind of vanilla, this smells and tastes very strongly of it. :) A nice creamy vanilla that mellows the bergamot. A good, strong black tea base that complements the other flavors well.

I have spent far too much time in the kitchen over the last couple of days preparing for my Christmas open house that was last night. So when I had to run out to finish up a bit of shopping today, I grabbed a package of Candy Cane Oreos. I wanted some cookies this afternoon but I didn’t want to take the time to bake again. They go very well with this tea! And, since they are peppermint, I will not have to share with my husband! So the package will last longer than 2 hours. :)

The tea may not last long enough. I’ll have to keep this one around for sure. I had originally thought that with the super cool packaging I might keep this one for a gift – I’m so glad I didn’t! :)

Sample package label:
“Organic high grown estate black tea hand blended with fragrant oil of bergamot and a hint of French Vanilla. Fresh citrus notes followed by a rich and robust finish complete this remarkable blend. Ingredients: Organic and Biodynamic Black Tea, organic cornflowers, organic oil of Bergamot, natural flavors. USDA Organic – Caffeine: Medium Steep 3 – 5 minutes – Fair Trade certified”

6-oz water with total dissolved solids (TDS) of 24 ppm, boiled, left to stand so only steaming hot

1 heaping Tevanna teaspoon: (After yesterday’s tasting of The Tea Merchant’s English Breakfast.)

This tea has a fragrance that’s different than classic Earl Grey.

Somewhat darker reddish hue than yesterday’s English Breakfast

First 5-min Infusion:
Stronger vanilla + citrus aroma followed by a smooth, rich & full- bodied taste. There’s also a note of cinnamon. There was zero hint of bitterness. There is almost no astringency, as compared to our current Earl Grey Cream from Whistling Kettle. Initially, I did not notice any. As the cup began to cool, there was a mild sense of it. The taste of lemon lingers long on the tongue.

2nd 5-min Infusion:
I was surprised that the French flavoring was still present.

Impression: “It’s complicated.” The unspecified additional natural ingredients that give this Earl Grey its rich full-bodied taste are stronger than the classic Oil of Bergamot EG flavor. Achieving just the right balance must be quite a challenge as the number of ingredients increases. For those who prefer a classic Bergamot flavor, try The Tea Merchant’s organic Earl Grey. (See my next review.)

Thanks to The Tea Merchant for providing this generous size free sample. It’s a good thing that Joey Landford provided enough tea for more than one cup! My wife loves EG and could not wait for me to return home to try all his EG teas herself.

So i’m a big Organic and Fair Trade nut. So when my friends told me about this company that has those types of teas i knew i had to try.

Being a fan of earl grey and all things French i tried this blend first. I must say it was magnificent! The vanilla and bergamot compliment each other so well in this blend. perfectly balanced and the vanilla is so yummy! This will be my new go to tea!

So this was extremely good. Don’t normally go for earl greys but apparently with French it is so much better! The vanilla highlights the bergamot and compliments it very well, this is a dangerous tea as i may start hoarding it! (if it last that long)
Anyways yah get this and be happy.

My 3rd out of 4 teas from TTM. They have yet to Disappoint! If you love french Vanilla this is the tea for you! they call it french earl grey, but it is similar but better than earl grey cremes i have had in the past. This cup smelled so good out of the package, the french vanilla and bergamot mix was heavenly.
I actually steeped this twice and the next cup had much less vanilla flavor and the black tea came out to shine. a very nice cup and i’m glad i bought 2oz’s of this stuff as it will go fast even with the resteeping.

When I opened the package and smelled this, I could think of nothing but a bergamot creamsicle! (Someone should make that. . . . ) The taste also fits that profile.

Having recently tried a few flavored teas that went too far with the flavors, I am impressed by the balance here. There’s lots of vanilla, but it’s a bit short of overwhelming the earl grey. The tea and the bergamot are still discernible. This is definitely a sweet tea, but so far I’m not finding it cloying. It’s a nice blend of flavors, and I’m enjoying it a lot.

Simply a fantastic cup of French Earl Grey, the Vanilla really compliments it, and it is very good. Will buy again!

lots of vanilla in the bag I have, tastes is awesome but not enough Bergamot for me. Overall a really great tea! The Tea Merchant was out of stock when I ordered but were quick to email me and let me know it would be a few days late and they would send some samples along with my order. Great customer service I will be ordering from them again!

(Opens the bag and takes a long whiff) awwwwwww yeahhhhhhh. Smells awesome. Everyone that walked past me also commented on how good it smells. Tastewise I get a lot of vanilla, with zesty bergamot off in the background. Relatively smooth mouthfeel. This kind of reminds me of some of the higher quality, micro-brewed creme sodas I’ve had. I’m going to have to try it iced.
Update: I tried it iced and sugared. This is easily my new favorite iced tea. So good. My other teas have been neglected all week because I’ve been drinking this iced every day.

おいしいそでしょう！！
Delicious isn’t it! Sooo good!!! im glad i met the owner at a farmers market. I told him i love vanilla and he recommended this one and the Silk Dragon (that i will try next). If you like vanilla and you must drink this or you will not live a fulfilled life!