Earl of Grey

This is tasty. A little different as I hadn’t read the description of this tea before I steeped and took the first couple of sips, so I didn’t realize it was actually a twist on the classic Earl Grey and had other ingredients (vanilla and licorice root, most specifically). But I like these change-ups and am always interested in trying a new Earl Grey variation.

The licorice root was probably the most unusual ingredient I noticed in the description, as I can’t recall having tried an Earl Grey with licorice root in it before. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t, just means I can’t recall at the moment. But these two ingredients seem very well suited for one another. This doesn’t taste overwhelmingly licorice-y, it doesn’t really taste licorice-y at all. Instead, the licorice root seems to fill in the gaps and smooth the sharp tones of the bergamot just enough to create a very seamless taste.

Quite good, actually!

Thank you Bonnie for this sample!

I’m not a fan of bergamot. I enjoy the smell, but the taste tends to be acidic to me, which I don’t really care for. Tony, on the other hand, adores it, so I served this tea to him this morning.

While I was heating the water, I smelled the dry tea: It smells pretty heavenly, I’ll admit. Strongly reminiscent of Lemon Bars. They sell those at all the local coffee shops here, & if you haven’t had them, it’s basically lemon curd on a graham cracker crust, with powdered sugar sprinkled liberally over the top. I can’t eat such things, but one time I did bum a little tiny bite, just so I would get the experience, & let it melt in my mouth for as long as possible. Sheer heavenly decadence.

I also took a few sips of the tea before I delivered it to Tony. It was kind of interesting, a nice twist on the Earl. The bergamot is there, but not unpleasantly so, the vanilla-lemon curd taste is more up front. I handed him his tea & went on to savor my cup of Imperial Breakfast Summer Blend (I can’t wait to see what the winter version will be).

Tony’s comment regarding the tea: “It was ok, but it smelled too much like a pastry.”

Backlogging tea of yesterday afternoon… (SRP #47)

This one is from Dinosara! Thank you for the chance to try this one.

I was not sure what to expect, but with Earl and Grey in the title, I thought it would be something I would enjoy. I steeped it up at least twice, and sipped it a few times, but it did not hold my interest for very long. I don’t think that is completely the fault of the tea. I was not expecting the prevalent notes of vanilla/cream and a perfumy version of bergamot. I think it is just slightly on the soapy side of floral. I am also not in a phase where I like vanilla much. Vanilla seems to be seasonal for me in that I appreciate it more in the cooler months. I am not rating this one as it was a poor choice for timing on my part and I should have at least saved the sample until Fall. As far as it being a cream version of Earl Grey, I do think it an interesting one. I am just leaning toward citrus and berry versions more and more in the warm months.

I am glad to have tried it, though. The perfumy bergamot is probably a deal breaker for me at this point even though it is light.

Usual mug method.

Thank you Bo at The Tea Spot for this Sample Tea!

Breakfast 32oz pot of tea for my Saturday morning!

Hard to believe it but out of my huge cupboard full of tea…I only 1 Earl Grey Tea! This tea presented a perfect opportunity to expand my Earl Grey experience.

Lets just jump right to the taste…

This tea tastes like lemon cream pudding! Creamy slightly vanilla lemon milky creamy pudding!
I kid you not! Really it does. I can taste the bergamot in the tea in a non-overwhelming way but I am so in love with the creamy pudding that who cares about the bergamot!
There is supposed to be licorice in this blend too. Oh really? Wherever it is must be taking the bite off the bergamot…you know the usual tang or bite that can make it a bit harsh. Well that’s not happening here. The licorice is not a distinct flavor but mellows out the bergamot.

I really like this tea! The lemon pudding took me off guard! I want this in my cupboard forever!

Gotta go…drinking…wanting more and more….so good….

I recently got another shipment of tea samples… I couldn’t help myself! But this one should be the last one for a while. I got free shipping for this company so I took the chance to order samples of some of the teas I’ve been interested from them. I have a somewhat stuffy nose right now, but I can still smell enough I think and I really wanted to try this one.

The dry tea has notes of orange, bright bergamot, and cream in the scent. Steeped, the black tea definitely comes out to play as the main note in the aroma, accompanied by that bright bergamot and then underlayed by that lovely cream note. Most of that comes through in the taste as well. The black tea base is pleasant, and a myriad of citrus notes complement it… bergamot, lemon, orange, grapefruit, though I don’t forget it’s an Earl Grey. At the first part of the sip all I get is the Earl Grey, and then the creamy notes bloom at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste, leaving a sweetish (the licorice root I think, though there’s no distinct licorice taste in this), creamy, cakey, lovely flavor in my mouth. All in all a nice, solid Earl Grey cream.

My dear Steepsterites.

Let it be known to those who have not worked it out already that Earl Grey is really not among my favourite types and that the ones that I have actually appreciated rather than just drunk are few and far between. I just don’t really care that much for bergamot, it’s such a dark and dusty flavour. It tastes so old.

This however is Monday’s Sample Week tea, and I’m sharing it with the boyfriend who has returned home from the wild abroads and brought with him our new kettle. No more messing about with saucepans, yay! It has little blue lights, five different settings, a keep warm function and temperatures and amounts written on it in two different units. And it goes beep when the water is boiling.

Anyway, the tea. It’s the first tea we’re having with the new kettle, and it was the first sample that I found in the basket which fit the criteria for Sample Week and the size of the pot needed for two people.

It has a surprisingly sweet aroma after brewing. It smells like some kind of lemon-y pudding. Creamy and sweet and not at all like an EG. Oh you won’t see me complaining here! It actually makes me really very hopeful about it.

Upon tasting my hopes are not dashed. On the contrary I discover to my surprise that for an EG this is not half bad. It’s pretty good actually!

In the flavour I can identify the bergamot, but there are other flavours going on as well, so I don’t really get that grey and old feeling from it. It’s like Earl Grey in his earliest youth, galloping about the gardens on a stick pony with his pockets full of frogs and bits of string. Maybe a scraped knee as well.

The creamy sweetness noticed in the aroma is there, tasting sort of pudding-y or slightly cake-y, and then there’s a strong note of some kind of citrus fruit. I can see PattiM suggested pink grapefruits when posting about it, and I agree with that. I eat a lot of pink grapefruits, and tasting this tea seems very similar to the flavour of a good, juicy grapefruit.

This is summerly and fresh, not so heavy and lumbering as your average regular Earl Grey. This one, I like.

Found this tea to be very flavorful, fruity with hints of vanilla. I like it better as a iced tea.

Dry leaves smell like pink grapefruit. Infusion has a cookie-like scent with grapefruit sneaking in. Taste is pleasantly citrusy—lighter and brighter than other Earls.