Earl Grey

From a TTB early last year. I saved two servings, and I was pretty positive I left a review the first time I had it, but Steepster has been eating some of my reviews. I remember enjoying it a lot more the first time. It was a pretty pleasant, hearty EG. This time, I don’t taste as much EG, but the base is still quite strong and a little malty. I’m enjoying it, but I wish I could detect more of the bergamot from last time.

Flavorful, a little sweet, smoky, very nice.

This is a comfortable, reliable, familiar Earl Grey. It’s like an old sweater that may no longer be the height of fashion but still keeps you warm and snuggly. It’s the Earl Grey with which I’m most familiar, and I find myself returning to it time and again. It’s readily available and affordable so I tend to default to it, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I do like it and enjoy drinking it.

I prefer the loose leaf so I can make a stronger cup.

I found a box I still hadn’t unloaded from moving in a year and a half ago, and I found some tea bags I got as wedding favors, from a wedding two and a half years ago. It included this, a Harney & Sons earl grey bag, and some Celestial Seasonings: Raspberry Zinger and True Blueberry, in 3-teabag plastic pouches.

The main flavor here is the bergamot, but I don’t find it overpowering. The citrus note from the bergamot lingers on my tongue. I don’t know how old the tea is, at least three years old, but it’s held up well. And it outlasted that marriage.

It just felt like an EG morning today. I had this single teabag that I grabbed from a freebie pile at the Portland Tea Expo in 2019 — I’ve always liked the Twinings of London bagged teas I’ve had (I particularly like their Lavender EG, but it isn’t sold in my local store) but realized I had never tried their bog-standard. Brewed it up this morning. Smells delightful. I feel like I’m getting a bit more of a lemon-lime aroma from the bergamot this morning, but I might just have limes on the brain because I had a Coconut Lime smoothie for breakfast.

It’s good. Some bagged EGs are too astringent/sour for me, but this one is nice and smooth, at least with my typical 3 minute steep time. The bergamot is pretty strong and the cup is quite citrusy in its flavor notes… I am tasting a bit of lemon, lime, and grapefruit, with the lemon/lime note being more noticable toward the beginning of the sip, and the grapefruit being more prominent toward the end of the sip and in the aftertaste. The berg is present enough that I can’t really make out specific notes of the black base, but it is malty, warm, holds the berg well, and very smooth without any astringency after the sip. There is a little bit of dryness left on the tongue, but that seems to be from the strong citrus flavors.

Could easily drink more of this.

One of my all time favourites. I started drinking this tea as a child, and was like a sort of introduction to tea for me.

I love the strong body of this tea combined with the bergamot aroma. It offers a good value for money. Probably better earl greys can be found, but it’s quiet affordable and can be easily found in most supermarkets.

I’d say it’s a deffinitely must-have in my kitchen’s cupboard.

Just finished my last bag! I’m in the state of a stash sipdown: clearing out old bags and sample leaves.

- with milk and a spoonful of honey -
I like this as a very neutral delicious tasting Earl grey. The bergamot is much more mild than other teas which makes it perfect to go with various desserts.

A decent tea, but I would have liked a stronger bergamot flavor to be present. The tea feels somewhat light and almost lemony, when I would have preferred a darker take on it.