Extra Bergamot English Earl Grey (TE11S)

Second tea of the morning… (SRP #25)

Man, I am dragging to day. I was hoping that my fist pot of Keemun would wake me up, but no go. In fact, this one is not helping, either.

As far as the flavor goes, it is good enough. I don’t think this will make the purchase list. The bergamot is strong in this one, but I guess since they were aiming for extra, they hit it in my book. I agree with Cheryl that you can taste the tea in there, but just a little. It is pretty much bergamot tea. Of what I taste in the base, it is a good basic black. I might have to sample their Original Earl Grey next.

Usual teapot method.

Hm. Not a highly rated tea, but I did not find this as offensive as some others did. I actually quite enjoyed it with a heavy dose of milk. :) I had brewed it strong to have a nice milky tea with my breakfast scone. Perfect combo. Tea base was quite nice. Better than the other EGs I’ve sampled from Upton this far. The bergamot was pretty intense. I find myself wondering once again what a real fruit smells like.
Overall, the best of a mediocre bunch. Still have hopes for the Sacher Blend.

Wow. Seriously, wow. Talk about truth in advertising. This is very extra bergamot-y. Like, beat me over the head with bergamot. From the dry leaves to the steeped tea to the breath I exhaled after each sip – this tea is rolling in bergamot. I drank this with sugar and half & half and the bergamot totally drowned out both of those flavors (and any tea flavor there might have been, too). In a way, all that bergamot was good because the fumes flowing through my sinuses did open up my stuffy nose but at the same time, it was so bergamot-y that I felt a bit like a bergamot-breathing dragon after each sip.

Taste-wise, it’s not as rough as I would expect such a heavily (heavily) flavored tea to be. (Maybe it is just me but sometimes flavored teas seem to have a lot of rough edges to their texture. This one didn’t have that – it was a nice smooth, almost silky texture.) But the bergamot flavor was so strong that had to brace myself for each sip. I put in a teaspoon of sugar but I really felt it needed more to balance out a somewhat harsh endnote that seemed flavoring-related. I found myself wincing as I made each swallow, bracing myself for that weird endnote and the bergamot whoosh that would expand and fill my mouth (and my sinuses… and my car) after each sip.

And speaking of that endnote, it was a taste I couldn’t fully identify but that made me think of charcoal or ashes. Not burnt or smoky but something sort of… acrid but not quite. It’s a flavor I’m cool with when it is coupled with a delightful smoke whoosh but without the smoke, it’s just kind of awkward. Maybe another teaspoon or two of sugar would cancel that note out but I really don’t want to use that much sugar in my morning teas. Some dryness was left behind on the top of my tongue that again seemed more flavoring-related than tea-related (in other words, I don’t think the tea was astringent so much as the bergamot adding some astringency to it).

I will admit, I did drink this cup very quickly – but it was more of a “let’s soldier through and finish this off so I can chew some gum” than “ooh, this is so tasty, I can’t stop sipping.” I’m hoping the husband likes this so I can pass it all off to him. This tea is just too much for me.

This is considerably better than the Ceylon and yet I’m not wowed. Will have to try this a bit stronger with cream or try making a London Fog, though I’m really not an additives person. Like another Steepsterite below said, it totally smells like Fruit Loops when you open the bag.

**A review of English Earl Grey Tea (Extra Bergamot TE11S) by Upton Tea Imports

This tea is described as being specially blended for those who prefer a richly scented Earl Grey. And this Upton’s most popular Earl Grey and rated “best overall” by Wall Street Journal’s Catalog Critic.

Steeping suggestion:
I placed 2 ¼ g/cup of the leaves into a cup and pour the boiling water in the cup and left to steep for four minutes.
This tea brews a very darkly red color, almost black even. It smells of malt and of citrus (bergamot oil) is very noticeable, in fact too much for me. It is like when you have peeled four or five oranges and placed the skins in a bowl and the air permeates with the smell. It is not a bad smell but drinking this is most noticeable.

It is pungent in smell and taste and it makes me want to add more water to dilute it. As this was a good thought since with the 2nd and 3rd infusion and steeping time for four minutes each time the overall flavor become more tolerable for this tea drinker who takes her tea plain mostly.

I think the extra in the bergamot makes for a bad cup of tea. I should not be thinking to add more water to dilute tea. This makes no sense. The only good that came out of drinking this tea is that I can finally discern the citrus of the bergamot oil, yes it smells of orange peels, a bucket full.
Overall taste: tea is too pungent, to strong, to explosive in the notes placed before you in the cup of tea.

Extra makes me think of that phrase: “too much of a good thing” and this is true in that the off taste cannot be remedied.

I am sorry.

I saw this on Upton’s website while getting some other samples and thought “YES. I love bergamot!” and added a sample of it to my cart. When I got my parcel in the mail today, this was the one I immediately went for to try first.

The smell of bergamot was great in the dry tea leaves & I had high hopes. After tasting, however it wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. They weren’t lying when they said extra bergamot! It is not bad by any means, but the tea flavor gets a little lost in this. It’s still there, but it’s not as present as I would have liked. I’m also getting a slight spicy note on the back of my throat after each sip which was unexpected. Luckily I love bergamot so I will be sure to drink all of this sample, but I think this tea would have benefitted from a slightly lighter hand when adding in the bergamot. I mean, extra bergamot is great & I do like this tea, but I’d like to taste the tea as well.

This is the last of my Upton Earl Grey samples that jumped into my cart with last order. Not highly rated on Steepster, but Upton says this is their best selling Earl and has high praises on their website. Last week I tested Stash’s Double Bergamot Earl and found that I was missing the tea in theirs. So hoping Upton comes through …

Well, yea, the bergamot is strong for sure. I do like bergamot, so that isn’t a problem. And yes, the tea is detectable underneath all this bergamot. This is crying out for some cream (but I promised myself not to use it tonight). I bet it would be great with cream (they do suggest it, as do many reviewers on the Upton site.) I’m actually detecting something bitter in the background…is it the tea? or the bergamot?

Honestly, as I’m finishing this cup, it occurs to me that I should take all 3 samples (this, Natural and Supreme) and just mix them in a tin and be done with it. After it’s gone, I’m not sure I really NEED a “plain” Earl Grey. I do love the EGV (having almost gone through 250g since 1-12 … and that explains the 4 lb. weight gain, after discovering the darn Coffeemate stuff, lol). To think I managed to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas without logging food and still losing 7 pounds, it does go back to “don’t drink your calories”, huh? Back to logging today : )

Thank you very much for this morning cup of Earl Grey, KiwiDelight!

And what a great cup it was! The bergamot flavor was the primary component, but not overwhelming at all; it was very pleasant, and mildly sweet. I’ve had much bolder, harsher Earl Greys than this, so I’m quite surprised this wasn’t more assertive given the description. It’s actually particularly soft and creamy… so, so smooth. Whatever Upton is doing here, it would be amazing as an EGCreme.

The first and second steep taste very similar, although the second steep has less of that creamy texture, and the bergamot flavor is darker.

(It’s only predictable that my first-ever tea from an exchange is an Earl Grey. Haha. An EG for all milestones…)

You can check out our video-review here: http://healthyprofessionals.blog.com/2011/06/12/the-tea-show-episode-11-extra-bergamot-english-earl-grey/

Good tea. The bergamot is definitely at the forefront in the tastes but it is still far from overpowering. It is a soft taste rather than sharp, but does not seem to meld perfectly with the other flavors. Quite enjoyable, but not perfectly balanced. Falls into the rather tame, subdued Earl Grey flavors that seem to be the norm with Upton Teas.

Very strong bergamot flavor, to the point where the tea flavors were a bit hard to find. Overpowering if drank on its own, but with a tiny bit of sugar (a teaspoon or less) and a tiny splash of milk, it’s a lot easier to taste the full flavors of the tea, at which point it becomes delicious.

I’d accidentally let the water cool off a bit after boiling it, so there’s a chance that the flavors from the tea were not fully extracted (whereas the bergamot flavor, simply being an oil in this blend, was probably extracted to the same degree as it would’ve been).

The tea leaves my tongue tingling a bit for a while with a not exactly pleasant, somewhat soapy, aftertaste.

Definitely a bit much in the bergamot department, though, and I’ll probably stick with a more mellow Earl Grey in the future.

Upton Tea Sample Buying Spree Tea #7:
I freely admit it, I am a sucker for these “Earl Grey but MORE” type of teas. Name something Earl Greyer? I’m THERE. Name it Earl Greyest? Well you better be able to back it up, is all I’m saying.
The aroma of the leaves themselves wasn’t nearly as strong as some of the others – like the Blue Flower, for example. Even the Lavender was stronger, I’d say. It brewed up a nice reddish-gold, not too dark. Although I use an ingenuiTea, so often times the color kind of accumulates on the bottom which I’m pretty sure was happening here. (I drink most of my tea in pottery mugs, rather than teacups, so I can’t generally make color judgments once it’s been poured.)
This stuff is really tasty. And has no problems cutting through my congestion. Very citrusy, maybe even a bit smoky…well, I got some hints of smoke in the aroma anyway. Very neat. I could see it being too much for those who like their teas to not stray too far from the “tea-flavored” category, but for people like me who can’t get enough Earl Greyness, it’s wonderful.

I’ve had about a zillion earl greys, and this is one of the better ones I’ve had…kind of surprised at some of the other reviews. I do like bergamot to be pretty strong in the mix though, and I wasn’t looking for complexity when I ordered this. Anyhow, great taste and smell, very relaxing (even with caffeine in it no doubt), and no harshness detected.

when you open the bag up it smells of frootloops… after the first whiff though it begins to have a very floral smell, like sweet flowers

the taste is pretty uniform with the smell and it has the frootloopish taste and kind of gets more floral the more you drink(although more subtle than the smell)

overall it was decent, not really my thing though. i seem to prefer more bland/darker flavors. but if you love frootloops go for it ! :D

Update: I bumped up the score because it actually turns out quite good if you mix a little (1:4 to 1:3 depending on preference) into a strong assam.

Old review:
I’ve had good artificial flavors, and this is not one of them. Very overpowering and one-note, like cheap perfume. Stands out even when mixed with other leaves. It can be saved with milk, but only to the point of being “alright”.