Monk's Blend Tea Scented Ceylon / China (TE21S)

This is described as a ceylon-based Earl Grey, blended with green tea. I am getting a green tea base with a tiny bit of orange (bergamot) and a background of vanilla, making it a “green” Earl Grey? Hmmm, I’m not sure what to think of this. I love Upton’s Earl Grey Vanilla, which has a black tea base that is more prominent. This is similar in flavor, put lacking of the same depth. If you are looking for a green tea based EG, this might be it? At least the sample only costs a $1 : )

A review of Monk’s Blend Tea (Scented Ceylon/China) by Upton Tea Imports

As this is green tea, I decide to brew the tea as instructed for 3 minutes at about 82 Celsius. So the water nearly comes to a boiling hot. Having steeped it for a few minutes, I remove the cover and remove the tealeaves from the cup.

Tea brews a darken color and smells of vanilla; it is very mild at first but when tasting it one can note the vanilla and the creamy ness that is blended with this green tea.

This is a lovely tea that can be enjoyed hot or cold. I prefer always for tea to be hot and at times sweetly if not a green tea.

I am happy to find this Scented Ceylon to be a pleasant brew. Since the last Upton Tea that I tried was a disaster. I am thinking they dislike me for this.

This doesn’t taste at all like Earl Grey to me, and doesn’t taste at all of vanilla, or green tea either. It’s basically a plain ceylon tea. This turns out to be fine, because sometimes that’s what I’m in the mood for. When my allergies have been acting up due to pollen (oh god, so much pollen), this is pretty nice! I’m drinking it without any additions, just letting it soothe my throat. Too bad this is the last of my sample… but on the other hand, I have plenty of plain black tea in my cupboard. Also, this is heinous oversteeped, as you might expect.

Check out my video-tasting:
http://healthyprofessionals.blog.com/the-tea-show/

I quite like this black/green blend, but I’m not sure about approaching it as an Earl Grey. The vanilla adds a nice aroma, but it’s not at all creamy. Still making up my mind whether I prefer the blend from Upton or Tealuxe.

I’ve sampled this tea twice, but I’m not sure what to make of it… It’s supposed to be an Earl Grey with a base of black and green teas, plus a hint of vanilla. I can definitely smell some bergamot in the dry leaf, but not much vanilla, maybe a slight hint of something creamy.

Once it’s steeped, though, I only taste the base (which seems to be more green than black). There’s maybe a little bergamot here, but it’s very subtle, compared to the flavor of most Earl Greys I’ve tried. It’s a nice blend, as far as the base teas go, so I’ll drink the rest of my sample. Maybe I’ll try using more leaf, and see if I can taste more bergamot and vanilla in future cups.

meh, i have other black teas which are better tasting

I actually love this tea. I enjoy Earl Grey, but this is a softer version of it. The bergamot isn’t overpowering and the vanilla is a delightful accent to the flavor of the ceylon and green teas. I drink it with a local autumnal wildflower honey and sometimes mix it with Upton’s Rose Congou.

This really isn’t my cup of tea. It is an Earl Grey with vanilla. The vanilla fails to mellow it and it has a sharp, unpleasant taste.