Lavender Earl Green

The Jingshan is soft and crisp, tasting of asparagus and corn with a natural sweetness to it. The lavender is wonderfully floral and earthy adding extra weight to the tea, in a good way. The bergamot and lemongrass are light and I smell them more than I can taste them adding more of a crisp feeling, playing opposite of the lavender.

If you are not a fan of lavender or florals I wouldn’t recommend this one. Lavender is a strong one and easily overpowers what it is paired with. Even though there isn’t much lavender in this blend and doesn’t overpower the tea, it is impossible to ignore.

I love me some Earl Green teas and this one doesn’t fail me.

I’ve had Lavender Earl Greys and I’ve had Green Earl Greys, but I’ve never had a Green Lavender Earl Grey. Given my good experiences with Verdant’s Alchemy line so far, and my interest in various Earl Greys including those of the lavender persuasion, I had to ask for a sample of this one with my latest order. Thanks, David, I’m excited to try it!

The dry leaf smells pretty lavendery with some greenish teaish scents and is that some bergamot? The bergamot isn’t really the main player in the aroma of the dry leaf. I steeped this according to the directions for the base tea (Jingshan green) and the resulting cup smells very intriguing. Lavender, yes, but with a warm, almost cookie-ish aroma. Well that was a surprise. Again, I can’t really pick out the bergamot in the scent. The flavor is intriguing and unexpected. Lavender is the most forward flavor in this tea, but overall it is very light and delicate with a faint sweetness. It is somewhat bright, but more “crisp” than anything else. I’m afraid I don’t actually taste the bergamot nor the lemongrass. I am very much enjoying this cup of tea, but what it’s really making me want is a cup of this tea unflavored, and perhaps to see it in a straight Green Earl Grey blend sans lavender. From reading tasting notes of the base tea, I feel like the lavender, light as it is in this blend (seriously the least obtrusive I’ve ever had in a tea), is steamrolling over the other flavors a bit.

Ohhh this is lovely! I wouldn’t trust a Lavender Earl Anything from anyone but Verdant as me and super floral teas do not get along. I once tried to make something like this at work with Lavender Dreams and Earl Grey White and winded up with a headache. But this is perfectly done, so very fresh and soft yet bright, I thought there was something like lemongrass in this! And I still can taste the Jingshan base nice and green and lineny. So much better than an astringent white or filmy citrus base (I’m looking at you Teavana). I did quite a short steep on this and could probably get many infusions but I’ll try not to overdo it because lavender can indeed give me headaches, I was shouting at my sister to take the oil warmer out of the birthing room as soon as the droplets hit the chafing dish almost three years ago. This tea does not evoke those memories (just thinking about my past sensitivities did) no, this is like walking through the fields of Provence this time of year and gathering a bundle lavender and taking it back to a cool white walled, dirt floor kitchen to to weave wreaths, infuse in homemade dish soap and to a brew a fresh cup of tea with. Not that I’ve ever been to Provence or that this is at all soapy, but my favorite Seventh Generation dish liquids are Lavender and Lemongrass ;)

About to take a shower and I thought I would have this. Nice and refreshing. This was one of the two teas from the alchemy Blends that I did not buy. The thought of Bergamot with green tea put me off a bit so I decided to go with the Golden Earl instead of this. Well….I like this more then the Golden Earl.
The dry leaf smells like lemon and lavender with the Jingshan’s sweetness in the background. I can not make out much of the bergamot oil. I get more Lemongrass and Lavender with the green, which I LOVE, but I know the bergamot is the whole point of probably calling it “Lavender Earl Green.” Almost a cookie mint smell to the tea when brewed..:)

About to do a second steep…

David was nice and gave me a nice size sample that is enough of another go of this another night. Maybe even make it iced…..

I seriously don’t know what I’m going to do without this tea in my life. I just got a 2oz bag in the mail after learning that this tea will be discontinued. I’m trying so hard not to buy every pound that is left of this tea. It should be stated that this is quite strong in the lavender and bergamot department, but it is blended so well with the lovely jingshan green. And it’s good for at least 3 western steeps.

Hoading mode – engage!