Raspberry Earl Grey

Raspberry Earl Grey! It’s like something I’d make up for myself!

First of all, this tea smells great before it’s brewed. Strong on the raspberry, but not so strong that it reminds me of candy. It’s more like the actual dried fruit. The aroma of bergamot is there, but just barely. Sort of hiding behind the raspberry, but that might be a good thing. One wouldn’t want them to clash.

As far as the flavor goes, it’s much smoother than I expected. The black tea aspect is gentle, but mildly astringent. It’s mostly there in the aftertaste, backing up the fruit. Raspberry is definitely the most dominant flavor. So much, that if I hadn’t known this was an Earl Grey, I probably wouldn’t have guessed it. However, there is a bit of a tingling, cooling sensation that must be the bergamot shining through. I wouldn’t exactly call this an Earl Grey because of my own preferences, but it’s still a good tea. I’m going to enjoy finishing my sample.

This is from Sunday and last night whilst “getting our Abbey on” at my sister’s house. We watched the season 3 premiere a week ago, the after watching the second/third episode this Sunday on PBS my sister begged my husband to download the rest of the season for us (seeing as it had already aired in the UK in the fall culminating at Christmas and she will be buying the dvds eventually).

We had had our own separate marathons of the next five episodes then got together last night, (my mum included who has watched the last three seasons in a week!) to watch the Christmas Special. Will not spoil, but very upset, poor British people having to deal with that on Christmas, hope they watched the Doctor to cheer themselves up. Brother in-law refuses to continue to watch.

Anywho, I picked this up at the grocery store along with Twinning’s Traditional Earl Grey, both of which can stay with her. It’s decent for a bagged tea, had to use two bags, nice balance of bergamot and raspberry, tea itself not the strong, but I don’t suppose that’s the point. It fit the bill and was yummy with scones!

Enjoying some Raspberry Earl Grey this morning. This is one that I’ve not had in a while… I quite enjoy it.

I wrote a review for this some time ago:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=4739

I will say that this time around, I can smell more of the raspberry in the dry leaf, and the bergamot and raspberry are somewhat united to create their own unique scent. It’s quite nice. I wish that this aroma was as strong in the liquor.

Still delicious!

Oh my god there is so much pollen we have over 8,000 pollen particles per cubic meter of air. Everything is yellow. And apparently that’s not even the pollen that causes allergies. It’s disgusting. Oh and of course it isn’t raining anytime soon.

I cold steeped a bunch of sachets of this for 8 hours in a new pitcher I bought. It has a tube that screws onto the lid, meant more for fruit slices infusing water, but I figured it worked with tea sachets too. Finish steeping, and just take it off. No need to get anything else dirty, yay!

This is really the only way I like Earl Grey. The bergamot flavor doesn’t remind me of cleaning liquids when cold. It seems to mute it a bit, and I really love raspberry with it. Though if you put raspberry with anything I don’t like, I might love it.

I’m now almost out of this and I won’t be buying more. I had gotten the tin of sachets for like $3 at a grocery store since apparently they weren’t selling. So I really wouldn’t pay the full price even if it’s the only way I like Earl Grey.

Backlogging this from yesterday morning. I was pretty yummy has a really strong raspberry smell! It is not really strong on the earl grey scent or flavor. It is more like a raspberry black tea with just a hint of earl grey in the background. I quite enjoyed it though!!!!

This tea arrived from Jillian with perfect timing! Made a cup of this to pair with a Lemon Ginger Scone that I picked up from Whole foods this morning. At four minutes steep time this brewed up a dark red amber liquor. The tea was a bit astringent and didn’t have much Raspberry or Bergamot flavor, but it did help was down the biscuity dry scone. I will have to try this with a shorter steep and more tea next time I brew it. I won’t rate it until I try it again. Thanks for sending this to me via the “take it away thread” Jillian.

Not the best coldbrew.

I love this one hot and on it’s own, it has a subtle raspberry and not much in the way of bergamot, but with a dash of cream and sugar it’s like fruit and cream, delish!

I think it’s too “dusty” for my coldbrew tastes though. Not a CB success.

This is a very good cup of Earl Grey. The raspberry fragrance and flavor is perfect along side the bergamot which is blended in just the right amount, and I can taste the Nilgiri tea, a black variety that I enjoy.

I get two 8 oz. steeps per sachet – the second one is mellower but still lovely.

Thank you Jaime for sending me this tea. :)

I’m going to miss this one! Apparently I really like berry-flavored black tea blends. I love that the fruit flavor balances the bergamot in this to make it very “drinkable” and not perfume-y.

apologies again to my steepster followers but i’m trying to finally make even the TINIEST OF NOTES on the last few teas left in my tealog that had no details added.
i bought this as a sampler and drank it at work. it was before i really understood tea. i was just getting warmed up. it was a baby step. a charming little baby step.

…Isn’t this supposed to be raspberry-flavoured? Because I’m not catching even a hint of it in the flavour. As a straight earl grey it isn’t half-bad; the tea base isn’t too heavy or astringent and the bergamot isn’t too overwhelming or bitter.

But I still feel like demanding my money back. I wanted raspberry damnit!

This is almost drinkable plain, which I consider a coup for a bagged Earl Grey. That said, I get a tiny bit of raspberry on the nose, and hardly any from the taste. It’s this barely-there sense of fruit in the back of my mouth as I swallow. With milk and a pinch of sugar, this is actually quite mellow; the bergamot is strong, but I’ve had stronger. I can’t taste anything identifiable about the black tea base except that it’s there. Overall, this is fine and I’ll enjoy drinking it, but there are definitely better and more interesting EG’s out there.

Thanks to Jaime for the chance to try!

It’s been so long since I last posted a tasting note. Class has me so busy lately. sigh

I have been wanting to try this tea for a while, and was surprised to find a tin of it at Ocean State Job Lot. Ocean State’s teas aren’t always the best (Ocean State is a lot like Big Lots) they tend to be old and dried up. So I was worried that I would not be getting the best possible first impression of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea. However the tin must have been well sealed, or the tea fresher than most tea I have found at this store, because it did not taste the least bit stale and has a nice aroma dry.

I steeped it for only 3 minutes but found it on the bitter side. Not too bitter but still a little more bitter than I would prefer my Earl Grey. A shorter steep time might improve the bitterness. I added a little sugar and it was better, bitterness-wise. Also a little milk does not hurt it.

Overall it is a good bagged Earl Grey, a lot of bergamot flavor and a good hint of raspberry. Most flavored Earl Greys do not have enough bergamot to satisfy me but this tea does. I usually wind up not liking raspberry teas but am happy to report that this is one of the raspberry teas I like.

I think this tin was like two bucks, I will have to get back to Ocean State and get some more.

Oversteeped it today. I was trying to make a better cup of tea than usual.

My usual is heat in the microwave for about 2 minutes, then let it steep for 3-5 minutes then drink. I also usually have 1 teabag per about 16oz of water. Today I tried boiling the water on the stove, and then 2 teabags per 16oz. Definitely too much.

The aroma of this tea is divine. Bergamot with a hint of extra sweetness from the raspberries. I probably let it steep for too long, and ended up with a slightly bitter tea with a hint of bergamot :(. I’ll try again later with just one bag.

Bummed since this was my first experiment at a better cup.

2nd Steep of the Day.
Zhena’s Raspberry Earl Grey.
Opened a New Can and thought
it was a Box of Fresh Raspberries
The dry Leaves have a Strong Powerful Smell
After a Long 6 Min. Steep with Boiling Water
The Tea is Bold Black with Bergamot (Earl Grey)
and a real presence of Raspberry Flavor.
Great Cup, Keep on Steepin

Bought a sampler tin of this & loved it, drank all 5 bags! The rich raspberry flavour is bold paired with the tangyness of italian bergamot. Love love love this tea ♥

The most revolting thing I’ve ever tasted. No raspberry flavour, just overpowering bergamot and petrol. I admit, I only gave it a one cup shot, and didn’t finish the cup, but it was so horrid, I tossed the rest out. Thankfully, I bought this when it was on clearance!

This tea was a solid ok. I wasn’t expecting much for a bagged tea.. A bit weak for my tastes but the balance of raspberry and bergamot are pretty nice.

A pretty decent earl grey, but the raspberry is difficult to taste. Delicious with some added lemon.

I really wanted to like this tea… My sister bought me some. I’m a huge earl grey fan, but for my taste the raspberries were overpowering and it reminded me of the smell of a Bath & Body Works lotion. It could have been worse, for sure, but I wouldn’t buy another tin.