Another sampling from Doulton!
When I first saw Andrews & Dunham’s third series, THIS is the tea that I really wanted to try from the three. I didn’t think I would be interested at all in the Caravan as I’m not really into smoky teas, and the Jasmine didn’t excite me to the point of wanting to place the order. I mean, Jasmine greens are great, don’t get me wrong, I love jasmine… but, I so prefer jasmine pearls to jasmine greens and since I have quite a few jasmine pearls I didn’t feel the necessity to order a jasmine green.
That being said, and now after having tasted both the Jasmine and the Earl Grey from A&D – I must admit that the tea I am now excited to receive from them is the Jasmine!
Don’t get me wrong, this is a good Earl Grey. But lately, I’ve tasted some really REMARKABLE Earl Greys (Lupicia, Steven Smith Teamaker), and this one isn’t quite as remarkable as those two. However, this is a very, very good Earl Grey.
I like that the bergamot in this tea is a very clear and focused flavoring. You can actually taste that the bergamot is an orange in this tea which is something that I can’t always taste, because the bergamot oils used in some other teas tend to be too flowery. This has less flower and more fruit.
The tea base is much smoother than in the other two Earl Grey teas I mentioned in this note, and perhaps that is the reason why I prefer those… I’d like the black tea in this to be just a little brisker… and if it were, this might be a contender.
Overall, an excellent Earl Grey, but not an exceptional one.
Preparation
Comments
Enjoyed my second infusion of this tea as well. The flavor is smoother, almost seamless! I think I might like the second better than the first.
I’m drinking my first mug of A&D Earl Grey right now. And I agree with you. This is good, but not great. But then again, I like my Earl Grey’s super strong and aromatic. But this Earl is kind of “scruffy” in cool, artsy way. The bergamot flavoring is interesting and different somehow.
Enjoyed my second infusion of this tea as well. The flavor is smoother, almost seamless! I think I might like the second better than the first.
Oh… and my order from A&D did arrive today! Woo hoo!
I’m drinking my first mug of A&D Earl Grey right now. And I agree with you. This is good, but not great. But then again, I like my Earl Grey’s super strong and aromatic. But this Earl is kind of “scruffy” in cool, artsy way. The bergamot flavoring is interesting and different somehow.
Stephanie: yes… I agree with you… it has a very different quality to it than other Earl Grey teas I’ve tasted… I like it… but if given the choice between this and Lupicia’s… I’d choose Lupicia’s.