60

Hard to believe I’m the first to write about this one. But here goes.

I’m starting to get to what feels like the mid-point in my Earl Grey exploration before I settle down with some favorites. I’m thinking a regular, a creme/vanilla, a lavendar, a rose, and maybe one or two others for the Earl Grey harem. I may have to reconsider the Upton chocolate since I haven’t seen any other chocolate Earl Greys. Hmm.

I remember liking another French Earl Grey, the one from The O Dor, quite a bit. I’m interested to see how this will compare.

The dry leaves smell very strongly of bergamot, but I’ve learned that isn’t necessarily indicative of how that agent will show up in the flavor. I noticed from the note here that the tea base is Darjeeling, which I suppose is why the tea doesn’t look overly dark in color. It even has some green to it.

The liquor is a light amber, almost a bronzed golden color. Much lighter than the typical Earl, and explained by the Darjeeling base. The aroma is not at all strong on the bergamot, but it does have a sharpness to it, which I associate with Darjeeling.

The bergamot returns in the flavor, where it takes center stage. This is not what I am looking for in an Earl Grey. I like more of an essence of bergamot, a suggestion around the edges, enough to make it obviously and distinctively an Earl Grey (as I’ve also had teas that didn’t have enough bergamot to seem to me allowed to claim to be Earl Greys) but not enough to scream at me. I’m worried this one is going to sit heavily in my stomach. Which is a shame because the little glimpses of the Darjeeling that I get are quite nice. It has a sort of butteriness to it, which if the balance were struck differently enough to make it assert itself more, could be quite lovely.

It should be noted that this tea is very honest. Its notes say that it is “heavily perfumed” so the centrality of the bergamot shouldn’t be surprising.

I suppose I must be something of an Earl Grey purist, as I didn’t care for the only green Earl Grey I tried, either. Bergamot is such a strong flavor to me that it needs something equally sturdy to stand up to it. But those who love strongly bergamot flavored teas (Miss Sweet?) :-) might really like this.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
rhlll

Your comment is as satisfying as a warm cup of the on a cold day. I enjoy the rich description, and want more. I’m a big fan of Mariage Frères, can’t wait to receive my shipment. What do you think about their Blue Earl Grey?

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rhlll

Your comment is as satisfying as a warm cup of the on a cold day. I enjoy the rich description, and want more. I’m a big fan of Mariage Frères, can’t wait to receive my shipment. What do you think about their Blue Earl Grey?

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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