612 Tasting Notes
Today was rough and hectic, and you know how it is when you need 15 minutes of calm in the eye of the storm—you reach for a tea you know well, that doesn’t ask a lot of your attention but delivers pleasure and nostalgia. Thank you, Lavender Earl Grey. You were just what I needed. That first inhalation of the fragrance I know so well instantly soothed. The way you can stand up to some milk doesn’t hurt either.
Feel like I gained 5 pounds just smelling the dry leaves. I like how once it’s brewed the fruit aroma comes out; before that it’s mostly toasty sugar and sweet cake.
This tea is so sweet! Not in a bad way. But wow, it really does taste like its name. Good both with and without milk. The sticky raisin flavor really comes out with a resteep.
I continue to be impressed at how good Della Terra is at making their teas truly evoke desserts and not just in aroma. Also like how despite all the sweet flavors you can also taste tea, and it’s decent tea, not wispy throwaway stuff like other dessert-y companies. I have yet to have a bad one from them. And the price is right, especially considering unlike most dessert blends these seem to hold up OK with a resteep.
Preparation
Pretty good (and there are so many decent earl greys out there to give one a run for one’s money!), though I’m learning as much as I enjoy marveling at the smoothness of a well made cream earl grey I actually prefer mine heavily scented and a bit brisker tasting for some reason—more refreshing, less dessert-rich. This is certainly on the dessert-rich end of the spectrum, with lots of vanilla.
As cream versions go though, this is very well done; with some milk it becomes smooth as butter, with the bergamot element coming in most strongly mid-sip (initially it’s merely fragrant on the nose and then it dissipates after the swallow, taken over by a mouthful of silky cream). Great easy-to-drink texture that doesn’t compromise flavor or overall black tea character. I could definitely see switching up my standard Upton lavender with this sometimes for a regular/near-daily don’t-think-about-it cup, when I want to feel more like I’m eating an afternoon snack than just drinking tea as a pick-me-up.
tl;dr: Not a trace of bitterness or astringency, just butter and silk. Rich rather than refreshing.
Preparation
Smells fantastic dry (!), less exciting brewed but still nutty (you can smell both nuts, walnut and coconut, which is cool) and creamy and rich. I don’t really smell fruit initially. There is a toasty thing going on, maybe from the green tea base. I’m impressed with how smooth this tea is, not astringent or rough on the tongue at all (you know how biting walnuts can be?). As it cools, the nuttiness recedes a little and I begin to taste a bit of the pineapple. I love how teas transform like that, with first and second acts! I also really like how the sweetness comes in at the end of the swallow, a happy finishing note. Really doesn’t need milk or sugar.
The sample packaging didn’t give steeping directions and I made the mistake of brewing this like the other teas I have from them, at around boiling. Next time I will try this at a much lower, green tea-friendly temp.
Preparation
Gosh this tea is delicious. It smells wonderful dry, brewing, and in the cup. Once brewed it smells strongly like a good, creamy lemon bar, and it tastes like one too! As it sits it seems to get sweeter, more like lemon drop candy than straight lemon. There’s a buttery pastry thing going on, like you can taste the crust of a homemade lemon bar—yum! I reckon it would be scrumptious with a biscuit or other baked good, though it clearly doesn’t require one as it’s practically a creamy, sticky baked lemon dessert in itself.
And it doesn’t have caffeine! This is an awesome find.
Gotta admit I was kind of worried Della Terra would disappoint me the way David’s and Adagio have in the past, where the dessert blends sound so indulgent and wonderful but then don’t live up to that for me. But no! Both Oatmeal Raisin Cookie and Lemon Chiffon are so richly satisfying both in aroma and taste…I think I’ve finally found a go-to over-the-top-dessert-blends source (52teas fits to some extent, but the time-sensitive limited runs put a damper on that in terms of stocking reliability).
Preparation
Love the way this one smells dry and brewing, malty and smooth and just a bit sweet. Does taste a bit like Assam. Well balanced, bold but smooth, with just the slightest astringency, pleasantly so. I bet it could stand up to a bit of milk, but it’s great and rich as is. Very nice.
Preparation
Has a musty (but not bad) aroma dry, and brewing it’s very much like wet grass and soil. Brews up a dark but relatively bright red, pretty. The vegetal scent recedes after brewing, which I admit I found a relief. As it cools it mellows and becomes quite smooth. I like it a lot once it settles. It does retain a grassy herbal flavor but it’s light and enjoyable, floating gently over the black tea flavor. It’s funny, I thought based on initial smell there’d be no way I’d like this as much as Hooghly Holler but I was wrong. Very refreshing. I’d drink it again!
Preparation
Dry the leaves smell wonderful, so fresh and floral and fragrant. Pretty too, with different colored dried bits. Brews up a dark brown. Freshly brewed it smells of vanilla and flowers, really lovely. Rather sweet right off the bat. It tastes relatively gentle, especially as it cools, but that fits the feminine vibe of it. Feels like the equivalent of strolling around a French-y girly garden full of flowers.
Preparation
This is very smooth and slightly malty. At first I thought it wasn’t strongly flavored enough for my liking, but with a sweet biscuit (Daelmans Dutch Caramel Wafers FTW) it’s really good, that smoothness is a big asset. I don’t know that I’d want to drink it without a tasty treat, but with one it’s ideal.
