Earl Grey

I bought this from an Asian supermarket because it was inexpensive and I like the tin. I honestly had very low expectations for the tea itself. I buy every variety of earl grey I can get my hands on, which means I’ve been disappointed more often than not. There are a few brands which have been very pleasant surprises, but most have been a letdown. My expectations for this tea were adjusted accordingly.

I would say that this tea is more of a pleasant surprise than a letdown, but that isn’t to say that it’s one of my favorite earl greys. It is a serviceable tea. It will tide me over when I don’t want to dip into my more expensive blends, but it is not my first choice when I go to the cupboard.

The coloration in the cup is quite nice. It has that deep burgundy that marks the better earl greys. The quality of the black tea itself is something lacking. It’s just not quite up to the quality I prefer. The bergamot flavoring is nice, and the blend is fairly well-balanced. All in all, this falls just shy of what I want in an earl grey. I won’t recommend it, but I won’t fault anyone who enjoys it.

Paid HKD30 (roughly GBP2.50, USD3.90) for 100g. Very reasonable price.
It is a Ceylon base Earl Grey.

This is my second time buying and tasting a ceylon base Earl Grey tea, after the Lipton one.
I liked Ahmad’s better than Lipton’s. The bergamot flavour was more subtle and less artificial. The ceylon base was smoother and less astringent.

I just don’t think ceylon tea pairs well with bergamot flavour. Can’t say I like it.

My grandmother drank this Earl Grey pretty often. I enjoy it out of memory, and I personally enjoy the more orange and lemony zest of the bergamot in the taste. The perfume botches my nose when I open the bag, or, at a distance, my nose really likes it. When I brew it, the smell is way better. It has a pretty smooth, malty taste and I actually prefer it to some of the black teas that I’ve had, save Irish Breakfast. I can do it with or without cream and sugar. I am glad that I have it, but I’m not sure that I would buy it for myself personally.

Quite serviceable for something that’s not looseleaf—a long shot better than Twinnings. Strong enough to stand up to all the milk and sweetener you could wish for.

Found this in my tea cupboard when I was cleaning it out the other day. This is a very mild earl grey. The bergamot is very light almost not even there. It’s not a bad earl grey but it’s not the best either. Just meh for me.

While cleaning out the tea cupboard I found a tiny ziploc baggie of this I had saved for some unknown reason. I had once upon a time the gigantic tin of this stuff, bought from the Middle Eastern market, back when I was just slowly getting into loose teas. I gave the tin away but apparently had kept a bag for some reason.

Well, suffice it to say that I have well and truly become a tea snob. Because I’m sorely tempted to dump this mug into the sink and toss the rest of the tea.

Sometime in the past year, I remember getting into it with a friend of a friend on Twitter (really, will I never learn?) who was vehemently offended that there are people who will pay more than $1/oz for loose tea, because – as he said – the stuff he got from Ahmad in the giant ass tin was good enough for him.

Oh, how I laugh now. Because honestly, this tea is not even in the same league as the other earl greys I have in my cupboard. The bergamot is very faint, the tea base is a bit rough, and the taste is closer to Lipton than to earl grey.

I like this tea, it has a reach fragrance. There’s nothing like a cup of Bergamot tea on a cold day. Also it’s easy to find.

Starting the morning with a London Fog (earl grey tea + vanilla flavoring)

And yet another TJMaxx find. Lately I’ve only been looking but not buying anything from the aisle of tea just because I knew if I kept doing that I would end up with more tea then I could ever drink… And it doesn’t help when you pick up a box of tea and don’t realize till later that it contains 50 tea bags…

Anyway, not only does it have a pleasing scent but the taste is wonderful. It’s light enough that people who don’t like strong teas can drink it. However, it has a strong enough flavor that heavy tea drinkers that like lots of flavor will be pleased. I know that sounds weird but that is the best description I could think of.

Very strong Bergamot flavor. Just the way I like it. I use milk and sweetener. Yum!