Cream Earl Grey

This is a little one-cup sample that I brought back from my last trip to Vancouver. The Granville Island Tea Co seems to have a standard tea they use as a base for their black tea blends which is a decent, if not terribly inspired, Ceylon Orange Pekoe. The citrus bergamot is nicely balanced with the creamy vanilla notes. It’s a blend that’s fine for drinking plain, though in my opinion it’s better with milk. A fairly standard cream earl grey, all told.

I distinctly recall last May as being rainy and dreary – in other words, no different from the winter months.

So when we were blessed with a spell of warm weather, I rushed to Granville Island between work and evening lectures to sample a new Earl Grey, of which I had become addicted to.

It took me awhile to find the small but well-stocked Granville Island Tea Company in the public market. When I asked for Earl Greys, the sales girl expertly pulled several tins from the shelves, which was no easy feat, seeing as there were several hundred black tins lining the walls.

I had a hard time choosing between the Cream Earl Grey and the aptly-named Dorian Grey (cue lit student squeals), but the sweet, creamy scent of the former won me over. The resulting brew was lighter on bergamot than standard Earl Greys, but intoxicatingly flavoured with vanilla. The taste was smooth, velvety, and utterly soothing. Definitely going back for seconds when my 100g runs out.