Diamond Jubilee

I love this tea just a tad more than its sister (royal palace). The 30 sachet tin arrived yesterday along with 2 other orders (my first from Verdant and some flowering teas because it’s just fun to watch it open and use as a mini centerpiece on the dining room table).

This tea is neck and neck with Irish Breakfast.

The lemon is nature and blends so well with the tea. When you add just a touch of creme and sweetener the tea holds up wonderfully. So smooth, so flavorful.

While I enjoy the grapefruit in the royal palace, the lemony flavor of diamond jubilee is just, somehow, brisker and smoother at the same time.

A great first cup in the morning.

I chilled some last night and as a black iced tea it is wonderful!!!

So much better than anything I tried from the supermarket. I say that because for years I thought tea was tea, especially black tea. How wrong I was!

Another sample sipdown here. I took a sample pouch of this tea with me to the youth summit this week and ended up using it to wake myself up in the morning. I found it to be a very respectable blend, but I do have to say that I found it to be a bit too citrusy.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 212 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

After infusion, the tea liquor produced robust scents of bergamot, lemon rind, grapefruit pith, and toast. In the mouth, the bergamot and grapefruit were front and center, balanced by much subtler notes of brown toast, caramel, cream, and lemon rind. The finish was astringent and tart, offering up lingering citrus impressions.

Normally, I adore super citrusy Earl Grey variants, but this one was a little much, even for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice blend that blows most commercial Earl Greys out of the water, but it also is more than a bit over-the-top. The pronounced citrus character overpowered the more subtle aromas and flavors, so there was not much in the way of balance. Also, I’m guessing that a rather large amount of both grapefruit and bergamot essences was employed in this blend because it displayed something of a soapy texture that I found unappealing. Overall, this was a good Earl Grey, but I felt it was a bit unbalanced. Fans of extremely tart, citrusy blends, however, will probably beg to differ.

Yummm, tastes like delicious Harney & Sons goodness. I’m beginning to realize that I’m going to them for Earl-type variations of black teas (for mornings) and turning towards David’s Tea for rooibos or wacky flavors later in the day.

But my morning caffeinated teas are more essential. I don’t get as much citrus taste as most people are saying, more of just the classic bergamot flavor. And of course, there’s the lovely tin to match my purple and green ones. It’s worth it to spend a little extra for the pretty tins. :]

This tea is absolutely heavenly. I’d held off drinking it till yesterday (9-9-15) in honor of Queen Elizabeth II having outreigned Queen Victoria. It’s like Super Earl Grey—only daintily, beautifully more piquant. The lemon and grapefruit touches enhance the bergamot. It’s just outstanding. Even cold in the cup (I’d made it hot) having cooled, it was delicious. I had it lightly sweetened with just a bit of sugar. I cannot praise it highly enough!

Thank you for the swap a while back, TeaTiff! Gray days mean Earl Gray. Haven’t tried this one yet! The blend looks like it has some sort of white tea that isn’t on the ingredient list. The scent has a very strong citrus but sadly the flavor does not. The black tea is on the lighter side, and the citrus is subtle at first, but then gets stronger and more enjoyable as the cup cools. There is a touch of flavor that reminds me of grapefruit. I was a little worried there would be more grapefruit, as I don’t love it. So acceptable grapefruit level here! I’ve been Earl Grey spoiled though, so I think they have to be special at this point. And I love STRONG bergamot. The second steep was light as well but still had the same amount of bergamot.
Steep #1 // 8 min after boiling // 3-4 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 7+ min

From HH TTB 3

I had this last night, honestly I didn’t get any citrus flavor from it at all, but it was a fine cup of black tea. Not weak at all, just pretty middle of the road. I think I have had so many awesome teas lately that I am getting a little spoiled.

Update on the textbook situation. As it turns out, only ONE of the three listed materials is required! So yippee! Problem is, there’s no info in the course material description to help me know why one would be chosen over another. Professor emailed. Now we are looking at about $200 max – that’s more like it for one class.

I was pleasantly surprised by the delightfully light and tart citrus of Diamond Jubilee. I generally prefer flavored teas with a strong base, but in this instance the mild black base works very well with the bergamot and grapefruit essence. The citrus notes linger as a crisp aftertaste and I can only imagine this would be even better served as iced tea.

My boss brought me back a tin of this tea when he went to England a few years ago. I have not been known to drink Earl Grey. I went so far as to turn up my nose at the thought of drinking an Earl Grey; however, after a few cups, I learned to love this blend. I am more than likely going to order another tin sometime soon!

A nice smooth Earl Grey, with a touch of silver needle tips added. I’m not sure if the white tea actually DOES anything, but it makes it pretty, and certainly leads to the name of Diamond Jubilee.

Not a complex tea, but a good tea.