Earl Grey Bravo

So my search for the best Earl Grey has brought me here, by way of a delightful swap with moraiwe. This is my seventh EG in three weeks, and I can’t wait to see how it stacks up against the rest!

With my sore throat and less-than enthusiastic outlook on anything remotely complicated this morning, I opted for my big pottery mug with a pinch infuser ball. I filled the ball a little over half-way, dumped in 2 spoonfulls of Sugar in the Raw, and steeped for 3min.

My first impression is that I’m drinking entirely too much EG! This is more… full than others I’ve tried, and the various notes seem stronger without the cream that’s somehow infused several of the others. The creams do continue to weird me out when I can’t locate the source of their creaminess, so this one’s lack of pretentiousness is refreshing. It is simply and straightforwardly, an EG, and a delightful one at that. I like how strong the bergamot notes are, and how well they twine with the other flavors. I’m glad that Moraiwe sent such a generous amount, so that I will have it in my cupboard to return to later!

I am truly loving Earl Grey at the moment which is why I ordered a sampler of this with my recent Adagio order.

Upon opening I had a strong whiff of orange and bergamot which is a good sign for me as I love it strong.

Taste is sweet, citrus, waxy, strong but is missing something that stops it from making a nice tea into a very nice tea. Its not of great quality or freshness and its bitter and waxy, not blended well. Such a shame.

Just thought I would add this happy little tidbit of info!
A European sweet shop just opened in Ecuador (Quito) about a month ago and I finally had the chance to go and see what it was about over the weekend!

I found Earl Grey Macaroons! I bought some to bring home and enjoyed them with a cup of this Earl Grey Bravo. The combination was heavenly!

I now have the desperate urge to go buy more macaroons to have with my tea! Or even better, learn how to make them myself! : )

Yay for finishing off another tin! I didn’t have quite enough of this for my morning tea so I put a little blackberry in it. Why blackberry? Well, I thought of Irish Breakfast but realized that I probably wasn’t going to greatly enjoy this cup and why waste my yummy Irish Breakfast on it? And the blackberry was right next to the Irish Breakfast, so I just grabbed it knowing that blackberry isn’t my favorite either.

Mixed results on this one today. The instant this touched my tongue and as it was in my mouth I got a smooth, almost chocolaty taste from it with a hint of kumquat. It was nice and pleasant and made me smile just a bit.

But then I swallowed. And as the tea moved out of my mouth, I tasted this… taste that made me think of the time I had a kumquat that was overripe to the point of almost-but-not-quite rotten. And then after I swallowed, I’d get this… astringent but perfumed taste that physically poked at my tongue and cheeks. So as I drank each swallow, I had to wince a bit. I ended up drinking it pretty quickly, though, mostly because I didn’t want to taste (or feel) that aftertaste for long so I’d quickly take another sip to get me back to the happy taste. And once I was finally done, I needed a gum chaser, STAT.

Okay, so maybe not so mixed. Because really, how much does that initial flash of happy taste really count for? There was a time (before this tin) that I liked this tea. So making my way through my second tin of this tea, I kept hoping that I’d get back to that previously happy experience I had with it. I kept giving it the benefit of the doubt, even when the first few cups from it tasted like bubblegum.

But no. So I’m finally finally adjusting my rating. Down. A lot. But not as far as I would if this was my first or only experience with this tea. Because I can’t discount the fact that used to really like this tea.

I’m lowering my rating on this tea, not because I think it’s worse than it was, but because after starting to explore more tea, I find that I set this one too high to begin with. It’s a reshuffling of my own rating system rather than a commentary on the tea.

It got the breakroom tea treatment this morning, and it’s all right. Not much to say about something so basic!

I love Earl Grey teas, so when I saw this available for swap on the swaps thread, I had to pounce on it. oOTeaOo and I worked out a swap, and a new earl is mine. I am actually quite surprised that I haven’t tried Adagio’s Earl before, as I have ordered samples of several of their teas.

I don’t know if I brewed this wrong, shouldn’t have added cream (but I drink all my earls with a splash of cream), should have steeped longer, not sure, it just doesn’t have much flavor. It doesn’t have much scent compared to the two earl’s I’ve been feinding over the last month (RoT’s Earl Greyer and Lupicia’s Earl Grey). There is some off-putting scent coming from the steeped leaves that I can’t place, and don’t care to play around with right now. Maybe I will give this tea another chance another day without any additives, but for now, this is going down the drain.

I have a terrible respiratory infection right now. My mother is starting her chemotherapy for breast cancer soon and I can’t be around her until I am better. This is particularly painful. I am on several medications, but few things truly relieve my sore throat like a steaming cup of strong black tea.

I awoke at 4:30am unable to swallow. Upon trying it felt like I was forcing down razor-sharp slivers of glass. I needed something strong and comforting.

I put the electric kettle on and put in a hefty amount of Earl Grey; the strongest dose I’ve had to date. I poured the just boiling into my cast iron teapot and gently slid in the mesh. The result was a super-strong, ebony, and highly perfumed cup of tea. I am now on my third cup, my throat is feeling significantly better, and my sinuses have cleared up quite a bit. I think the re-steep on this will also be very strong considering how many leaves I used.

The smell from the tin is just gorgeous but, sadly, an empty promise. Does not translate into the cup at all.

First steep was 2.5gr/7oz water at 90C for 3 minutes. Forgot to rinse the leaves, big mistake: some unwanted astringency. The taste was obscenely floral. I’m not the greatest of palates since my idea of Earl Grey is Twinning’s, but it definitely should not taste like field flowers at dusk. This is more like a Lady Gray. Decided to add a teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk to balance the astringent part.

Second steep was 4 minutes, the tea was balanced, the floral part not as potent but still there. No need for milk. 3rd steep for 5 minutes, regular tea with a hint of bergamot.

This tea was sent to me by my SweeTea, oOTeaOo! Thanks!!!

This is a good Earl Grey – smooth (surprisingly smooth for an Adagio black tea!). The bergamot is sweet and orange-y and not perfume-y. Delicious!

Thanks again oOTeaOo!

Earl Grey Bravo, nice to taste it again. I had a cup of this the day before yesterday at a friend’s house. I haven’t had it in a very long time. Maybe around a year or two.

Anyway, it was just how I remembered it. Strong bergamot, lemony zest, and a decent amount of caffeine. The black tea itself could be a little stronger. It reminds me that I should try more Earl greys. Also, I’m inspired to make some of my own one day. I’m already growing my own tea… I could grow the bergamot easily, too.