Earl Grey Bravo

I’ve been a life-long Earl Grey fan, and this is probably the best Earl Grey I’ve ever had. Lots of bergamot, and the pieces of orange peel and the tiny blue-purple flowers make it a pretty steep, too.

I keep trying Earl Grey, only to realize that I just don’t like it and probably never will.

Yum!! :9

This is old, and I definitely underleafed it. I remember this being a very strong, bergamot-heavy EG, but this time around I can taste the malty black base a lot more, and the bergamot adds nice aromatic citrus notes that meld with it nicely. I actually think it’s better balanced now than it was when it was fresh! I added the tiniest pinch of brown sugar which brought the bergamot out more, and the teeny weeniest little splash of milk to temper the astringency (even though there wasn’t much). It’s rather lovely this way! The sweetness and creaminess added by the milk and sugar really round out the tea, making it a very nice Earl Grey! It’s not a stand out, but then I tend to see EG as a cupboard staple rather than something special anyway (except for Earl Grey cremes, now that’s a different story). A nice morning sipper!

Purchased this as part of the Adagio Earl Grey sampler set. I’m far from an Earl Grey aficionado but this was easily the best Earl Grey I’ve ever had. A serious step up from my last one which came from Trader Joe’s.

The tea smelled amazing out of the bag. An intense burst of bergamot and malt. I prepared this as an Earl Grey latte, steeping it for 5 minutes using water just under a boil. Then added a little sweetener and frothed oat milk. I was worried that the citrus would be overpowering due to how potent it smelled but the flavor was surprisingly light and on point. Just a hint of orange zest and sweet perfume that accented the black tea base perfectly.

Me: >*Sitting in front of the computer for the third night in a row*<
Me (Thinking): Shanie. Shanie what are you doing
Me (Thinking): Shanie you fool, you have two drawers and three cabinets of tea you could be drinking right now. What are you doing?
Me (Thinking): Dammit Shanie, get off your butt and drink some tea. You haven’t had tea in a week. The internet isn’t going anyway and neither are you. GO. DRINK. TEA.

Me (Out Loud): “Well. When you put it that way…”

And thus, here I am actually having a cup of tea.

This is from the Adagio order I made a month ago, which honestly feels like about three years ago right now. It was the same order as the Brigadoon Breakfast, and I’m only getting to it now, so that should give an indication of my personal level of motivation right now.

Anyway, I latte-d this. I brewed it 3 minutes at 212F, with 1.5 teaspoons for 12 oz water. It’s my usual settings for loose leaf Earl Grey, so no need to switch it up now. I didn’t measure the milk, but there were to Splenda packets added off the bat. I didn’t test it plain, so sorry if you wanted to hear about that.

Anyway, taste is… Well, it’s certainly got that BOOM! of bergamot I love. The floral/citrus of this is right in your face. However, while it’s bordering on harsh, the milk added makes it better.

Oh, I should mention that, in an effort to curb some of my sugar intake, I now use Fairlife 2% Milk. It’s not quite shelf-stable but has a similar flavor and texture. And while it does require continuous refrigeration (like most milk), it lasts 2 weeks once opened and usually about two months if you don’t open it! So while I had initially switched because the Fairlife has much less sugar than most milk I would normally drink, it really comes in handy right now because I can throw a couple of jugs at a time in my fridge and not worry about it spoiling.

ANYWAY, back to the tea.

As I said, the addition of the milk makes it much less harsh then I would imagine otherwise. But there’s a flavor present here. I can’t put my finger on it at all. It’s… well I can’t say if it’s because I added two Splendas, or if it’s a combination of the Splenda and the tea, but I think it’s a cupcake flavor? Maybe carrot cake? Ugh! I wish I was better at determining flavors. It’s something cake though. Again, it could be that I used too much Splenda, or it could be a combo of the total latte. But it isn’t unpleasant. I like it. It’s kind of dessert-like.

What I will say is, in comparison to other EGs on in my cupboard? Nah, there’s really nothing special about this. I’ll give that it’s more balanced than some, but it’s not something that I would consider a necessary variety of EG. I have other Earl Greys that have similar flavor profiles but do their thing better than this. Somehow, I would say the Bigelow Bagged variety is one of them. Side by side, I’d say I like the Bigelow better than this. But this is better than the twinings loose leaf by far. So yeah, maybe someday I’ll make a spectrum scale of all my different EGs and where I would put them. I wouldn’t try and go by numerical ratings as, while I have a scale in my brain, I can never remember what I rate things from week to week so it may turn out that something I rated 75 one week, I actually liked better than something I rated 82 the next.

Anyway, I’m not making a rec or rating on this either way. I’m just gonna say it’s pretty good, but not great. Maybe a tough above average

Let’s say… C+

Had this tea this morning with some whipping cream. Delicious! It was a little bitter, maybe next time steep a little less time.

Bravo, indeed! THIS is an Earl Grey. The level of bergamot in this tea is perfection!

After spotting some of Harney’s chocolate tea in the local grocery, I developed a craving for something sweet. This tea pretty much fits the bill for me. Not a “fruits and flowers”!kind of tea drinker, so the sweetness of the bergamot and blue corn flowers were just right.

I like this as an Early Grey, but still prefer tea without additives.

A nice everyday tea. The Ceylon base is tangy and not too bitter. A pleasant dry and sweet finish, though I would prefer a little more bergamot. The orange taste stays in the mouth for a long time afterward. Will be a regular buy..!