Pouchkine

Another tea from a swap with Ysaurella which was a tea I really really wanted to try. It was on my shopping list, tried to buy it a few months ago but was out of stock. But, and not for the first time, Ysaurella came to the rescue!

This is probably the nicest (do not check numeric ratings, I am seriously considering deleting all) Betjman tea I have tried yet. It´s a “russian” french tea and very much so – some citrus, some bergamot and an elegant base. For me it works very well, I get little bergamot but more orange, some smoke and a hint of bitterness which somehow make it even more drinkable. Very nice indeed.

This is a sample I requested while visiting B&B. I already had this tea in the past but not since at least 4 years.
The scent of dry leaf is just waouh…fantastic, the liquor is a perfect balance of citrus : orange, bergamot and lemon with a light smocky taste.
This is a nice Earl Grey declination in homage to Russian blends.
Delicious, goes in my shopping list, definitively.

Lovely sample-sized sachet sent to me by Ysaurella, who thought I’d like it. You were so right, Ysaurella! I have a somewhat uneasy relationship with Earl Greys, as I love the flavour of bergamot, but often find it so overpowering I can’t get enough of the base tea tea-ishness, so it’s more like licking a bottle of essential oil than it should be. This, however, is delicious! The other citrus flavours make a huge difference, as you get orange, lemon and bergamot flowing over your palate, but they’re all restrained enough to keep them from being too dominant. And the touch of smokiness is surprisingly right with the citrus – well, it surprised me. I could see vanilla with Earl Grey immediately, but wasn’t sure about smoky.

I’ll definitely be getting this when I order from B&B again – thank you so much for introducing me to this one, Ysaurella!

The side of the can states: A blend of fine teas from India and China, flavored with Italian oil of Bergamot, orange and lemon. I’m worried about the bergamot – I’m not a real Earl Grey kinda guy.

Turns out, the bergamot isn’t overwhelming. There’s a sort of muddled, bitter, citrus taste, which seems balanced against the tea itself, which is… well, black – all leathery and earthy, but without much aftertaste. It’s pleasant enough, and would be a fine tea to drink while you were busy paying attention to something else, but it tastes the same all the way through.

Wasn’t sure what this tea would be. It was in a mixed package of teabags I bought and the name caught my attention this morning. Opening the package reveals a bergamot scent. I expected that the first few sips of this would be bitter and I’d have to get used to it, but that wasn’t the case at all! Not sure what Pouchkine means, I’ll have to look that up, but this is an EG all the way. I can’t pick out the tea flavor over the citrus in the sip, but it appears in the finish along with a hint of leather. It doesn’t have that sharp bite that many EGs have and I wonder if it’s the smokiness that dampers that. Either way, I approve! I usually drink EGs with a bit of cream, but when I added some to this cup the flavors were significantly dampened. This tea is better without anything added.

disappointed when I opened the bag, the earl grey is hardly noticable, so didn’t expect much…… steeped and then wow. smokey tea with hints of lemon and orange. Perrffect cup. I really, really love it! YUM