Earl Grey

Adventaggedon Day Twelve – 1/5

Y’know, it’s honestly been a while since I last had DT’s straight Earl Grey. I’m not really a fan of bergamot, and if it comes down to it I’m always going to pick Cream of Earl Grey over straight Earl Grey. It’s a classic for a reason, though!

Revisiting was interesting. I found the tea less overtly floral than the memory I’ve had in my head, and though the bergamot was strong for my tastes it was also pretty smooth with a robust black base. I wish I would have had something like a bit of vanilla agave at the office today; I think that would have really softened it up for me in a more tolerable way. Though, now writing that thought down, I do feel like that’s basically just me saying that I wanted to make it more like Cream of Earl Grey. So…

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmFXjHXOWrV/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0tuBdZ2b-g

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Not nearly as floral as Cream of Earl Grey or The Earl’s Garden, as it lacks the marigolds, but still slightly too floral for my taste. Not that I have anything against floral teas, it’s just not what i want in my earl grey. At least I can taste the bergamot in this one. I prefer the flavour profile of The Countess of Seville, less floral, more berg.

I woke up this morning and got ready to go out the door for my knit-a-long at a local yarn shop. I looked at the clock and realized that I only had five minutes to boil water and get out the door. I boiled the water, put 1 3/4 tsp in a David’s Tea steeping bag (for 1 1/2 cups of water), and stuffed it in the top of my timolino.

When I got to the shop, I let the tea steep in the freshly boiled water for 2-3 minutes. I sipped and got an immediate blast of hot, yummy, bergamot. When the timolino failed to let my tea cool down to proper drinking temperature (as it always seems to do), I thought I’d mellow the tea a little with a teaspoon of sugar and a fill-up of milk (perhaps a 1/4 cup). This created perfection. It was so smooth, creamy, and rich. When I left the shop, the weather outside was approaching sweater weather, but I chose to wear a light cardigan. I walked back to my car through the downtown area feeling warm and hugged despite the breeze.

Next time: I think I’m going to try it without milk and sugar, but I’ll wait for it to cool down some before drinking. I’m surprised that the tea isn’t better rated on here.

Hard to think that I had spent the last two years suffering through some old boxes of tea bags that were given to me.

Sidenote: I have tried David’s Tea cream of earl grey in the past and I see many who have tried that one seem to prefer it over this one. I got tired of that one after a few weeks. We’ll see how this one goes.

I didn’t get around to making tea until this afternoon about 2:30 and I just finished it ten or so minutes ago. I spent this morning figuring out a tea order when I found a $30 gift certificate on my Adagio account. Sweet! I ordered a bunch of nicer blacks , a green, and a sample of one of my blends. I had never tasted it but it’s been ordered a couple of times so I decided I should at least try it. Any who, this is a very nice Earl Grey. The bergamot isn’t super strong, and I don’t really care. I like my earl grey flavor to be on the lighter side. Strangely enough, when it comes to earl grey, I’m the opposite of my grandmother who likes the bergamot to punch her in the face. (my words not hers) We had originally bought this for her but she didn’t like it and she doesn’t like to mess with loose tea. I probably never convert her. I will probably always have this earl grey in my pantry as it’s a good price and a good everyday brew. If I had a choice though, I would go for Earl Grey Bravo mixed with some Earl Grey Lavender from Adagio. This was a really rambling review. I have a headache right now from the products the handymen are using in the house. The point is that this tea is good but not amazing.

The steeping time makes all the difference! At the suggested four minutes, I hate this tea. It is very malty and has a floral finish. That’s just not what I want in my morning Earl Grey. Steep for three minutes and the balance shifts! The bergamot stays at the forefront with a malty undertone. The bergamot isn’t as bright (maybe acidic is a better word) as it is in Teavana’s Earl Grey, which is my gold standard. The citrus here is smoother and deeper. A three-minute strep also keeps the cornflower at bay. Three minutes took this from the donate pile back to the cabinet.

This is my first Earl Grey. I expected far worse from some of the reviews here. I don’t mind the bergamot flavour. Unlike some of DavidsTea’s teas that I’ve tried I can actually finish the pot though I probably would not repurchase.

The liquor is a reddish-orange with a strong floral scent. I steeped it for 5 mins which keeps the bergamot taste light and refreshing. There is a slight citrusy bitterness but not the kind of bitterness that can be unpleasant. It does get slightly more bitter once it cools but, in my experience, this is natural for all teas.

I’ll try other Earl Greys first before I decide how good or bad this one is. For a first impression it’s not terrible.

1:30 a.m. And… I’m drinking Earl Grey! It’s decafe right? I was craving it after baking Earl Grey cookies and the smell permeated my kitchen to living room area. This is a nice but subtle Earl Grey. It’s not nearly as strong as I like but it’s not bad. I ended up using 2.5 tsp for an 9oz cup and it turned out pretty tasty.

I love a good Earl Grey, but I think I like it a little stronger on the Bergamot than this one. I also find Earl Grey’s with Cornflower start to taste a little bitter since I like to oversteep my tea.

Really yummy high-quality tea! You can really taste the flavoring. Just make sure not too oversteep it or it’ll be bitter.

Word to the wise, if you don’t like Bergamot do not buy this. With that aside this is a very bergamot heavy tea. The only earl grey I drank before this was the industrial Higgins Burke earl grey, which was very light on the bergamot. Smelling this tea dry, it reminds me of froot loops and soap. On the first infusion the bergamot hits you like a train. If this isn’t for you try doing a 30 sec rinse of the leaves to get rid of most the bergamot oil. The second infusion was better, tasting more of the mushroomy, and earthy black tea and just a subtle hint of bergamot. Would definitely buy this again, but would always go a 30 sec rinse.