Cracking open this first pouch from my recent New Moon order because I felt like a seasonal tea for my seasonal mug this morning! And with such a gorgeous label, how can I possibly resist? This one is an Earl Grey on a black base with added vanilla and cardamom. It sounded too interesting and unique to pass up, so naturally made its way into my cart…
The first thing I taste is definitely the cardamom, and it tends to be the strongest note overall. Cardamom has such an interesting flavor to me, it’s like the intersection of warm spices like clove with floral herbs such as lavender. Here it melds seamlessly with the bergamot (which also can sometimes be slightly floral), and they are a bit difficult to tell apart. I feel I can taste more of the bergamot’s citrusy notes mid-sip, and the vanilla becomes obvious at the end with a sweet custardy note. Overall, the combination of all three is lovely.
However, I am getting a bit of astringency that I’m not a huge fan of, and I feel the cardamom sort of accentuates it a bit, along with the slight sharpness of the bergamot. I wonder if the base here is an Indian tea, and if I would be better off with a slightly shorter steep. I have a message out to the company to inquire about the base tea, so we’ll see what the owner says. The dryness is certainly not a dealbreaker here, but it does detract a bit.
Anyway, it’s tasty and I’m happy that it hopped into my cart! :)
Flavors: Astringent, Bergamot, Cardamom, Cream, Tannic, Vanilla
