(Note: the tea I tasted for this review is the classic Earl Grey by Whittard of Chelsea. However, it seems they’ve changed the packaging of their teas, and the one I own doesn’t look like the one in the picture on here. I found conflicting info on the web so I’m not sure of anything. Should I find out that this tasting note is in the wrong place, I will remove it.)
My sister brought this tea back from her school trip to England and I hadn’t tasted it before yesterday. My mother brewed it for Sunday brunch, which is why I had no control over the water temperature and steeping time, but I decided I’d write a tasting note anyway.
The tea has a dark brown colour which is very nice to the eye, and a very interesting marine smell when hot. As it cools down, the smell of the black tea becomes more prominent and the mix of the two is pretty nice.
I started sipping it as soon as it got cool enough for me not to burn my tongue and lose my taste for three days. It’s nicely astringent, which is exactly what I wanted from it on this lazy Sunday morning.
It has some kind of herbaceousness to it, as well as the marine feeling I got when I first smelled it – it’s also kinda cold, like stone perhaps. It’s a tea you might drink after a walk along the shores on a windy October day. It’s a tad salty in smell and taste, and the balance between briskness and smoothness is near perfect for my taste.
It doesn’t become bitter and bad once it starts to really cool down, aka the last few sips are still drinkable even when you’ve forgotten your tea on the living room table for a while. Which is something that happens to me quite often, hehe.
I recommend this one!
(The box recommends 100°C and steeping 3-5 minutes. I only steeped it for 2, so I’m gonna steep it for at least 3 next time I sip it, just to see how it unfolds when steeped longer.)
EDIT: I steeped it for 3-ish minutes just now and was amazed by how bergamot-y it smells? I didn’t get that at all the first time I had this tea, so I’m guessing that flavour only ever comes out when you’ve passed the 3 minute mark. Even just the dry leaves smell like one single huge bergamot (I’ve never actually seen one though). Someone on here says it has almost a creamy flavour, which I totally agree with. Interestingly, that whole saltiness is gone now that I’ve steeped it for longer than 2 minutes.
So, if you want a marine tea, steep 2 minutes, if you want the whole Earl Grey deal, steep for 3 minimum!
(I initially gave this Earl Grey an 83, but now that I’ve sipped it again I’m going up to an 87.)
Flavors: Astringent, Bergamot, Creamy, Earth, Herbaceous, Salt, Wet Moss
