Fragrance is lovely – strong but not overly perfume-y. It is a decent black tea, and the flavors don’t feel overly artificial. It doesn’t feel too tannic, although I do get that dry mouth, astringent feeling afterwards that Earl Greys in particular seem to leave me with. I don’t get a vanilla flavor, but truly more of a cream flavor – just kind of a softening and mellowing of the harshness that can be in an Earl Grey without a real change in the flavor. It’s good enough, but just isn’t very thrilling. It wasn’t quite strong enough, although by brewing “rules” it should have been fairly strong. The flavors are all…fine…but nothing special or complex. I’ll drink it, and would be willing to buy it again, but will be very open to something better. And yes, I have gardenias in my tasting notes. That’s not quite the right choice, but maybe someone else will know what I mean.
Flavors: Bergamot, Cream, Drying, Earl Grey, Gardenias
