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Just a little note to say how the face off between this tea and Arbor Tea’s Organic Earl Grey went.
This one wasn’t the winner. It doesn’t have the astringency Arbor Tea’s version does, but it doesn’t have as much bergamot either. What’s there is mostly on the aftertaste. There’s also a flat, woody note in it that makes it kind of unexciting.
In defense of this tea, I do like it a lot with additives. I forgot to doctor the Arbor Tea’s EG before finishing off the sample so it’s possible this one still might win the ‘With Milk and Sugar’ taste off battle. But it doesn’t with the unadulterated battle so I’m lowering the rating just a tad.
Preparation
Trying this one straight this time since I had it doctored before. Oddly enough, the bergamot doesn’t seem as noticeable now. It’s more of a faint juicy-like sweetness with a touch of perfumed bergamot at the tail end of the sip and hanging around post-swallow. But I still like this one – it’s smooth with no real astringency and a nice, non-fake flair of flavor. It doesn’t scream “I’M EARL GREY!” but rather states it in a dignified tone and in possibly a slightly snooty British accent.
Preparation
Yet another EG sample in my massive Find-the-Husband-an-Earl-Grey-that-He-Loves Quest! Taken with a little bit of sugar and a tiny bit of milk, this tea is quite tasty. The bergamot is bright and noticeable but not perfume-ish or overpowering. It feels kind of cheerful and energetic but not rough or edgy. I have enough of the sample to try it one or two more times, so I’m curious to see how it is without additives. Hopefully it will have a nice smooth tea base like the other Upton EGs have had – I think it will since I didn’t notice any bitterness or roughness while sipping on this one.
I’m quite liking this. Honestly though, I was listening to the audiobook “Mindless Eating” by Brian Wansink (really interesting, by the way) while making my morning commute and ended up getting a bit distracted listening to the book before I could figure out why exactly I liked this tea so. But I did. Like it, that is. I’m kind of hoping that this one wins the EG taste-off (at least compared to the other EGs we’ve tried during this quest). Two enthusiastic thumbs up (which will hopefully stay that way when I get a chance to pay more attention to this when I’m drinking it)!
Preparation
LOL…I’m on the exact same quest. I have a cabinet full of my teas and he has his little space full of various Earl Greys. Has your husband found one that he really loves yet?
Sadly, not yet but he did like this one as much as I did, so this one appears to be a front runner. When I first started tea-drinking, he really enjoyed Adagio’s Earl Grey Bravo, but then we got a second batch and it tasted like bubblegum. So yeah, that one was removed from the EG list but he still morns the loss. Any recommendations you can make as to what we should try?
For now, he keeps going back to the Earl Grey Supreme (Organic Fair Trade) from Rishi. One of our local tea shops carries a Double Bergamot EG that he likes as a back up. That one is a little too much for me…and I think Rishi’s base teas are much better and higher quality.
On a breakfast tea side topic: Did you ever find an Irish Breakfast you love? Or an ultimate breakfast tea?
I’ve had the Rishi at a tea bar place and quite liked it – I might need to pick up some to ‘officially’ try. I remember the bergamot being fresh tasting…
Breakfast-wise I haven’t hit on a end-all-be-all yet. You? I picked up some Adagio IB which I really like but it isn’t IT, you know? I did pick up 6 or 7 samplers from Upton with different breakfast blends so maybe something will pop up with that.
I still have some Adagio IB as well. I really liked Rishi’s China Breakfast. Samovar’s Breakfast Blend was very good but on the verge of being too plain. The search continues!
Oooh, yes, I do like Samovar’s Breakfast Blend. Mostly because it is a nice tea at 3min but a rougher tea at 5min. I’ll admit though, a lot of non-work mornings I end up having CTG’s Keemun.
Thanks for an update on the Battle of the Earls!
Ironically, without additives the husband liked this one better than the Arbor Tea’s version. But with milk and sugar he liked Arbor Tea’s better. Hunting for the Earl is fraught with difficulties! :)
He such an elusive chap.
Rather “he’s” such an elusive chap. I need spelling/grammar check built-in!