Sampler Sunday! I got these sampler teabags from a very nice volunteer in my department at the library, who remembered that I love lavender in my tea. Since today is a very grey morning, and my mood has been rather grey lately, it seemed the right time to make a teapot of lavender Earl Grey this morning. Finally drove my car to its utter death trying to “get by” with it waiting until my family would be coming back to state to deal with all the business involved with getting my grandmother into longterm care, at which point I can purchase her vehicle, the funds of which would go directly to her longterm care. But it didn’t make it… so I’m without a car at all for another week. Since it was totally dead, I only managed to get $200 for it after I’d put $1100 into repairs on it. Sad.
I gave the tea my typical brief CTC steep, though pushed it slightly longer (2 minutes) just because I wanted to make sure the lavender notes would come through. There is certainly a lovely lavender aroma wafting from the teapot… mmm. I’m also getting some lemony notes in the aroma. The tea doesn’t really hold a candle to my favorite Lavender Earl Grey from Angry Tea Room, but for a bagged tea, Twinings of London is still holding out on top for me. The bergamot is perhaps just a touch heavier than I tend to prefer but not as overbearing as most bagged Earl Greys which is why I typically avoid them; it tastes a bit on the citrusy lemon side, and there is a noticable lavender note that blends well with the bergamot because of that lemon note, and is soft and relaxing. The base tea is quite smooth, perhaps because I steeped this so briefly, so I don’t have any bitter or astringent notes in my cup. The base is a mellow malt allowing the flavors to take precidence.
This can’t really replace the loose lavender Earl Grey I keep in my cupboard, but if I found this in a restaurant or needed some cheap teabags for travel, I’d gladly take this along.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Floral, Lavender, Lemon, Malt, Smooth
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That angry tea room lavender EG IS really good. I’m so sorry about your grandma and your car.
Thanks. Sadly because of weather and my aunt coming down terribly ill my dad had to cancel his trip, so the hits just keep coming. I’m uncertain at this point if there is any way I’ll be able to get my grandmother’s car, which is stuck out of state, and I need family to get to it since moving it will require a second driver… sigh. Right now I’ve been stuck for a week with no transportation at all, in a small town that offers no real public transportation alternatives, and it’s really starting to wear me down, and that’s just on top of the stress and grief of my grandma’s health. Feels like we just can’t catch a break at all.
Ah, terrible. I know all about middle-of-nowhere “transportation”. Hopefully something works out soon.
Hope you’re doing okay.
That angry tea room lavender EG IS really good. I’m so sorry about your grandma and your car.
Thanks. Sadly because of weather and my aunt coming down terribly ill my dad had to cancel his trip, so the hits just keep coming. I’m uncertain at this point if there is any way I’ll be able to get my grandmother’s car, which is stuck out of state, and I need family to get to it since moving it will require a second driver… sigh. Right now I’ve been stuck for a week with no transportation at all, in a small town that offers no real public transportation alternatives, and it’s really starting to wear me down, and that’s just on top of the stress and grief of my grandma’s health. Feels like we just can’t catch a break at all.
Ah, terrible. I know all about middle-of-nowhere “transportation”. Hopefully something works out soon.
Hope you’re doing okay.