heavens! if you seek to perfume your viscera, this is most certainly your tea!!
i understand earl grey is a classic, beloved by many, i’m just not understanding why, given what i am tasting at this particular moment. is this for real? granted, i think Tazo did a good job sourcing quality tea & ingredients (they most certainly are what they are- and unashamed, at that!), i just think they’re rather cacophonous when put together.
when i first smelled this through the peephole, i was immediately hit with a blast of astringent bergamot that became increasingly metallic by the minute. i’m not sure if it’s the lavender that’s causing me to think i’m tasting a metallic, herbal quasi-citrus, as i’ve never tasted bergamot on its own, nor have i smelled it, though i do know it’s frequently used as a top note in perfumes.
anyway, i got a cup of this as an experiment, simply because i wanted to learn what earl grey tastes like (apparently i’ve never had it!) and my, was it memorable. this one is quite tinny & medicinal…very perfumey. i think that’s really the lavender speaking. the Earl is distinctive & ribald, a thoroughly pungent character! any feelings toward him are strictly black or white: i can’t imagine it’s possible to experience him in shades of grey! a necessary pun, i’m just sorry.
in this tea’s defense, i know i can’t stand lavender as a fragrance, and i’m sent running at the slightest hint of it, so it stands to reason that i wouldn’t like its taste. it truly makes me recoil. that may have been this particular earl’s downfall. for me it’s like clove: all or nothing, love or hate. quite remarkable then, that i managed to ingest it! Tazo’s EG reminds me of pine needle, or something akin to the monstrous patchouli in Thierry Mugler’s Angel. it doesn’t just flavor the punch, it spikes it with a vengeance. this is quite simply, potable cologne.
way harsh, tai.
