1737 Tasting Notes
Now I really am convinced that this is better than the Imperial. Despite its lighter scent and lighter weight in the sachet format, and despite the identical color of the liquor, I found that the Supreme brew tastes quite a bit smoother.
The Imperial is good, but the Supreme is better. I don’t even think that that difference has to do with the stronger bergamot in the Imperial, since in the brewed tea it did not really taste stronger. The tea tasted different, though. The silver tips added to this blend must, therefore, be contributing to the final taste of the brew. The tea is truly the perfect base for Earl Grey. Is there a better Earl Grey out there (beyond the land of Harney & Sons)? Do tell!
When I go to replenish my Harney & Sons Earl Grey supply, I’ll definite be ordering more of the Supreme. An excellent Earl Grey.
To celebrate the arrival of Hercules, I decided to do a brew-off between sachets of Harney & Sons Earl Grey Imperial and Earl Grey Supreme. The last time I tried them in close succession, I preferred the Supreme but was wondering whether my preference had to do with the format (loose leaf) versus the sachet of the Imperial. Since I had a few sachets of the Supreme, I decided to try them side-by-side: same water, same steeping time, identical glass, same format, same amount of cream…
I found that the dried Imperial sachet is much more heavily scented. Then I discovered that the Imperial sachet is quite a bit heavier wet. The color of the two liquors was essentially the same: dark orangish red. I was predicting that I’d like this one better than the Supreme. I was wrong!
Not sencha, but still pretty good and in that general neighborhood. It’s certainly a million times better than the middling grocery store China lint-infested greens.
The liquor brews up a bit more golden brown than the green of Harney & Sons Japanese Sencha, and the taste is lighter and less crisp. Again I find the taste similar to bancha…
The looseleaf version of this tea is good (haven’t tried the filter bags and probably won’t…). I brewed up another excellent pot tonight after dinner, followed by a second infusion. I am using a cast-iron teapot without the insert and pouring the brewed tea through a sieve. The spent leaves are huge and beautiful.
Once again, I feel that the character of this lightly embellished decaffeinated green is very close to a white tea.
The greatest thing about frigid, antarctic, insufferable Boston winter is:
hot tea!
Another satisfying pot brewed strong and sloshed with light cream. Makes me wish that winter would never end! Okay, that might be going too far…
I am still trying to figure out what exactly Paris tastes like. Maybe a cross between a blackcurrant tea, a vanilla tea, and an Earl Grey? I do believe that the fruit is blackcurrant. I also noticed today that the spent leaves smell a bit like tobacco, which makes me wonder whether the tea maker added something to impart a true café feeling to the blend…
I still prefer Earl Grey, but this is nice for a change of pace.
This was my second custom blend white tea at Adagio, designed to honor my beloved HRH Emperor Oliver, who departed from this world on September 16, 2013. I combined snowbud, white cucumber and white monkey for a soft and tender blend—no fruits, no bells and no whistles. Because I used only a small proportion of the cucumber, the scent and flavor are quite light and the brew is very refreshing. I dislike the scent of the straight-up Adagio white cucumber dry—to me it smells like vinegar—but here it is nice in the blend.
hrh emperor oliver #2 can easily serve the same function for me as a cup of sencha after lunch, so I’ll probably alternate back and forth between the two. Since all of the teas here are white, I’ll reinfuse the blend later on for an early evening pot, since most of the caffeine will have come out in this infusion, given that it is water soluble.
I like this tea and will not be tweaking it at all. A thirst-quenching light and limpid halo-white blend!
