Dry, this tea smells delicious, lemony and chocolaty, and the cornflower and sunflower petals make it very pretty. Alas, the tea doesn’t really live up to its promise. I vaguely taste chocolate and (even more faintly) lemon, but more than anything I get that licorice sweetener flavor. Licorice is not listed in the ingredients, so I don’t know if it got smuggled in under ‘natural and artificial flavors’ (this seems unlikely) or if it’s just a strange effect of the combined flavors. I’m not getting bergamot at all, and while I prefer my bergamot to be light, I expect SOME sign of its presence. I mean, that’s what makes it Earl Grey. I can’t figure out what Upton is using for their base tea in these blends, but I wish they’d pick something with more personality.
Despite this rather grumbling review, the tea’s not unpleasant. It’s just not the punchy rich tea I was hoping for.
