teabird select Send Message

203 Followers / 105 Following

teabird drank Raspberry Earl by Zhena's Gypsy Tea

412 tasting notes

This is almost drinkable plain, which I consider a coup for a bagged Earl Grey. That said, I get a tiny bit of raspberry on the nose, and hardly any from the taste. It’s this barely-there sense of fruit in the back of my mouth as I swallow. With milk and a pinch of sugar, this is actually quite mellow; the bergamot is strong, but I’ve had stronger. I can’t taste anything identifiable about the black tea base except that it’s there. Overall, this is fine and I’ll enjoy drinking it, but there are definitely better and more interesting EG’s out there.

Thanks to Jaime for the chance to try!

Preparation

205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 15 sec

I Like This

5 likes

0 comments

People who liked this

Profile

Bio

Some notes on ratings:

I’d have separate rating scales for tea types if that were possible (probably Black, Flavored Black, Darjeeling/Dark Oolong, White/Green/Light Oolong, and Herbal) because the flavors and quality markers are just too different. A flavored black rated 100 isn’t better than every oolong I’ve ever drunk, just delicious for a flavored black.

Ratings are a combination of my enjoyment and the perceived quality – I do often demote teas a few points for artificial flavorings, small quantity of steeps supported, or weakness of flavor (requiring extra leaf).

I pay less attention to the number than the order of my ratings; I don’t necessarily keep a stock of everything rated 80+, but if two breakfast blends are rated 82 and 84 I consistently enjoy the 84 more.

And in case it’s not obvious? I am not an expert. I don’t even know what I like until I taste it sometimes, but I’m ok with that :) I like learning to like new teas, as well as enjoying the comfort of familiar ones.

Location

Boston, MA

Website

http://www.twitter.com/_teabird

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer