Maple Vanilla Earl Grey

Holy lumberjacks, but has this got maple in it. Not the candy sweet, sugared maple, but the proper stuff out of a tree. Its rich and thick tasting, and not at all a frivolous, light flavor.
I get mostly this dark maple and bergamot out of this blend. I really have to focus hard to taste the tea base, and I can’t pin down the vanilla aspect.
I’m going to have to drink this more to get my rating, but its certainly a fascinating blend.

Good day, Steepies! Today I’m hitting up one of my Quarter To Tea samples as a nice little break from the things I’m actually supposed to be doing. (I hoard my samples and deploy them as pick-me-ups as needed.) Reviewing teas is a nice little counterpoint to my day.

Today’s victim — er, topic of discussion — is a maple vanilla Earl Grey.

Which this tea totally nails.

If you wanted
a) maple
b) vanilla
and
c) bergamot

You would swiftly locate
a) maple
b) vanilla
and
c) bergamot.

If you blindfolded me and asked me what to call this, I’d call it that exact thing.

So now the operative question for you, Dear Reader, is: do you like those ingredients? I certainly do. That’s why I purchased this tea.

I’m pretending right now that I’m in Canada watching a mountie on a moose amble by. (I think they ride horses. But shush.) I am eating a pancake in a diner. The waitress is a curvy lady with fake red hair and perfect lipstick application. She calls me “hon.” The sun is rising over the maple leaves, and I feel a sense of optimism.

Whoops! I thought I had done a review for this tea…total blond moment….I’ve bought so much tea these last few months that its hard to keep track.

Anyways…I am super picky about Eg blends…I mean I’ll willingly try out samples, but buying more then that it has to both unusual and fantastic.

So far this is managing to be both.

I’ve been twitching for the next order to arrive. It has, and the packaging is nice and airtight. Thank you Lauren!

Now, this tea. It is very nice and definitely an Earl Grey. It’s also pretty fruity. The Bergamot is powerful….very powerful…too powerful. I had to seal it in my drawer for the odious forces seeping out of the bag were creeping into its brothers and sisters. There it shall lay, dormant until I release it again for my consumption.

I really want Penny Dreadful to come out soon….

Anyway, back to the tea. Bergamot and malt lead on. Maple follows in the rooibos and in the black tea in a very sweet way. The Vanilla comes in last, and nicely does so. I really like this flavor combo and this is a bergamot lovers tea. It is a little bit astringent and it certainly is more of an English Tea (I know-I know-Tea is really from China, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, and a few other places). Most of Lauren’s teas are the kind that you want to add cream and sugar too, and this one needs to be strong in order to hold up to the sweeteners. The rooibos actually makes this a little woodsier and more citric. Rooibos Earl Greys are usually like orange extract anyway. That’s my only real deterrent from the rooibos though. Luckily at a teaspoon, it holds up nicely and it is sweet and smooth enough at least for me to drink straight.

In the end, my only criticism is that it’s a bit on the stronger side for me. Otherwise, I love the flavor.

I received this as a free sample with my first order from A Quarter to Tea. This isn’t necessarily something I would have ordered for myself, but it’s tasty! The base tea is smooth and light, really letting the flavorings shine through. The bergamot is strong, but not overpowering. The vanilla flavoring is surprisingly natural and brings a nice creaminess and the maple adds sweetness and depth. I found it enjoyable plain and even better with a splash of milk. This order is off to a good start!

Maple hit first, followed up by bergamot. The second steeping stands up well with a smooth vanilla finish. A very enjoyable cup.

I think I might enjoy it more with a more body-ful tea base.

I love EG, so I had to pick one of the QTT’s EG’s to try. This one seemed the most unique. This is good. Nothing crazy fancy. When Lauren says their is a punch of Bergamont she is not lying. As it cools I get a slight hint of sweetness and maybe cinnamon? I think I would have to drink it right next to a straight EG to notice substantial differences between a normal EG and this. Not my favorite from QTT, but not bad.

A crackpot idea that turned out so, so surprisingly good!

It’s a punch of bergamot and then the maple and vanilla sneak up on you. Super sweet , lingering finish.