Earl Grey Lavender

This one is a nice lavender earl grey to drink with milk. I also often over-steep it and it isn’t a problem. A lot of Adagio’ black base teas don’t seem to be nearly as forgiving as this one. I still need to try it as a London Fog at some point.

A friend brought some of this by today. I didn’t expect much out of it and was happily surprised by a great cup. The berg is a little on the sharp side, but not by much and the lavender is pretty apparent. If I wasn’t so in love with Zhi tea’s Violet Femme, I’d probably pick some of this up.

I bought this tea as “Lavender Earl Grey” from The Angry Tea Room some time ago. This is one of my favorite Earl Grey blends. I used to hate bergamot, but once I adapted my palate to its flavor, I initially was most interested in EG blends, that would take the edge off it slightly by including a few other flavors to play with, and since I love lavender, this seemed a good fit for me. Even better, this blend also incorporated the typical “Earl Grey Creme” vanilla and creme flavorings.

The leaf smells heavenly; the bergamot and vanilla remind me of a lemon meringue or key lime pie, because it is so citrusy but desserty at the same time, and there is a sweet, slightly minty lavender aroma that mixes beautifully with that sweet citrus scent.

The warm cup is lovely; a lot of lavender teas I try are either too heavy-handed on the lavender, so it comes out with a sort of floral-bitterness, or way too light on the lavender, so you don’t really taste its flavor at all. This one has just the right balance. The base tea is nice and dark but the astringency is quite mild compared to most Earl Greys I’ve tried (which I appreciate!), and there is this nice blend of bergamot and lavender flavors that hit the tongue mid-sip, with the lavender lingering a touch in the aftertaste. Occassionally the creme notes come through on the roof of my mouth; it’s a subtle note, and I think it mostly pulls back the base from having that strong bite that I often get in Earl Greys; this one is much more smooth.

I enjoy this plain, but the flavor is just perfect to take London Fog style as a latte with vanilla almond milk. It adds a delightful creaminess and the vanilla almond milk pushes the vanilla and creme notes to the forefront a bit.

This tea makes a fantastic iced Arnold Palmer, which is how I’ve prepared it today. I made a strong brew of four tsp. to two cups water, hot brewed, which I mixed with two cups lemonade, and then let the tea chill in the fridge overnight before drinking. It is divine! The sweet vanilla/creme note still comes through as a sort of natural sweetness to the iced tea, and the lavender and bergamot are such complimentary flavors to the citrus of the lemonade. I could drink this stuff all summer! Easily one of the best iced teas I’ve had yet.

This is just such a versatile tea that can be enjoyed so many ways in many different weather conditions. I plan to always keep it in my cupboard.

Lovely tea for the afternoon! The bergamot and lavender blend very nicely!

In this lavender tea lavender is definitely present all the time, when I first opened the bag, steeped it and tasted it. Lavender and bergamot go together soooo well. I love it! I will probably reach for it often. My only complaint is that the tea itself is black, I’d rather have green, white or herbal tea blend but this is the best lavender tea that I’ve tasted. This makes me wanna make my own lavender blend from the green bergamot tea I have at home, might do.

During college, I had a waxing interest in the Steampunk subculture– not to the point where I wore Steampunk-inspired garb– but I did have a handful of Steampunk bands loaded onto my iPod. Abney Park was my favorite. I also frequented Steampunk blogs, and it was through them that I discovered a webcomic called Wondermark by David Malki !. The comic wasn’t really Steampunk, although it did make the occasional reference. For the most part though, I would describe it as modern-day pop culture and political references set against a backdrop of old, Victorian-era scenes. I would also describe it as hilarious, which is why I yanked Wondermark vol. 2: Clever Tricks to Stave Off Death from the shelf and added it to my nearly toppling stack of library books.

When I returned home, I had a brilliant idea to brew myself a cup of Adagio’s Earl Grey Lavender tea to enjoy alongside an old favorite. You may not think so, but Earl Grey Lavender was a daring choice. Prior to this weekend, I had tried brewing myself Earl Grey Lavender three different time, and all three times it was undrinkable– bitter and overly perfume-y and more appropriate for the drain than my taste buds. But, ever the optimist, I decided to give Earl Grey Lavender once last try, and I’m glad I did. I have a bad habit of “eyeballing” a tablespoon, so this time I actually used measuring spoons– one rounded tablespoon for about 8 oz of water. Just by reducing the amount of tea leaves and time to steep the leaves, I somehow brewed the perfect cup. I finished off the cup with some sugar, and when I took my first sip, I was immediately transported to an English garden in early summer, where red Trumpet Honeysuckle climbs up trellises, the pink and purple, bell-shaped blossoms of Foxgloves and Canterbury Bells are in full bloom, and a light breeze carries the scent of lavender with it.

I then proceeded to make myself two more mugs of Earl Grey Lavender while finishing up Wondermark vol. 2, which was, as I suspected, still hilarious.

Tastes like the Earl Grey Moonlight but with the heady floral notes that only lavender can provide so strongly. It’s hard to get my senses around since I’m really not that much a lavender person (though I do love lavender cookies when they’re available). It’s uplifting, creamy, sweet, moody but flavorful and the bergamot (which I usually detest) behaves.

If you’re looking for an Earl Grey with only a bit of lavender, this is not your cup of tea. When I first tried this tea, I was overwhelmed by the amount of lavender. However, once I put the thought aside that this is supposed to be an Earl Grey, I was able to appreciate this tea on its own. I prefer it with a lot of sugar and milk, but it is good plain as well. I will probably not get this tea again, but only because I’d rather use lavender flowers and a regular Earl Grey to control how much lavender is going into the blend.

Love this blend! This is my go-to when I’m making royal milk tea. Tastes great with all the milk and sugar, really warms you up on a cold winter day. Perfect for afternoons, a little bit too flowery for mornings.

Ever smelled Lush’s Twilight bath bomb? This is the tea version. It’s absolutely delicious. Really bold bergamot, balanced nicely with the lavender and subtle vanilla.