Earl Grey

Per Alicia’s suggestion and an enjoyable one at the B&N yesterday, I decided to try to make a London Fog with A&D’s Earl Grey tonight after a yummy dinner of Indian food. I knew it was late but it sounded good and seemed like it would go good after Indian.

I made the Earl Grey as I normally would and added heated milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. I didn’t think it tasted right at first. I could taste everything, but it was off. Too little Earl Grey, too much milk. As it cooled, it got better. I think next time I could steep the tea much stronger and use less milk. But I liked it and there will be a next time.

1 cup Earl Grey tea, 1/4 cup heated milk, 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, 1 rounded tsp sugar.

This Earl Grey is delightful. The more I drink it the more I am liking it. I still maintain that I prefer Lupicia’s Earl Grey… but, it certainly is NOT the worst I’ve ever had either. I find the bergamot in this tea to be quite remarkable as it possesses a fruitier flavor to it. Yes, I know that bergamot IS indeed a fruit… but my experience has been that bergamot possesses a very “fragrant” flavor that I can liken to a flowery quality (since flowers are fragrant). This bergamot is less flowery and more fruity. That is to say that while it is quite fragrant to the nose, it is less fragrant to the palate.

Eh… suffice is to say that I like it.

In yesterday’s mail, a card full of tea arrived from wonderful wombatgirl! Inside the card was written in large black letters

Tea.
Earl Grey.
Hot.

I of course got the HUGEST kick out of that, being an Earl Grey fan and a Picard fan :) The card is now on my desk here at work turned inside out so that the words show!!! I am so happy that I am getting to try A + D Damn Fine Earl Grey!!! :)

It is an absolutely delicious Earl. I love whatever bergamot they used, and the concentration is perfect! Not too much, not too little. I am absolutely crazy for the tea base! It balances so well with the bergamot – and adds a really great foundation. Anyone know what kind of tea was used?

I really didn’t want to like it as much as I do! Damn A + D and their Damn Fine Teas! Now I have to go and get series 3! SHEESH!

So, I finally got the Zarafina I ordered some time last century. (Or maybe the beginning of the month, I forget which.) It was very, very used. To the point where I was worried it would still work when I took it out of the box. But I got it all cleaned up, figured out how it all went together, and then thought about what I should baptize it with.

I decided that an Earl Grey would be good, and opening my cupboard, the A&D tea darn near fell on me. Right then. A&D Earl Grey it would be then.

So I looked at all the dials, read the instructions twice, and just jumped in. And it worked fine!

And the tea was good, as usual. Yummy. The bergamot was bold, the tea was lovely and just – YUM. I love this tea. If you like an Earl Grey that is loud and lovely, this is for you.

I am THIS CLOSE to giving up on the spoiler prevention about the 52teas christmas box! I haven’t got it yet. Iirc there was some delay in shipping around the time when I placed my order due to illness and that’s just too bad and can’t be helped. I’m not complaining about that. I just miss checking the dashboard and hearing from you lot.
(And to be honest, right now I’m rather more concerned about my Kusmi package which according to tracking has been delivered, so that must be the one that was misdelivered to a package pick-up place in Copenhagen (other side of the country from me) and is now apparently caught in limbo somewhere between Copenhagen and here, likely due to the very icy weather we’ve been having lately)

On top of that I’ve run into some annoyance just now. It’s recurring sort of annoyance and I ought to know by now to steer clear of it, because I know it’s going to be there. But I DO wish that some people could just let go of that unhealthy obsession instead of coming after anybody who supposedly ‘does it wrong’ all the time. It’s called ‘nagging’ and it’s not a positive thing to do. grump

So to cheer myself up and hopefully stave off the temptation to go through the dashboard, throwing myself in the arms of spoilers galore, I decided to make me a cup of tea. This also put me in a bit of a pickle because I was in a citrus mood, but not an oolong (Lemon Oolong from Nothing But Tea) or a pu-erh (Orange Pu-erh also from NBT) mood, and that just about concluded my current citrus-y choice.

Apart of course from this one. Well, it’s bergamot, so it’s citrus. But it’s totally not what I had in mind. Me thinks I should put some thought into researching my perfect orange flavoured black, or alternatively dark oolong. Leave me a comment with your favourite orange flavoured black or dark oolong (or other interesting citrus flavoured things), please!

In the meantime, however, His Lordship is a very satisfying cup this afternoon. He turned out a bit too dusty and floral this time, but at the same time providing all the things that I was really looking for. Except the orange, but I shall eat one later instead.

This is a tea I’ve wanted to try for a while, so I was excited to get a sample from Jillian! A while ago I was on a specific hunt for my perfect Earl Grey, but now I’ve settled more into just trying EGs when I get a chance. Nevertheless, this one was always on my list to try since a lot of people seem to be fans.

I couldn’t get a ton of aroma from the dry tea, but brewed it smells fantastic. The bergamot is strong and at the front, but it’s not really in your face. It’s also has an amazing depth of aroma that I can hardly believe bergamot is the only flavoring. It’s got a sweet, smooth smell that reminds me of an EG creme (but not overly so). The black tea base is present with a touch of pepper, but it seems to boost the bergamot instead of merely competing with it.

It tastes good, but it doesn’t quite live up to the aroma for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great EG, but I won’t be too sad that it’s limited edition because it doesn’t blow me away like I was expecting from the aroma. The initially flavor on the sip is a little flat; maybe I need to steep for longer? It doesn’t seem to be bitter at all, so I may experiment with that next time. Anyway, the flavor really blooms late in the sip and in the aftertaste, and it does stay fairly true to the notes in the aroma, but fainter. I just wish the whole sip could be like that! It is well balanced, with a black tea base that I enjoy and a citrusy bergamot note rounding it out. Thanks again Jillian, I’m glad I got to try it!

The bergamot is fresh and juicy – it made my tastebuds do a little happy dance. Oddly enough, about half way through my mug it started reminded me of a chocolate orange. Not at all a bad thing but certainly unexpected. Added a little sugar and milk and this is a super EG breakfast tea. Mmm.

Today did not get off to a good start, Steepsterites.

I set my alarm for 8am so that I could be up in time to welcome my couch, lovingly, when it was delivered ‘sometime between 10 and 2pm’. Showered. Dressed. Went downstairs to get tip money for the guys. Passing the front desk, the concierge says: “Sorry you missed your furniture delivery!”

?!?!

But they told me 10 and 2, I exclaim, flailing and looking (I am sure) generally aghast. I’m early!

“No, they were here yesterday,” he says.

Of course, yesterday I was out running errands and incommunicado, because I wanted to be sure my house was perfectly in order and prepared for my couch, for which I have been waiting for six months.

Sigh.

So instead of getting tip money at the market around the corner, I bought a chocolate toffee bar. Eff it, I tell you. Eff it all and give me candy.

I needed a tea that would stand up to a Skor bar. Earl Grey was the tea that got me interested in better quality (and loose) leaf. I love it, but I’ve strayed away from the perfumey stuff in recent months. Still, it sounded capable of cutting through the candy bar, and I’ve had this tin in my cupboard, untouched, for everrrrrr.

It’s an extremely bergamot-y tea. The scent of it is high and forward, but not bitter; there are times when Earl Grey’s bergamot tastes more floral to me than citrusy, but this cup is very much in the citrus end of the spectrum — possibly more than any I can recall. For all that it’s a very smooth cup, with no astringency even after four minutes in boiling-hot water. I think I’d enjoy it with a bit of milk and sugar (which is how I usually prefer my Earl Grey — I skipped it today because I don’t like to first rate a tea with additives).

It’s also not bad with the candy bar, though I think for the other half, I might switch things up and go with some Dawn.

Thanks LiberTEAs!!!!!
:P

This is the first time I have tried this one and once I opened up the travel size tin that LiberTEAS sent me I knew right away it was Earl Grey…no question about it. Smells JUST like Earl Grey should smell like . The taste is special and different tho. I mean, ANYONE can do an earl grey, right!? But what makes each one DIFFERENT is what I am interested in.

Here’s what’s DIFFERENT about this one and what makes it stand out – in my honest opinion…

Sure it has an INTENSE Earl Grey nose and I ass+u+me=ed it would be just as intensely on the tongue but it was SMOOTH. YES! An earl grey that TASTES smooth! The Black Tea is BOLD but the bergamot and other stereotypical earl grey notes that are usually overdone…aren’t…they AREN’T overdone!!! YAY! Most of the time when they are over done they seem to taste very fake and have funky lingers. (OH! “The Funky Lingers” wouldn’t that be a COOL name for a band!?) Anyhow…this is NICE…real tasting and smooth but still noticeably earl grey! YAY!

1 TB for 500mL water, no milk or sweetener.

I am not an Earl Grey fan. Sometimes I really want it. Most days I ignore it. Very much a mood thing with me. But when I do drink Earl Grey, I am horribly picky. So far, only two EGs, Numi Aged Earl Grey and Stash’s Earl Grey, have ever wowed me. Many, including Twinings, make me gag.

I ordered Series 3 — an Earl Grey, a Caravan, and a Jasmine Green — from Andrews & Dunham solely on the strenth of their Captain Assam’s High Seas Elixir and their really funny copywriting. And the labels. I freakin LOVE the labels.

I figured the Earl Grey would be one I’d give away as a Christmas gift. But nooooo, this evening, after an exhausting and almost fruitless workday (now entering hour 11 of same), I want Earl Grey. Hot. Diplomatic solution to Klingons off the port bow, the whole bit. Damn Fine, eh? Let’s check the mettle of your dilithum, then.

Warp core breach! In the best possible way. Smoooooooth black tea base, and a bergamot flavour the proves that bergamot is, in fact, a citrus fruit and not paint stripper. No bitterness, which is a lovely suprise; too many EGs used a crappy tea base that gets really bitter on its own and then further sours under the bergamot. Body is light — very pleasingly so — and but not weak. Liquor is about halfway between brass and copper. Fragrance is distinctive and delightful. Clean finish: the tea taste vanishes, but the bergamot haunts.

If you don’t already like Earl Grey, I doubt this will convert you, as it’s the Earl Grey-iest I’ve drunk in a long time. If you like Earl Grey, you really should try this one.