Earl's Paradise

Sipdown! Last cup’s worth of this yesterday evening. Bluebird’s taster packets really are generous — I feel like I’ve been drinking this one for ages! That’s a good thing, because now I’ve worked out how best to prepare this, I’ve come to really love it. My trouble at first was developing the strawberry flavour without over-steeping and getting an astringent base. I finally found an optimum point at around 3.5 minutes, and I didn’t look back from there. I know adding milk to earl grey is a little bit perverse, but I have been with this one. Somehow, it just seems to bring out the creamy strawberry-ness, which is otherwise more or less overpowered by bergamot. Definitely one I’d consider repurchasing, especially in the summer. Great work, Bluebird!

The hubby is home but frozen to the bone and in dire need of a ‘cuppa’. We usually brew Earl Grey to share (it’s our favourite) but tonight’s pot is a twist on the classic. I don’t recall ever trying an Earl Grey with strawberry, papaya or lime before so I have no idea what to expect.

The blend has an amazing strong bergamot and sweet fruit (strawberry being dominant) aroma. Also the fruit pieces look a nice juicy red and yellow colours that add an aesthetically pleasing tea.

Once brewed this tea is burnt orange in colour with a sweet fruity yet dark aroma. The first few sips reveal an interesting Earl Grey blend. You can still taste the classic black tea and bergamot partnership but this also has sweet fruitiness and a rather tropical feel. The kind of Earl Grey I could imagine drinking on my own tropical desert island surrounded by bliss. It has a fair strength and remains smooth with it.

Overall it’s a very pleasant tea that any Earl Grey drinker would enjoy. There are enough classic notes to make even the most sophisticated drinker happy but enough sweet fruity notes to put a smile on the faces of those that like to ride on the wild side. :)

I had this at work the other day, my last sample from Bluebird Tea Co (boohooo).

I wish I would have thought to bring some of my Davidstea’s Earl’s Garden, because I really like that one, and the two blends are definitely similar.

Unfortunately, (but not really) I did get distracted when drinking this when a coworker who had to leave work a month or two ago due to a cancer diagnosis came in for a visit, I hadn’t seen him since he left work abruptly and it was awesome to see him again.

By the time i got back to my tea I had to finish it cold…. I really did enjoy it though! I would order a small amount to try it again and compare the two. I would have to figure out if they’re different enough to justify having them both. The ingredients are slightly different.

I regret not being able to really pay attention when drinking this one, but…. Not really, given the circumstances :)

Thank you again, Bluebird Tea Co!

I needed an Earl this morning! This blend sounded amazing when I requested some samples from Bluebird. Strawberry, lime, papaya, jasmine, bergamot?? Sadly, this isn’t a tough black tea and it didn’t have much of a bergamot flavor either. I’d say the first hints are strawberry. There really isn’t much of a fruit addition to the blend (pretty much the same as the picture), so I’m not sure how much flavor would be possible from a few tiny pieces of fruit anyway. The black tea doesn’t have much flavor to begin with. This is nice, but not enough of a kick in the morning. It isn’t my favorite from Bluebird. I’m glad I don’t love ALL of their blends though… I would want to order them all!!

I liked this! It’s like a nice earl grey with some sweet fruitiness. Thanks for the sample, Bluebird!!

I asked to try a sample of this in the notes of my last order, and they very kindly sent me some – yay! The bergamot scent here is super strong, and I get a lot of it in the flavor too. I end up feeling a little neutral toward this one. It’s quite perfumey, but tastes decent with sugar and milk. I wouldn’t choose it over an EG creme, but it was very fun to try. I did get a little strawberry in my last sip with tons of perfume flavor.

Decided to make a cup of this one when I saw that Bird & Blend is discontinuing it next month. My last note didn’t give it high praise, I think it said it was too light, so I doubled up and did 2 teaspoons to see if I could get more flavor. It does have more flavor, but it’s also bitter. Ultimately, I think I’ll be able to do without this one.

#tiffanys2021sipdown Tea #109 overall / Tea #25 for March / #drinkwhatyou own February 9/25

Mon 3/22/21 — Bird and Blend (back when they were Bluebird) Earl’s Paradise. When I get 20-gram samples from this company (they are very generous with samples whether requested or not, but I’ve been buying from this company since 2016(?) so I have a large collection of their teas) I use them for a cold brew pitcher. I am not an earl grey fan but this one is nice enough. Not something I’d keep on hand, but I enjoyed the pitcher the last few days. I did kind of gulp last third of pitcher down before work just to get pitcher empty for next tea inside.

#tiffanydrinkstea #tiffanys2021 #tiffanysfaves #tiffanyinthe614 #tiffanysteasipdown #sipdownchallenge

I switched to this after realising my mam had, once again, thrown out the tea leaves I was planning to resteep. Sigh. It was a Butiki tea, too, so I feel cheated.

The base here can be quite astringent, and it was today as I forgot to set my timer while steeping. I added milk to counteract the astringency, and it does help but also muted the fruity flavours. I’ll have to remember to cold steep this some time, I think it would be an excellent candidate! The strawberry is more dominant than the bergamot, which creeps up behind it, and the papaya lingers last after the strawberry fades, and is the softest. I’d like it to be brought out more, even though I do enjoy the strawberry EG I’m getting for the most part, so I’ll have to play with the steeping parameters and see if I can get it to come out more. Maybe a little sugar would help.

Had this one as my first cuppa today; clearly last night’s mug of DT’s Earl’s Garden got me in the mood for this type of profile!! Honestly though, the similarities between the two blends was uncanny and I can’t help but feel that was definitely the point when this tea was conceptualized (no shade though). I mean, even the name is SO CLOSE!!

That said, it’s delicious – bright and sweet juicy strawberries paired with an aromatic and citrus heavy bergamot. Medium to full bodied, and really Spring/Summer feeling. The major difference is really that this is more floral (from the jasmine, probably). You still get a nice black tea profile with malt and tannin!

Since DT’s Earl’s Garden blend is long gone, this would be the perfect substitution for fans of that tea who are sad they can’t get it anymore.