Versailles Lavender Earl Grey

I love lavender. Half of the houses on my block have a big bush growing in the front yard, so everything smells of it in summer. It’s a smell I associate both with childhood and with sophistication, since it’s French and thus fancy (or at least my kid brain thought so!). Of course I love lavender tea, especially when combined with earl grey whose citrusty notes seem to balance out lavender’s floral nature well.

This blend is pretty heavy on the lavender, which personally I love. It’s very floral and rich, but you can still taste the bergamot and tea base. My favorite of the lavender greys I have tried by far!

Sipdown!

This is going into my swap out box. I was fairly sure that i wouldn’t enjoy this as it’s both earl grey AND lavender but i’m open to trying new things :) It has a really nice start to the tea..but then the lavender comes out of nowhere and ruins it. I am REALLY not a fan of lavender.

However, if you are a fan of lavender or early grey…you might really enjoy this tea.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml

Maple syrup or marshmallow-like sweetness. Lavender is stronger than the bergamot but I enjoy the balance of the two. No excessive astringency.

Thanks to Sil for sharing with me!

This tea is wonderful. The lavender is very strong in this one. It complements the citrus tones from the earl grey very well. I like to drink this tea in the morning as a relaxing wake-up!

My second cup of Earl Grey from ETS today. Had it with a little sugar, maybe a little more sugar than I usually have with my tea.

The bergamot was not as strong as the lavender taste, I love lavender but it almost seemed like too much lavender (I guess there is such a thing) and there seemed to be something else other than tea, bergamot and lavender in this tea, I can’t put my finger on it.

Next time I have this tea I think I will mix it with either regular or double bergamot Earl Grey to balance out the lavender that dominates this tea.

Ok, so another new tea!

I’ve made my point very clear about wanting to try all the Earl Grey I can acquire, so when I saw this on ETS, I had to get some. I only got a sample, but I’m happy to say that English Tea Store samples are fairly decent sized! So yay!

Right off the bat, you can smell a heavy floral from this in the dry leaf. I mean SERIOUS floral! The brewing instructions on the bag are pretty vague, so I made it like a normal Earl Grey, 205F/2:30/2tsp/16oz

The aroma of tea is also floral. I’m eager to try this once it cools a bit, I love a floral tea. Taste without sweetener is… mmm, that’s good. The black tea base is present, but not powerful or overwhelming, and certainly not bitter. The bergamot is lovely, without being biting. And that lavender! The balance of flavors is nice here, and I really don’t want to add my usual sweetener to this, I’m loving it that much. It’s not sweet, mind you. Not by a long shot. But the lovely blend of florals is so delicious.

So what’s the final word? This is extremely floral. I know I keep using that word, but I cannot emphasize this enough. It’s not floral like the last one I tried (Kyoto Cherry Rose) which tasted like perfume. This is a balanced floral, strong, but not fake tasting. However, if you aren’t a fan of strong floral flavor, avoid this. You probably won’t like it. But if you are like me and have a need to ‘eat a bouquet’ now and then, go for it. It’s lovely and I think once the sample runs out, I will have to get a full-sized packet of this.

Good stuff.