Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey

The aroma is pleasant but not overpowering at all. It’s a more perfume-type EG taste. The Black Tea is a medium-strong taste and the Bergamot is more of an afterthought but a nice addition. As far as that ‘normal’ Earl Grey taste I would say it’s a little less than medium strength but overall it’s a really nice, tasty cuppa! Especially for a bagged EG! This is decent, indeed!

This tea has possibly one of the most well-described packages I have ever seen. The single teabag package reads: “Hamstead Tea, London. Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey with aromatic bergamot. 1 staple-free teabag.”

Wow, that is quite a mouthful. I personally do not know anyone who buys teabags who is also concerned about saving some metal, but by the look of the string attached to the teabag, it makes me wonder why more teabag-producers do not follow this. It seems that Hamstead has implemented an easy way to do away with stables entirely. But how about the tea itself?!

The packaging recommends 3-5 minutes for steeping. The last earl grey that I tried oversteeped even with low steep times, so I boil some water and decide to go for the lower end here with 3 minutes of infusion. While I will admit that I am not big on bagged tea, this tea smells quite good, dry in the bag. A hint of orange provides a nice aroma. The steeping tea gives off a pleasant bergamot aroma. The first sip confirms that 3 minutes was a perfect amount of steeping, unless you prefer your tea stronger. For a bagged tea, this is pretty smooth, but it lacks a bit in the flavor profile and strength. This is definitely a quality bagged tea. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 65/100.

I’m not a big Earl Grey fan, but this tea was surprisingly good. Well balanced with a distinct but not overwhelming note of bergamot.

This Earl Grey contains the freshest, strongest bergamot I’ve ever smelled/tasted! It may well be the nicest overall Earl Grey I’ve ever tried. For fans of extra-citrusy teas, this one is a good choice.