Earl Grey Lavender

This is a really tasty Earl Grey. The bergamont is pretty firm and natural unlike my Coffee Bean Direct Earl Grey which smells/tastes like soap. Even at 4 minutes I didn’t taste any bitterness at 1tsp per cup. The un-steeped smell is out of this world and the lavendar really gives it that extra kick that the normal Rishi Earl Grey I think is lacking. I’m totally on the scented (blue flower, lavendar, etc) Earl Grey bandwagon!

So this is a free sample that was included in my recent Rishi order, which was mostly just to get the cute glass teapot recommended by LuckyMe. I threw in 3 tea samples to reach the free shipping threshold, and then they also included this bonus sample.

Now, I don’t really like lavender most of the time, but I’m giving this a fair shot.

It’s okay. It’s not the worst thing ever. Really the lavender isn’t that strong, but even so I’m not a fan. I think it’s because bergamot can already read as somewhat floral and perfumey to me, and the addition of the lavender just takes it to a perfume/soap place.

It would probably be fine as a latte, but I think I’d rather just move the rest of the sample to my rehoming box and add it to a TTB where someone else can enjoy it.

After a long day at the Chinese consulate waiting on visa paperwork I came home and put the kettle on to give this one a go. Brewed it up with some honey and milk. I don’t know if it’s the exhaustion from finals week talking but this is one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.

I don’t usually enjoy earl grey blends but the lavender calms down the bergamot. It has much less of a citrus bite which makes it a silky smooth tea. If you dig floral notes this is the one for you. Delicious!

’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #37
I knew just by the sight of these leaves that it would be a nice one. It looks like the leaves were picked in an elf forest or something! All twisty and different colors… well, tea colors, not rainbow colors. I’ve tried a couple Earl Lavenders lately, and this is my favorite. All of the elements fit together. The black tea is the perfect base, the lavender is the right strength. I just could have used more bergamot, but what is there adds a lovely brightness. This is the second tea I’ve tried from Rishi this week and I love them! I’m taking the last couple of teaspoons of this out of the teabox.

From the HHTTB2

This is a pretty good Earl Grey. There’s lots of bergamot and lots of lavender. The two flavors are well balanced against each other, but they are both so strong that I can’t taste the base tea. I can say there was no bitterness to my cup, and the tea was very smooth. I just wish the tea itself had more of a presence.

A nice full bodied flavour. The lavender is not overwhelming and the bergamot is subtle. I steeped for 4 minutes and added a little milk. It was a good cup of tea.

I absolutely love the taste of lavender and yet it is a surprisingly rare flavor to come by in foods and drinks. Short of buying a bottle of lavender bitters or using dried lavender itself to flavor other foods, there aren’t many options out there for lavender lovers. This tea from Rishi is exactly what I wanted, and, not to discredit other people’s reviews, but unless you think lavender just tastes soapy in general, there is nothing soapy about this tea. The lavender scent is strong, but the flavor is delicate. It pairs wonderfully with the bergamot and both are equally pronounced.

There is no bitterness to this tea, though I specifically bought this to use as an iced tea and I sweeten it with simple syrup, so that may make a difference as opposed to preparing it hot. I used the suggestions on the package of 1 tablespoon of tea per 8 oz of water, steeping for 4 minutes and it was perfect. Since I made it iced though, I actually used half the amount of hot water and the same amount of leaf, that way when I iced it down immediately after brewing some of the ice melted and diluted it to the right consistency.

At the time of writing this review, this tea is also certified organic, so that’s a plus.

This tea was given to me as a present and although I am not usually a huge fan of floral teas, this one is nicely balanced with lavender and bergamot. I still have at least a few cups of this tea left and I have a feeling it will grow on me and possibly become a permanent part of my cupboard for those days that I want something a bit different.

This is an organic black tea from China that I found to be a strong tea with more floral flavors than other Earl Greys. I did enjoy this tea and next time I think I might steep a minute less then 4.

Strong, with a floral punch of lavender. Not delicate by any means, the first steep was a bit overpowering but I’m hoping the second time around the taste will be more grounded. Overall, a good Earl Grey!