I saw Teapigs boxes at the grocery, so since I’m a tea hog, I figured, “Why not?” In truth, I was surprised at how pricey they were, relative to other grocery store fare, but I decided to see whether the quality matches the price and the hype in the marketing text. To be honest, I was neither impressed nor intrigued by their blanket denunciation of all China blacks in the description on the box. Obviously, the powers that be at Teapigs have never tried Golden Monkey! But that’s another story…
Darjeeling Earl Grey. This was a first for me, and a happy one. I happen to like darjeeling, but I don’t believe that I’ve ever had a straight-up darjeeling scented with bergamot—or much of anything, come to think of it. I like both darjeeling and bergamot, and Earl Grey as a genre of tea. The big surprise here was to find an Earl Grey which I have no reason whatsoever to douse with cream. I drank this glass au naturel, and it was smooth and satisfying. I’ll add this to my list of no-cream-necessary Earl Greys, which includes now Darjeeling Earl Grey and Harney & Sons Earl Grey White.