TE13: Chocolate Earl Grey

Have I mentioned that LiberTEAS spoils me!? :P

This smells AWESOME! It’s pure chocolate and Earl Grey! WOW! Just what I had HOPED it would smell like! Or…in my case…orange chocolate/Earl Grey-ish even! YAY!

I’m just finishing up the infusion…
I’m told I need to try 2 infusions with this so I will – here’s what I found with the first one…

The aroma changes completely after infusion is complete. It’s still pleasant but not as awesome…I guess you could say. I can’t pick out each flavor like before. This doesn’t bother me too much because this often happens with flavored teas – as you know.

It’s infuses very dark brown and has a bit of cloudiness to it…I am assuming from the sugary-chocolate bits.

The taste is different but very good. I would say I can taste the cocoa type taste first then it quickly changes into a chocolate…so almost first being hot cocoa taste but then more of a chocolate bar taste. From there you can taste the black tea but then quickly changes into more of a bergamot and chocolate type taste. It ends more of a chocolaty-black tea flavored taste. Thru-out the entire sip it’s very smooth and the flavor changes intrigue me.

This is the first cup in a long time I have had to think about it with each sip (more than just a few sips, that is)

This one kept my attention going strong the entire time.

I continue to type and think as I write this…

As it cools at room temp for a few mins I can taste a chocolate-woodsy-black tea type taste for the after taste more. This certainly isn’t a bad thing (in my book).

Again, very smooth and creamy thru-out the cup!

This tea is much like an adventure! I like it!

Oh this tea, the tea I want to love but never quite lives up to my expectations. It is neither chocolatey enough or bergamotty enough for me, and those jasmine flowers listed in the ingredients always tease me but never deliver. Actually now that I brew it at 4 minutes it’s probably chocolatey enough, but I want more of a sense I’m drinking an Earl Grey, not just a chocolate tea with some lemony citrus. Nevertheless, it’s still a perfectly decent cup of tea, and I have no problem drinking it. I just had such high hopes for it!

Another goodie from my Upton order!! The scent of the tea reminds me so much of the Chocolate Oranges you can find around Christmas and I LOVE those! The taste is initially chocolate with the orangey bergamot not far behind. The lemon is a nice addition also because it helps the bergamot from being overdone (which I don’t usually mind, but it would bother many). I’m getting more citrus in the flavor than chocolate but it ends up being a nice twist on an Earl Grey without losing the fact that this is an Earl Grey tea.

I’m going to buck the trend for this one. I’m just not in love with it. In fact, I really just think it qualifies as only okay. The dry leaves look and smell divine but the actual tea is just a miss for me. It’s just not enough – not enough tea flavor, not enough chocolate flavor, not enough Earl Grey flavor. It’s not bland or flavorless (even though I don’t think it has enough of at least three different flavors), it’s just not bold enough. I have a feeling this falls in the same category as Tea Etc’s Rosy Earl Grey. Lots of fans but just sort of okay for me.

My second infusion of these leaves was a different cup entirely! I now taste more of the citrus-y flavors. And the bergamot! The chocolate has developed into a savory cacao flavor rather than the sweet chocolate flavor that I experienced with the first infusion.

Both infusions are very delicious… and I think the fact that the two infusions are so different from one another makes this tea even more enchanting, so I am therefore raising the numeric rating just a bit!

Wow. This is my first Upton tea that I’m really, really enjoying… and I almost sent it off to someone without trying it!

Strongly scented of bergamot, as most EGs are, just out of the bag. Steeped it smells more chocolatey than anything. The taste is quite luxurious… creamy, chocolate with a hint of bergamot in there only slightly, and even after some Truvia was added. Added to shopping list!

When I pulled think out of the chest of wonders (Upton box), I thought, “why would someone put these two together!?” The taste was an awesome surprise. I feel like I have an Earl grey tea, heavy on lemon, that I dropped a Hershey bar into. The flavors all play together so politely. No huge clashes for me to wade through. I enjoy this, but not enough to give it some prime real estate in my cupboard.

Thank you mrawlins2 for sharing this awesome tea with me. Smooth earl grey, throw in a little chocolate (couldn’t hurt) and tada the perfect EG for me:) Wonderful choice to close out this busy day:)

Tea no. 3 in the Upton Earl Grey sampler. It’s called Earl Grey Chocolate on the sampler label but has the same catalog number as Chocolate Earl Grey.

I’ve been looking forward to this, as I am at least a 200 on a scale of 1-10 in terms of chocolate fanaticism.

I must admit to being somewhat baffled by the all the variations on the Earl Grey theme. Seems to me at some point it ceases to be Earl Grey and starts being something else, but perhaps I’m just old school. Of all the variations, this is the most puzzling to me so far. But that’s probably only because I haven’t come across marzipan-halvah-cookies-’n-cream-melba-toast-pineapple-lime-spaghetti-mutton flavored Earl Grey yet.

This is a very colorful, pretty blend: yellow, green, blue, tan and brown/black. I love anything with cornflowers in it as that shade of blue is so calming and beautiful. It smells strongly of cocoa, and the cocoa has a mint-like lilt to it which defies explanation by the ingredients. The undercurrent of the tea, by contrast, smells almost coffee-like. I am getting nothing in the bergamot or lemon department.

But after steeping, there is both lemon and bergamot in the aroma, along with unsweetened cocoa (that still has that interesting minty-upswing). The taste is very strongly of the cocoa. As with the creme vanilla variety, the bergamot’s role seems mostly to be to corral the cocoa to some extent. The lemon actually seems to be the stronger citrus note here, and seems to be helping the bergamot with the task of keeping the cocoa from turning this into a single note tea. Interestingly, the bergamot hopped onto my tongue a few minutes after my last sip and sat there for about a minute before scurrying away.

Fortunately I have more of this so I can play with it some. Right now I’m in that place where I like the idea of this tea more than I probably like the tea itself. But the idea is so interesting, I really want it to knock my socks off. Right now it’s not doing that; it’s not striking me as that much different from a pretty standard chocolate flavored tea. I’m wondering if steeping 4 minutes would make a difference. Perhaps milk and sweetener would as well.

That said, I haven’t tried any other Chocolate Earl Greys, so there isn’t one I’d choose instead of this. Nor can I say this is signficantly better than any others. It’s either this one or nothing for me right now, and for that reason I’m giving it a default very good rating.

I can not believe that it is almost May.
I feel like I have already lived through a year, with everything that has happened to me so far this year.
Especially, with my health.
More things have occurred, and I keep waiting for my brain to catch up.
I told my Hubby the other day, I guess this is the year of finding out whats wrong and finding solutions.
Part of me is relieved.
I have not felt well for awhile now, and to have someone tell me, that yes, there is something wrong with you.
Well, it meant I was not crazy after all.
Anyway,my days are filled with work, doctor’s appointments and other typical errands.
But, I still make time for tea.
This morning, I decided that I wanted to try this tea.
Chocolate and Earl Grey for a Monday. Sounds perfect.
I was surprised to see all the other items in the tea tin with the dry leaf.
Chocolate chunks and orange peel and flowers.
Smelled tasty though.
The tea is actually quite yummy.
I was afraid the chocolate would over power my beloved bergamot, but it does not, in fact it almost compliments the bergamot.
I am usually not a fan of messing with my earl, I like him strong and a little rough.
But, this Earl is quite nice, and I would not mind indulging in him now and than.
Happy Monday, Folks!