Saint Isaac's Blend TE06

Tea of the afternoon…..

I think this one kind of reminds me of Lady Grey and Fortnum & Mason’s Countess Grey. It is a brighter citrus take on Earl Grey for sure. For some reason, I thought it would be smokey, but I was wrong. I might consider buying this one when my tin of Countess Grey is depleted, but it is just too similar.

Steeped by the usual parameters.

This tea smelled amazing. I could detect the bergamot loud and clear. Upton Teas says that “artificial flavoring” is included. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps more citrus and maybe some smoky grapefruit? The tea itself is just “aight” as Randy Jackson might say. There’s nothing wrong with it at all, but that spectacular aroma set me up with greater expectations than Pip ever had.

Saint Isaac’s Blend turns out to be a very serviceable Earl Grey. Not a bad one by anymeans, but the dry aroma just does not translate into the steeped tea. It’s a nicey, but not a greaty.

This is interesting. It is a good tea but tastes kind of heavy, like the Taylors of Harrogate version. It does it has good flavors but very subtle bergamot. (I could be imagining this but it might seem like I can get a taste of Bohea – maybe because it has smokiness to it or maybe the tumbler wasn’t cleaned well.) Overall, very good for a new Earl Grey – I would put it up near some of the better ones and would say this could be a good standby Earl Grey. It continues to grow on me the more I drink.

Great blend with just enough Bergamot to give it another layer of complexity. I think most Earl Grey blends have too much Bergamot to overshadow a lesser quality of tea. This has pretty much replaced Earl Grey in our house.

Just received this tea along with 5 other 15 gram satchels from Upton! My girlfriend and I decided to test this one out in tandem. I tried mine plain, while she added milk and sugar. Results are as follows:

Milk and Sugar turned the drink into a candied treat bringing out the bergamont flavors. While plain, one could admire the black tea taste itself which was interestingly Smokey.

Both were good, but I desired a middle path. Next day I did just that but chose to steep it a minute shorter to see what else I could taste. This process left me with the citrus notes. The more I drank it the more I could taste grapefruit.

So far so good, I particularly like how easy it is to taste the described flavors. All it takes is a little experimenting.

Still trying to decide if I really like Earl Grey tea. At first, I did not care for the black tea base, but as this cools it is better. Would I buy this tea again, the jury is still out on that note. The bergamont is not too much, but it is there. I can taste the grapefruit notes and can’t decide if I really like it…

The citrus aroma is very nice. There is mainly bergamot with some lemon notes. It has a really good citrus flavour too. This is a new favourite afternoon tea.

Certainly a good tea on snowy winter days.

Mmm, I enjoyed this one! Steeped a big cup of it this morning, and it was wonderfully strong. I almost couldn’t detect the smoke, it was so subtle. The bergamot was subtle too, and I didn’t notice any grapefruit flavor, but I was in a hurry so I probably just overlooked it. There was some astringency, pretty typical of a black tea. But it was smoother than I might have expected, given the thick mouthfeel. I’m anxious to try this tea again in the near future, when I can take more careful notes. I suspect I might be stocking up on it, once I’ve finished the sample.

As a side note, I’ve been curious to try Russian-style teas like this one for a while now. Between this and Upton’s Finest Russian Caravan, I think I might be a fan! They’re strong and dark and have a slightly smoky depth. No overwhelming campfire taste, just nice black tea that I bet will taste even better when winter comes around.

I seriously loved this tea. It made my morning! When I first smelled it, I noticed the grapefruit, and then when I steeped it, I noticed the slight smokiness. Really smooth and balanced to taste. Earls are my favorite, and this was a special one. I always can tell if I love something when I cradle the cup in my hands and savor it, even if it’s a styrofoam cup at work. I didn’t want to drink the last of this, because we don’t have any more, but I’ve added it to my wish list. Thanks, Cavo!

Russian style, pretty good