Bergamot Rose Laoshan Black

Bubble Bath Tea #2 – Enjoyed while drinking Robert Godden, aka the Devotea’s book, The Infusiast – Diatribes from the Devotea.
A fun bathtub read, filled with tea commentary, history, lore, what-have-you.

I walked into the office this morning and happened to look down at a package by the mail boxes. Before I even saw my name on it I saw Verdant’s, and I snatched it up! I had forgotten I got my tea sent to my office instead of my PO Box! Yes, my precious Bergamot Rose Laoshan Black, you are finally mine! Being away all summer I never got a chance to order this one, and when I came back it was out of stock, then David announced it was being discontinued! No!! But it came back in stock before being discontinued, whew, so I bought 4oz, which is a lot of tea for me to buy at one time. And I had never even tried it, that’s how much faith I have in David’s blending.

I tore into the pouch and oh my goodness it smells delicious. Mouth-wateringly good. Like bergamot and cookies and chocolate. It has a decidedly baked-good note to it that is familiar but I can’t quite place. No, wait! It smells like rosey bergamot chocolates. Like maybe a rose-bergamot fondant dipped in dark chocolate (now I totally want to make that, but I know my boyfriend wouldn’t like it because he’s not a fan of either flavor!).

Steeped, the bergamot and the rose definitely took a back seat. Now I smell the familiar Laoshan Black toasty chocolate notes. My first sip is decidedly rose and chocolatey. Definitely toasty grain notes, with some creamyish citrus lurking in the shadows. The bergamot in this one is extremely light, and the rose isn’t super strong either. There seems to be a reason this one isn’t called an Earl Grey, and I’d be lying if I didn’t wish for a bit more bergamot, but it’s still an extremely delicious and amazing tea. Glad I got a supply of it before it disappeared!

So, what I did to this tea tonight was completely unorthodox. But amazing.

I made a really simple tea soda.

I steeped 4 teaspoons of this in 8 oz of water for 4 minutes. Then I mixed that with 1 cup of sugar to make a simple syrup. And added about 2 tbsp of my syrup to club soda over ice.

So gooooood. It’s like a chocolatey rosey citrusy bubbly happiness. I honestly can’t believe how much the chocolate came through and how delightfully subtle the rose is. This is seriously the most decadent bubbly thing I’ve ever drank, and I love it.

My big tree came down today and it looked like the first phase of Spring cleaning.

One thing leads to another.

Then the wreath and garland came down from the mantle, the mantle got a good scrubbing…and the Pacific Northwest, Native American Art (which I love) got a cleaning before going back up.

The floor, carpet, side table with mini tree in the dining room were changed back into their former configuration before the Holidays,but with a scrub.

The tea’s I ‘could’ have had today, new tea’s that I got from some kind Steepster friends for Christmas and New Year’s, need my full attention. I’ll devote a day to each one next week (maybe sooner).

Before beginning my tasks this morning, when I rummaged around in my cupboard pushing packets aside looking for a bolt of lightning to strike me with inspiration,…I brilliantly picked this tea for a couple of reasons. It’s tasty (no brainer) and it reminds me of days gone by (sigh).
This tea is very romantic.
I was feeling nostalgic with delightful memories of Christmas’s past.
My Dad’s WWII Navy trunk (called a boot) has stored my best ornaments since 1967 including some from the 1920’s. It’s one of my treasures.

Some of the ornaments were created by my Grandmother (born in 1901) out of walnut halves…made into little beds with a tiny baby sleeping in it.
My mother made Victorian Lace ornaments with empty spools of thread. Red Glass Bells from my mother’s childhood are carefully wrapped in tissue. These are my treasures along with ornaments made by my children and myself which are wrapped and stored carefully in Dad’s old trunk.

Bergamot Rose Laoshan Black Tea has the black tea base that I’ve loved from the first time I sipped it, so rich with chocolate.
The floral, citrus bergamot adds elegance and a slight briskness.

Tea is able to help us pause with our memories if we take the time, and this tea was the perfect choice for me today. Cleaning up from the Holidays, remembering the past.

David sent me some of this and I must say the color of the contents blew me away! The Rose Petals are a purple red – vibrant and bold in both color and taste. I could see and smell the citrus contents and while sipping on this little gem KNEW there was more than ‘just orange’ within. Orange AND grapefruit? AWESOME! The black tea base, which I LOVE and have reviewed separately, is chocolaty, malty, and slightly crusty!

The reasons I LOVE this offering?

It has the Verdant FAMOUS Laoshan Black Tea Base. Another reason is because David didn’t skimp on the ingredients…that’s for sure! AND, of course, the creativeness of pairing these flavors together! I really appreciate that! PLUS…the unexpected creaminess that lingers on to the aftertaste! A Delight!!!

This is so delicious – I made it quick before going into a meeting today, and anytime I start to space out I can just inhale and it’s: dark chocolate. rose. citrus. Are there melted truffles in my cup??? There is a solid black tea flavor too, the laoshan black is just so chocolatey when hot – that’s always what I notice.

The flavor is losing a little intensity as it cools to lukewarm, but I remember this was good chilled so I’m putting the rest in the fridge for later!

I’m very glad I ordered more of this!

2 rounded tsp, three 6 oz steeps all poured off into one big mug

Backlog and SIPDOWN! I have an oz of this on the way, unless it is headed the wrong way, for some reason tracking said it went to Texas?? Lol, anyways, this was a delicious rosy cup with the remainder of the sample pack, didn’t get a chance to re-steep, but it was a delicious first cup at least :) See previous notes on this tea!

This was a very difficult choice today, as both these teas are strong contenders. In the end, though, there can be only one… that moves forward in the Battle of the Earl Greys!

Read on to see why this tea moved on to victory!
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/09/earl-grey-extra-by-simpson-vail-vs.html

My 2nd creamy malty black tea for the day :)

I am not getting much citrus from this. Mostly I am getting my beloved chocolatey Laoshan Black notes, which is fine, but I was hoping for more citrus/rose flavor! It is VERY tasty, just subtle, is all.

Thanks again BrewTEAlly Sweet for the swap ;)

SIPDOWN! (well basically since i’m going to cold brew the last of this today to see how it goes).

Let me preface by saying I don’t like Earl Grey and i don’t like floral teas. So why did i pick this up? Well I still want to try ALL THE TEA! And i really do love LB. When i opened the package up, i sneezed. HOLY ROSE batman! I took one look at the contents and wondered what i’d gotten myself in to. While this is a beautiful tea, it’s also more rose petals than anything else. Underlying that scent though, was my LB…so i picked a few of the petals out and brewed some of this up.

The aroma of the steeped tea makes my nose feel like it’s going to sneeze. It also smells a bit like a potpurri store. I can distinguish the bergamot through the floral smells though.

First sip? FloralohhelloLaoshanBlack. Yeah pretty much like that. I have to say that the only saving grace of this tea for ME is the LB. I Can get behind the blend because i think it’s a really neat concept for those folks out there who love their earl greys. I am not one of those people. No Lala…i’m not over to the darkside yet.

What this tea DOES make me want to do, is bust open my bag of LB and have a bunch of it…but i have teas to drink to sipdown first. lesigh