Raspberry Earl

This tea arrived from Jillian with perfect timing! Made a cup of this to pair with a Lemon Ginger Scone that I picked up from Whole foods this morning. At four minutes steep time this brewed up a dark red amber liquor. The tea was a bit astringent and didn’t have much Raspberry or Bergamot flavor, but it did help was down the biscuity dry scone. I will have to try this with a shorter steep and more tea next time I brew it. I won’t rate it until I try it again. Thanks for sending this to me via the “take it away thread” Jillian.

Not the best coldbrew.

I love this one hot and on it’s own, it has a subtle raspberry and not much in the way of bergamot, but with a dash of cream and sugar it’s like fruit and cream, delish!

I think it’s too “dusty” for my coldbrew tastes though. Not a CB success.

This is a very good cup of Earl Grey. The raspberry fragrance and flavor is perfect along side the bergamot which is blended in just the right amount, and I can taste the Nilgiri tea, a black variety that I enjoy.

I get two 8 oz. steeps per sachet – the second one is mellower but still lovely.

Thank you Jaime for sending me this tea. :)

apologies again to my steepster followers but i’m trying to finally make even the TINIEST OF NOTES on the last few teas left in my tealog that had no details added.
i bought this as a sampler and drank it at work. it was before i really understood tea. i was just getting warmed up. it was a baby step. a charming little baby step.

I’m going to miss this one! Apparently I really like berry-flavored black tea blends. I love that the fruit flavor balances the bergamot in this to make it very “drinkable” and not perfume-y.

Pretty decent – previously reviewed a while back

This is almost drinkable plain, which I consider a coup for a bagged Earl Grey. That said, I get a tiny bit of raspberry on the nose, and hardly any from the taste. It’s this barely-there sense of fruit in the back of my mouth as I swallow. With milk and a pinch of sugar, this is actually quite mellow; the bergamot is strong, but I’ve had stronger. I can’t taste anything identifiable about the black tea base except that it’s there. Overall, this is fine and I’ll enjoy drinking it, but there are definitely better and more interesting EG’s out there.

Thanks to Jaime for the chance to try!

Oversteeped it today. I was trying to make a better cup of tea than usual.

My usual is heat in the microwave for about 2 minutes, then let it steep for 3-5 minutes then drink. I also usually have 1 teabag per about 16oz of water. Today I tried boiling the water on the stove, and then 2 teabags per 16oz. Definitely too much.

The aroma of this tea is divine. Bergamot with a hint of extra sweetness from the raspberries. I probably let it steep for too long, and ended up with a slightly bitter tea with a hint of bergamot :(. I’ll try again later with just one bag.

Bummed since this was my first experiment at a better cup.

It’s been so long since I last posted a tasting note. Class has me so busy lately. sigh

I have been wanting to try this tea for a while, and was surprised to find a tin of it at Ocean State Job Lot. Ocean State’s teas aren’t always the best (Ocean State is a lot like Big Lots) they tend to be old and dried up. So I was worried that I would not be getting the best possible first impression of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea. However the tin must have been well sealed, or the tea fresher than most tea I have found at this store, because it did not taste the least bit stale and has a nice aroma dry.

I steeped it for only 3 minutes but found it on the bitter side. Not too bitter but still a little more bitter than I would prefer my Earl Grey. A shorter steep time might improve the bitterness. I added a little sugar and it was better, bitterness-wise. Also a little milk does not hurt it.

Overall it is a good bagged Earl Grey, a lot of bergamot flavor and a good hint of raspberry. Most flavored Earl Greys do not have enough bergamot to satisfy me but this tea does. I usually wind up not liking raspberry teas but am happy to report that this is one of the raspberry teas I like.

I think this tin was like two bucks, I will have to get back to Ocean State and get some more.

Tried to log this the other day and steepster was giving me an error.

Used up my last pouch from the sample I had, so I get to remove it from the cupboard.

Drank it iced. Nothing spectacular. Doesn’t really say Earl Grey to me, and doesn’t say Raspberry either. I won’t bother buying another tin of it.

That’s ok though, I have an empty tin from it from a a few years ago that is pretty, and I use it as a pencil cup at work. I think I just get Zhena teas for the tins!