zenrain Send Message

So I have not found an equal to Andrews & Dunham’s last earl gray. And it was a limited edition.

Needless to say my life has been an empty pit of despair since series 3 sold out. Fortunately, A&D came out with Mount Gray and I jumped on it like a drowning man to a lifeboat. Or clambered up the side, weak, wet and cold from my ordeal, whatever.

I can’t compare it to their last Earl Gray, since I used the last of it quite some time ago. But it’s front loaded with a strong hit of Bergamot, yet not the flowery bergamot. Underneath it’s smooth and satisfying.
It holds up to second steeping, retaining it’s mellow characteristics with a subtler bergamot taste.
All in all, this tea is like spinning around and around with my arms outstretched on a hill with the Swiss alps in the backdrop. And maybe a spot of Metallica playing in the background. Hey, I gotta keep some sort of dignity.

Boy, they weren’t kidding about buttery. This is a smooth tea with perhaps a milder green tea twang (that’s the technical term) usual, and a buttery aftertaste. Brewed at 195, which I thought was a bit high for a dragon well tea, but this seems to take it well.
It’s a good afternoon calm-me-down pick-me-up. Yes, in this tea they seem to co-exist nicely.

I agree with the rest of the reviews, a little lighter and no smokiness for this seasons tea. As with some others I picked it up as part of the sale.
It seems to have a slight sweetness as well, it’s a nice blend. The second steeping seems almost too light, so I’m guessing there won’t be a third.

It’s an interesting take on an Earl Grey. Once again it was recommended by one of the employees (from the reviews this seems to be a trend). The combination goes together pretty well, and it’s a nice change from a black Earl.
Actual first steep time was 3 minutes (IE 9 seems to be having problems dragging the bar…).
All in all a nice change, but not an everyday tea for me.

Dear lord I love this tea. First infusion is strong for a white (which has already been mentioned). Complex, and with a delicate and slightly sweet aftertaste. Sorry, I’m terrible at tasting notes, as I don’t seem to be able (or have the desire) to separate out individual notes. However, it’s the kind of tea that you want to just sit with and enjoy.

Yet another tea reinforcing the Damn Fine in A&D.

A few years ago I went to Australia with a friend of mine.
We were on the plane and they had brought us some bread, butter and Vegemite. My friend obviously hadn’t had it before, and started to spread it directly on the bread in much the same manner and thickness that you would with peanut butter, or jam. Being a good friend, I of course said absolutely nothing.

The reason I bring this up now is I imagine my face did exactly what his did when tasting this tea for the first time. I was expecting smokey, and got a mouthful of campfire.

I’ll try it again soon with a shortened brew time, and perhaps after rinsing the leaves first. I enjoy smokey, just evidently not enough.

Stupid tea.

I hadn’t really been very particular about earl grey until I tried this one. Now I seem to be on a mission to find a similar non-limited release grey.
This earl doesn’t hide the tea under the Bergamot flavor, and it’s not a citrus extravaganza, which for some reason I can only really enjoy on hot summer days (don’t ask why, I don’t know either).
For me I can get 2.5 steeps out of it, with the last .5 being drinkable depending on the alignment of the stars and some variation of the previous steeps that I’ve been unable to work out. It’s my relaxing mid-morning to early afternoon pick me-up and I’m going to be seriously miffed if I can’t find a replacement before A&D runs out.

I hated this tea to begin with. In fact, I gave the tin from my second series 3 order away. The opened tin from my first order just sat in my desk, and I’d revisit a cup of it, just to get through it.

Fast forward 3 months, and now I seem to crave the stuff periodically. Lovely…
So what can I say, the scent directly from the tin is Jasmine-y enough to put you off if you are not an huge fan of Jasmine going into it.
The taste is more subdued in the tea than it is the scent, so you can taste some green tea in there too. It’s refreshing, slightly sweet, and at least in my case, moderately addictive.

Taste at your own risk. ;)