Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea People
Tea Description:
In the early 1800s cheap tea was flavoured with bergamot by unscrupulous tea merchants and sold as expensive tea. Little did they know then that they were giving birth to one of the most popular flavoured teas of Britain. Not to worry, there is nothing remotely cheap about our Earl grey. We bring you the finest blends of Assam tea with the best of Italian bergamot to transport you straight into your own little Earldom. Earl Grey with the Queen anyone?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yay! Earl Grey! I do a mental happy dance every time I encounter a new-to-me Earl Grey tea. And given as happy as I have been with the teas that I’ve tried thus far from Tea People, I was very excited to try this Assam Earl Grey Black Tea from them.
When I opened the pouch, I could smell the strong, distinct aroma of bergamot. The bergamot fragrance here is strong, but, not quite as strong as some other Earl Grey teas I’ve had … If I had a scale on which I judged the bergamot levels, with five being the strongest I’ve ever experienced and 1 being next to no noticeable bergamot scent, I’d rate this one a three. A medium amount of bergamot bouquet.
And I think that is right about where the bergamot flavor rates here too. Maybe a wee bit higher… closer to 3 1/2. It’s not an overpowering bergamot essence. It’s tangy and bright, with some hints of citrus-y sweetness. I do like the way the bergamot melds with the notes of the Assam … I think that Assam is one of the best black tea base choices for bergamot because the two complement each other very well.
The real star here is the malty, rich Assam tea. It is a bold, robust tasting tea with lots of pleasing malty notes. I’m only guessing here, but, I think it’s a pretty safe guess that the people at the Tea People company used this Assam as the base for this tea. This tastes as smooth and rounded as I remember that tea tasting, although I’m experiencing fewer of those “wine-like” qualities here, perhaps the presence of the bergamot melds with those wine-y fruit notes? I don’t know.
What I do know is that this cup vanished before I knew it … which is a pretty good indicator that the tea is the good stuff. If I finish a cup well before I finish writing the review – that tells me that I just had a really good cup of tea that I couldn’t put down long enough to type out a few words. It also tells me that it’s time for another cup of tea!
And not only does Tea People offer some of the best teas I’ve tasted lately, but they also are currently hosting an indiegogo campaign to raise funds to assist the tea garden workers of Darjeeling and their families. What a great cause! Please consider contributing, time is running out!
