Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
Aromatic light black tea bags. From our ‘Extra Fresh’ family of teas. A premium quality fair traded aromatic blend of black tea, delicately flavoured with natural bergamot flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Earl Grey Tea from Rington’s Premium English Teas: another bagged Earl Grey. I decided to go into this experience with an open mind and determined to find the good in this tea. I feel like lately, most of my bagged tea reviews have been ‘bagging’ on the tea bag. I want to try to keep an open mind because I have, in fact, tried decent bagged teas. Sure, loose leaf is better. Loose leaf is the way to go in about 98% of all situations, but there is the occasion when bagged teas are certainly more convenient even if they aren’t more flavorful.
So I steeped the bag in one of my favorite mugs, using 8 ounces of boiling water for 3 minutes. Now that I’m sipping this, I wish I would have gone with 2 1/2 minutes because this is a tad more astringent than I would like it to be and I think that a slightly shorter steep time might help to reduce that.
My first impression: the flavor is a bit off. The bergamot tastes strange to me, it doesn’t have that crisp tangy flavor that I expect from bergamot.
Again, I want to find the good in this tea, so I’m not tossing it yet! The black tea. It’s alright. It has a pleasant flavor. It’s rich and has a light malty note to it. It is astringent, like I’ve already mentioned. It has a dry sensation toward the tail of the sip.
On the good side: although the bergamot isn’t quite what I expected when I tasted this tea, it isn’t ‘bad’ – it’s just a bit sweeter than I expected from bergamot. It tastes like maybe the bergamot has been ‘enhanced’ by another orange flavor to soften the edge of the bergamot. The black tea has a pleasant flavor. And this tea does taste better as it cools – this would make a really nice iced tea.
I suspect that this might be alright to someone who hasn’t tasted better Earl Grey teas. That is to say, if all they’ve been drinking is other brands of bagged Earl Grey teas, they might find this one to be just as acceptable as some other bagged Earl Grey teas, perhaps even better than others. It’s certainly not the worst Earl Grey I’ve ever tried, but it’s not the best either. But if you’ve tried a really good, loose leaf Earl Grey tea, you’ll more than likely find this one lacking, I’m sorry to say.
Lavender Cream Earl Grey Black Tea from Aromatica Fine Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This tea brings together the best of all the earl grey worlds – bergamot, vanilla, cream and lavender. Why have them in 4 separate Earl Greys!? This is a sweet, creamy, delicious black tea with floral hints. The vanilla and cream soften the bergamot citrus edge. You can still enjoy this variation with milk.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I received my Amoda box a few days ago and this is the first tea that I’ve tried from the box! While it’s not a surprise that I should reach for the tea that would be my clear favorite in the box, I generally like to save the one that I think will be my favorite for last. Like dessert, right? You save dessert for after the meal, but sometimes, you have to give in to the inner child and have dessert first!
So, I gave in to the inner child and drank the tea that I was sure would be my favorite in this month’s box first. So, it should come as no surprise that I’m loving this Lavender Cream Earl Grey Black Tea from Aromatica Fine Teas!
To brew this, I used my Breville One Touch. The entire sampler packet appeared to be just enough tea for one small pot of tea from my tea maker, so I poured the contents of the packet into the basket and added 500ml of water to the jug. I set the parameters for 205°F (I like to go with slightly lower than boiling temperatures when I have herbs in the tea – in this case, the lavender and hibiscus) and 2 1/2 minutes.
Then I let the tea cool for about three minutes before sipping. I’ve got to tell you that they seem the longest three minutes ever when you’re waiting to take a sip of something so aromatically alluring!
Mmmm! I’m loving this tea!
Rich! The black tea is a vibrant tasting tea – it’s good and strong. There is a fair amount of astringency to this tea, and if I’m to offer any complaint about it at all, that would be it. I would like the astringency to be toned down just a bit.
The flavoring, though, is spot on! The bergamot is strong and flavorful. The vanilla cream notes are pretty evenly matched with the bergamot, with maybe just a little bit more bergamot than cream. The combination of the two is sweet, creamy and tangy with a bright flavor of crisp bergamot.
Then there is the lavender. Ah … I do adore lavender. Lavender is a lot like bergamot, in that it can be overdone in a tea and end up tasting a bit more like soap than a flavoring. Here, the lavender is done nicely, not tasting even a bit soapy, instead, it has a touch of floral to this cup. It’s a pleasing contrast, the floral notes of the lavender with the silky sweetness of the vanilla cream and the energetic flavor of the bergamot. It’s a compelling flavor combination that keeps me sipping and makes for one very happy tea sipper.
So, this is definitely a win. My only real complaint is – again – the astringent black tea base. But this is something that I can overlook because the flavors are so delightful! And those who detest hibiscus like I do, take note: I can’t taste the hibiscus here! Yippee! That’s a win right there!
Lady Grey® Black Tea from Twinings of London
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Twinings of London
Tea Description:
Lady Grey® is offered exclusively from Twinings. This light black tea is perfectly balanced with the citrus fruit flavours of bergamot, orange and lemon to deliver a delightful tea with a refreshing taste and uplifting aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After my less than exciting experience with Earl Grey tea from Twinings of London, I found myself skeptical about this Lady Grey® Black Tea from Twinings of London. So, my hopes and expectations were not high when I brewed this tea. I guess it’s a good place for me to start with a tea because it’d be difficult to be disappointed by it, right?
And fortunately, with low expectations, I’m finding this much more tolerable than I found the Earl Grey tea. I guess when I say “Earl Grey” I get excited because I love me some bergamot and so my expectations are immediately set pretty high and that tea really let me down. This one doesn’t disappoint me and I’m not sure if that’s because it’s a tasty tea or because I wasn’t expecting all that much from it.
I like the combination of lemon, orange and bergamot. I like the way the other citrus flavors bring out the flavors of the bergamot. That said, the black tea is still kind of blah. It tastes stale. It tastes boring.
Not horrible, just boring and blah. I can’t help but feel like the flavors would be much better suited for a better tea leaf. Or perhaps a tea company that actually cared about its product to not mince it to dust and stick it in a tea bag.
Ahh … I feel the tea snobbery steeping into my soul!
Earl Grey Tea from Twinings of London
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Twinings of London
Tea Description:
Twinings has been blending my family tea for years. Today, I am proud to continue this tradition with the tea celebrated throughout the world known as Twinings Earl Grey. Legend has it that my ancestor, the second Earl Grey, was presented with this exquisite recipe by an envoy on his return from China.
Fine black tea perfectly balanced with the distinctive flavour of bergamot, a citrus fruit.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I can’t believe I haven’t yet tried this Earl Grey tea from Twinings of London! I’ve tried so many! This being a more ‘common’ brand that is more readily available, I am surprised that I’ve not tried it. But there you have it!
And to be honest, I really wasn’t missing out on much. Sadly, if this is one of the Earl Grey teas that people are exposed to early in their tea drinking experience, I can see why there are so many people who don’t really care for Earl Grey tea.
That’s not to say that this is bad, exactly. But it’s certainly not great. If this was one of the first Earl Grey teas that I had tried, I probably wouldn’t be as enthusiastic an Earl Grey drinker that I am today, so I guess it’s a good thing that I haven’t tried this Earl Grey until now.
The aroma is kind of dull – both the dry leaf and the brewed tea. The brewed tea is a little more lively than the dry leaf, but it doesn’t have that bright, invigorating bergamot aroma that I’ve come to love when it comes to Earl Grey.
And that dull flavor translates to the cup too. This just … isn’t all that exciting. It’s one of the most boring Earl Grey teas I’ve tasted. And as I mentioned earlier, I’ve tasted a lot of Earl Grey tea.
The black tea is kind of boring. It’s just kind of … blah. So much so that I find myself struggling to come up with some descriptive words to describe what I’m tasting but I can’t seem to do it because it’s just so uninspired.
Generally, when I drink an Earl Grey tea, I’m excited and roused with joy over drinking one of my very favorite tea flavors – but that’s not happening right now because this tea lacks excitement in general. It’s just really quite ordinary. In a world full of exciting teas, why would anyone limit themselves to something so average?
Boomstick Black Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Boomstick combines tangerine, grapefruit, and bergamot flavors with our Kenyan Obsidian tea and orange peel pieces for a citrus lovers dream. Each citrus flavor can be detected on its own but is also cohesive. This tea is a bit of an adventure as each sip has a different dominant flavor. The citrus flavor is not overly aggressive, with just a mild tartness. We highly recommend Boomstick as a breakfast tea.
Read more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
This review is scheduled to be published just after Butiki announces their final sale. Yes, I’ve said it a couple of times on here, very soon, Butiki Teas will soon be no more. And while that does make me sad to say goodbye to a truly great tea company, I am happy that this company came to the decision not because they needed to close due to slow sales or anything like that, but because the owner, Stacy, wants to focus on other things now. In her announcement to Steepster, she said:
When I first started this company, my husband asked me to come up with a goal of how much in sales we could ever dream of making in a year. Well, thanks to you all, we have quadrupled that number! I would have never imagined we would have become this successful and I am so grateful to all of my customers for making us what we are today. Thank you so very much.
Reading that brought a smile to my face. In this age when it seems like so many companies are struggling to stay out of the red, it’s great to read that a small company did so well. And a tea company at that! It’s truly inspiring.
And it would seem that I am – at least partially – the inspiration for the creation of this tea! When she mentioned that she had bergamot, grapefruit and tangerine flavors, I suggested that she combine these three flavors with a black tea base. At the time, I was thinking she use her Sansia black tea base – having enjoyed it so much with the Chocolate Chili Truffle tea – I thought that the strong honey tones of the black tea would pair nicely with the citrus fruits.
Instead, Stacy chose her Kenyan Obsidian as a base which Stacy describes as “grapefruity, malty, and woody.” I also taste a sweetness to this and I don’t know if it’s the tea itself or the combination of the tea plus these particular flavors but I do get a light honey note that’s quite pleasant with the citrus fruit.
I thought about adding a dollop of honey to the cup to enhance those tones, but, I kind of like this straight up. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and the citrus gives it a tangy flavor – tart … but not pucker-y tart. Just enough tart that I can feel my taste buds sort of perk up (especially in the finish) from the tart.
This is a really lovely celebration of citrus flavor. Butiki suggests this as a breakfast tea. It would make a wonderful breakfast accompaniment (perhaps instead of fruit juice!) But I also found that this is LOVELY iced. It’s very refreshing.
This will be my final review of Butiki Teas here on SororiTea Sisters (I do still have a couple of teas of theirs that I’ll be drinking and talking about over on Steepster!) so I wish Stacy all the luck in the world with whatever adventure she takes on next. I raise my teacup to her and say, Bravo! And thank you for bringing us so many wonderful teas – you (and your teas!) will be missed.
And … as you head on over to Butiki Teas to see what’s on sale (and what’s left!) be sure to add some of this tea to your cart. You’ll be glad you did!