I am picky when it comes to my Earl Grey teas. I like them to be balanced. So often the bergamot is too strong, the cream flavors too artificial tasting or the black tea base is too weak.
Almost every tea manufacturer puts out their version of an Earl Grey and sadly I have a box full of Earl Grey teas that just didn’t make the cut. What is the point of drinking something that you don’t love?
When I saw that 52 Teas was again offering their Earl Grey Cupcake tea I really was interested. The tea itself is very pretty, full of star-shaped sprinkles. The smell of the dry leaf is very heavy on the bergamot so I was at first worried that the bergamot would be too overwhelming.
I steeped the tea for 3 minutes. The instructions on the packet indicate that the tea flavor develops as the tea cools, about 10 minutes. I am happy to report that this tea is lovely. The black tea base is solid, it is malty with very little astringency. The bergamot is perfect, not too strong at all, and the back end of the taste is a delightful vanilla flavor. The vanilla is not artificial tasting, it is a nice, natural flavor.
I did try the tea at the 10 minute mark and I do agree that the vanilla becomes much more prominent as the tea cools. I have been so pleased with all of the teas I have tired thus far from 52 teas and this tea is no exception. I highly recommend this tea if you love Earl Grey.
This probably would rank in my top 5 Earl Grey teas of all time and that is saying a lot as I have tried many!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
This tea is currently not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail. . . . .
Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea is another offering from S&V’s Literary Tea Line. Although I’m not as familiar with this author as I am the other authors on the tea tribute list I was very excited to try this tea.
A mighty fine combination of black teas from India, Sri Lanka, China, and Taiwan along side bergamot oil is what Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea is made of. I LOVE having a blend of 4 different black teas in this base. The bergamot oil is hiding a bit but as the tea cools naturally at room temperature it seems to peek out a bit more.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea describes this tea as a Russian style tea that brews to a bright copper cup with a mellow, flavorful, medium-bodied taste and a lemon-citrus aftertaste. I would have to agree with this. There were slight hints of smoke that were laying underneath as well which were a nice addition to this tea! All-in-All another nice tea from S&V!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow in 1821 and spent his first sixteen years among the orphans, criminals, and asylum patients with whom his father worked. In 1846, Poor Folk gave the young Dostoyevsky his first taste of literary fame, but it is Crime and Punishment and The Idiot that cemented his legacy. His works examined the complicated relationship between ideology, political climate, and personal upbringing and how they each affect a person’s psyche. His novels serve as a precursor to existentialism, and they are pivotal in the Russian Symbolism Movement.
Tea plays an important symbolic role in Dostoyevsky’s writing, where it often serves as a comforting staple in an otherwise chaotic world. In Poor Folk, he writes that “all the world needs tea” and then later the main character reminisces about a simpler time when he could be “sitting in [their] little parlour at tea with [his] parents—in the familiar little parlour where everything was snug and warm!” The Russian samovar provides warmth and a central meeting place equivalent to the watercooler. Our Fyodor Dostoyevsky tea blend is an approximation of a typical Russian blend of the time and it recreates the flavors that he and his characters would have savored. Sip along with Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, Rodion Raskolnikov, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky himself with this delicious blend.
This Russian style tea brews to a bright copper cup with a mellow, flavorful, medium-bodied taste and a lemon-citrus aftertaste.
Ingredients: Black teas from India, Sri Lanka, China and Taiwan and bergamot oil.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
