Tea Type: Herbal
Where To Buy: Rishi Tea
Product Description:
Bergamot Sage, Organic Botanical Blend
The sublime character of sage is wonderfully balanced and masterfully combined with the citrus notes of lemon thyme and bergamot, which play beautifully with overtones of fresh pine, wintergreen and peppermint. Bergamot Sage is an original mood boosting and mentally clarifying blend, fit for anytime of day.
Water: 212°F / Boiling / Leaves: 1 tablespoon per 8 oz / Infusion Time: 5 minutes / Ingredients: Organic lemon thyme, organic sage leaf, organic peppermint, organic lemon verbena and natural essential oil of bergamot. Origin: Rishi blend.
Tasters Review:
This one really surprised me. I went into this thinking it was going to be all about the sage for some reason but there is a lot of other flavors going on here. It’s pretty good! I’m sure the peppermint had something to do with it. Many of you know how much I like Peppermint!
I can taste the peppermint, sage, and bergamot. The Lemon is noticeable but blends in with the bergamot mostly. There is a slight sage aftertaste a little bit more sage than peppermint. This is very different but pretty good.
Earls and Pearls from Tea Oh
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tea Oh
Company Description:
A classic Earl Grey white tea all dressed up with a rich, pearly cream finish.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the more unusual Earl Grey teas that I’ve encountered, and not just because it’s made with a white tea base instead of the standard black tea base.
This tea has the most amazing creamy finish that is sweet and delicious and quite unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. On Steepster, I compared the flavor to a creamsicle – you know those fantastic ice cream confections that are made with vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet? But, instead of the orange sherbet, imagine one being made with sherbet made of bergamot orange!
That comparison ALMOST describes this flavor, but not quite. The creamy flavor … I think is appropriately described by Tea Oh as “pearly” because it seems to taste almost regal – like something royalty would enjoy.
The flavor here is rich and delightful, and yet does not overwhelm the delicate white tea. It is a very interesting and unusual combination of flavors that I’m enjoying quite a bit. I do recommend just a little sweetener (I used raw agave nectar) because it really adds some definition to the creamy sweet notes that are just so delicious here.
I would recommend this tea to just about anyone – even those that dislike Earl Grey teas! The sweet, creamy finish offsets the bergamot in this blend enough so that even the most finicky Earl Grey detractors would probably find this enjoyable. This is really, really GOOD!
Earl Grey from Damn Fine Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damn Fine Tea
Company Description:
Many have worn the crown but few have carried the freak flag of rock to such fantastic heights as Earl Grey. In spite of a seemingly endless procession of heirs and imitators, the Earl’s star shines as brightly today as it did on first rising in the early 1970s. Listeners who might have been baffled by his colorful affectations were instead delighted by the seductive, mysterious character of his songs. Surely his childhood exposure to folk music on a remote Mediterranean island contributed to his fresh sound, as did his travels in India, but his perfect blend of style, creativity and irresistible guitar hooks always seemed like the product of other-worldly origins. Wherever Earl Grey came from, he’s ours now and this true classic continues to surprise and delight us.
Earl Grey is a black tea scented with the oil of bergamot. Steep in boiling water for five minutes and enjoy in whatever manner you please.
Taster’s Review:
I guess it’s no real secret by now that I adore Earl Grey tea. Now that is not to say that I like all Earl Grey teas; just because you’ve tried one Earl Grey tea does not mean that you’ve tried them all.
This is one of my favorite Earl Grey teas. It is also one of the more unusual Earl Grey teas that I’ve come across. Most of the Earl Grey teas (that I’ve tasted) possess a certain sharpness to them – a sharpness that comes from the bergamot oil used to flavor the tea. It is a difficult sharpness to describe – it is a citrus-y, flowery sharpness that almost comes across the palate like perfume – almost, but not quite.
Some of the Earl Grey teas that I’ve tasted DO taste like perfume – and these are the ones that I find rather distasteful. I mean, who wants to drink perfume? And yet, the really good Earl Grey teas somehow manage to skirt the line between tasting good and tasting like perfume. It is a thin, sharp line. Hence… the aforementioned sharpness.
So then, you may be wondering, just how is this Earl Grey tea different from others? This one is different because it avoids that sharp line completely. Rather than that typical Earl Grey sharpness, this one has a smooth, almost seamless flavor. It is citrus-y. It has a floral note. But somehow, these two have formed a united partnership that has minimized the characteristic sharp note to almost non-existence.
It is an extraordinary Earl Grey tea!
Andrews & Dunham suggest a five minute steep time for this tea, but, as my palate tends to be somewhat sensitive to bitterness, I chose not to steep this long. It’s been my experience over these many years with tea that almost every black tea will get bitter once it brews past that 4 minute point. There are exceptions to that, of course, but, for me and my palate, this has become the standard by which I brew most teas.
I have brewed this tea both at 3 minutes and at 4. I have found that with the 3 minute steep time, I get the flavors that I mentioned previously: a fruitier bergamot with only a hint of floral quality. When I steeped at 4 minutes, I found that the bergamot possessed a stronger floral quality than at 3 minutes which seemed to slightly overwhelm the fruitier notes that I liked so well at 3 minutes. So, my preference is for 3 minutes in boiling water.
So, experiment! Try it at 5 minutes, at 4, and at 3, and see which you prefer. Just try it! If you like Earl Grey tea – you might just fall head over heels in love with this one! But you better hurry – because it’s part of a limited edition series, and won’t be around forever!
Smooth Earl from Compass Teas
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Compass Teas
Product Description:
This classic black Earl Grey tea is accented with warm cream and vanilla notes.
Serving Suggestion: Perfect as is, but also delicious with Sugar Gems (and possibly a dash of milk if you like).3 oz = approximately 40 cups of Gourmet Tea
Ingredients:
Black tea- Antioxidant rich, helps keep body hydrated, can help reduce your daily calorie intake which leads to weight loss
Blue mallow blossoms- Beautiful accent color
Bergamot flavoring- Delicious citrusy flavor usually associated with the popular Earl Grey tea blend
Cream & Vanilla flavoring- Soothing, mellowing flavor
Tasters Review:
Earl…you are one SMOOTH dude! Has anyone ever told you that? Well, I’ll say it right here and right now…you ARE smooth and live up to your name!
This is a very creamy/vanilla-scented Earl Grey. I always look for twists on earl greys because I like to see how different they can be but still be classified as an earl grey. I know there are some people out there that stand by the phrase “Leave My Earl Alone” but not me…I love the variety, love the creativeness, and love the uniqueness!
The aroma is delightful! I can smell the Black tea, bergamot, creame, vanilla – in that order!
The taste is VERY creamy! The cream and vanilla both tone down the bergamot and I really like this. I have had a lot of Earl Grey’s that overdue it with the bergamot or use a really funky bergamot flavoring and it tends to be bitter or leave a strange or bitter or even chemical aftertaste. Not this one! This is pretty darn good right here! VERY smooth…darn near the smoothest tea I have ever had. Some may say the bergamot isn’t strong enough – if you are ‘the more the merrier’ type – but I really like the way this one plays out!
If Smooth Earl isn’t the talk of the town in your neck of the woods – it should be – spread the word!
Earl Grey from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Company Description:
Authentic Earl Grey made with Keemun tea. Delicious straight up or with milk.
Taster Review:
This is truly a remarkable Earl Grey – quite possibly the best Earl Grey I’ve yet to taste!
What makes this Earl Grey so unique is the Keemun black tea base. Most Earl Grey teas are comprised of Ceylon black tea, which is typically quite mild. Keemun tea, on the other hand, is much more robust, possessing a fruitier character, and is almost wine-like in flavor. It has a slight toasted quality to it as well. This Keemun is very deep in flavor: with notes of fruit and wine as well as hints of earth and smoke.
The aroma of the dry tea is – not surprisingly – quite “Earl Grey-ish.” That is to say that it has that very pleasing scent of the bergamot orange. Citrus-y … floral … beautiful! Upon brewing, the bergamot softens slightly to allow some of the wine-like and even slightly earthy qualities of the Keemun tea to come through.
The wine-like characteristic of this tea provides an interesting contrast to the citrus flavor and flowery tone of the bergamot. When they meet together in one tea cup, it is a fine, complex grouping of flavors that this Earl Grey lover finds irresistible. The fruit and earth flavors of the Keemun seems to curb the sharp notes of the bergamot just enough to make it extraordinarily palatable. There isn’t even the slightest suggestion of a perfume-ish taste to this tea. It is magnificence in a teacup!
When you visit the Lupicia Fresh Tea website and enter “Earl Grey” into the search field, you just might be a bit overwhelmed by the number of Earl Grey teas that Lupicia has to offer. I know I was! This one is simply “Earl Grey,” but to ensure you’re getting the right Earl Grey, read the description to make sure that the base is Keemun. I’m not trying to dissuade you from trying their other Earl Grey varieties (as I do plan on trying them myself eventually as well), but, this one is an absolute MUST TRY… and for me, this one is an absolute must keep on hands at all times! I love this tea!