Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Ette Tea
Tea Description:
Shaded as the quintessential earl grey, Kris Grey (Blend no. 050) is a western classic brew fortified with south east asian ingredients.
Kris Grey is a blend of black tea, javanese vanilla beans, blue corn flower, bluepea flower, bergamot oil & edible silver dust.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My second blend from Ette Tea!
So, I’m not the biggest Earl Grey fan; not that I dislike it, but I just don’t crave it often either. Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn’t have gone for this one – but who can resist sample sizes and the idea of sparkly silver tea? And really, the dry leaf is stunning! It’s covered in this really fine, gorgeous silver dust. So pretty!
Steeped up I’m not going to lie; I’m a little disappointed. The tea is still gorgeous and sparkly, but it’s not as dramatic as I’d have thought given the amount of noticeable glimmer in the dry leaf. Maybe about the same amount of sparkle as DT’s Gitter & Gold blend that people like to ooh and aah over.
The taste is solid though; it’s a good EG with a medium level of citrusy bergamot and silky smooth black base. I feel like a little bit more of vanilla would have really sent this one sky rocketing though. As it stands I can hardly taste the vanilla at all, but as is it’s just fine too. People who really love EG should definitely take a closer look at this because while it isn’t mind blowing, it’s got a really taditional taste with that fun sparkly element that makes it different from the average EG you can get at any store.
So for me, it’s a step down from Pandan Chiffon (which set the bar very high) but still not a flop! Definitely excited to try my next tea from this company!
Topsy Turvy Black Tea from Disney Wonderland Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Disney World! (You can also find it on Ebay/Amazon)
Tea Description:
You’ll fall head over heels for this premium blend of black tea with a delicious citrus and fruity flavor. Hurry up before it disappears from your cup!
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
For someone who isn’t all that crazy about Earl Grey I’ve certainly been drinking a lot of it this week…
It’s about time I tried this one; my Mom was nice enough to hunt for it for me when she went to Disney last year and it took months to make it from her house back to me; and then months again for me to actually try it.
At least it not only was in a sealed tin (an absolutely gorgeous one by the way) but in a vacuum sealed foil back as well. Also, I don’t know why I thought this was Earl Grey and rose, because it’s not – maybe since the tin is covered in pink script with tons of decals of roses on it? But it doesn’t actually say rose anywhere so I should’ve known better than to assume.
Dry this smells very, very citrus heavy with more of a fresh peeled orange scent than a distinctly bergamot one. And, it actually does come off a tiny bit floral too. I prepped this as a cold brew because I thought since the orange seemed to be quite strong that it would brew up fairly sweet.
It actually does taste a little more like plain orange than bergamot, though the bergamot is significantly stronger in taste than it was in the smell. It’s kind of weird though; it doesn’t taste like the bergamot oil has turned or spoiled but it is clashing a little bit with the orange, which is more of a candy orange than a natural one and with the faint taste of floral notes, which are natural tasting, things aren’t fitting together seamlessly here.
What it ends up equating to is a fairly average Earl Grey that I think you’d find yourself drinking more for the Disney/Alice in Wonderland aspect than for the taste of the tea itself. And that’s perfectly ok because if we’re being honest here I think that’s who it’s ultimately marketed for anyway.
I’m quite happy I finally tried it though!
Earl Blue Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Our awesome organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with organic bergamot and blueberry flavors. This is sure to wow your guests.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve mentioned on this blog at least once before in a review of one of Zoomdweebie’s Earl Grey/Bergamot teas that I’m not particularly crazy about the bergamot flavoring that Zoomdweebies uses. Maybe I’m a bit of a bergamot snob or something but Earl Grey tea is something I take very seriously and it should be right. So, when this Earl Blue Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas was announced as a recent tea of the week for SBT, I wasn’t all that excited about it.
But this isn’t too bad. It’s actually pretty tasty. As an Earl Grey tea or more accurately as a ‘twist’ to the classic Earl Grey -well, it doesn’t really cut it as an Earl Grey, I’m afraid. But, as a flavored iced tea, it’s really pleasant. The blueberry is strong and yummy. The bergamot – well, it doesn’t taste as bergamot-y as I’d like it to. But when I just drink it and I don’t think “bergamot” and instead, I think “citrus” it works for me.
It has a really enjoyable, sweet-tart fruity flavor to it. And the black tea base is smooth and brisk. No bitterness, no astringency – just really tasty black tea and fruity flavors.
This is something that I could see myself putting in my shopping cart again the next time I’m shopping at Zoomdweebies dot com. It’s very refreshing and it’ll be really nice to have it chilling in the fridge on those warm summer days that lie ahead.
Lavender Earl Grey Cleanse from WayGood Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: WayGood Tea
Tea Description:
An exquisite black tea flavored with aromatic lavender flowers & bergamot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lavender Earl Grey Cleanse from WayGood Tea is one of the most unusual Earl Grey teas that I’ve encountered.
Let me start with the “cleanse” part of this tea. I’m not a doctor or one who specializes in herbs. I’m not someone who recommends a ‘cleanse’ or a ‘detox’ because neither of these activities are something of which I partake. I don’t drink tea for health benefits. I don’t drink tea to cleanse, detox or lose weight. I drink tea because I like the way it tastes.
Now, if I happen to find a tea that I enjoy drinking, I certainly don’t mind at all if it happens to have the cleansing, detoxifying or weight loss benefits in addition to a great flavor. But flavor should come first. I drink tea because I like the flavor of it, if I want to drink something for health benefits, I’ll go drink some wheatgrass juice.
I don’t drink wheatgrass juice. I drink stuff I like to drink. That’s why I stick to tea.
So now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me turn my attention to this tea. It’s one of the more unusual “twists” to the classic Earl Grey teas that I’ve yet to taste. That’s not to say that I don’t like it – to be honest, I haven’t actually decided if I do or I don’t! It’s quite different.
The rosemary adds it’s distinctive fragrance to the overall cup and when I lift the cup to my lips to take a sip, I smell the rosemary. While the rosemary and bergamot seem to complement each other aromatically, the first few sips were a little strange because I expected to smell bergamot but I smelled the rosemary with the bergamot (as well as notes of lavender and juniper berry) and the medley of aromas is just … well, it’s different. It is unexpected.
But, even though it IS different and unexpected, it’s quite pleasant! I’m not hating the flavor here at all. Quite the opposite.
That said, one big disappointment about this tea is that the black tea isn’t a particularly strong flavor. It’s more of a background note and that’s even a little more generous than the flavor here actually represents. The black tea tastes thin (almost like it’s a decaffeinated black tea). It’s a very weak tasting black tea and I’m of the opinion that black tea should have some vigor to it.
I steeped this for four minutes in 205°F – that should not have produced a weak tasting black tea unless the black tea is not a particularly strong tea to begin with … or it’s a decaffeinated tea.
The bergamot isn’t a particularly strong flavor as it melds with the flavors of lavender, rosemary and juniper berry. The orange peel enhances the notes of bergamot somewhat, but not really enough for someone who is a bergamot fan like I am.
I don’t taste much from the elderberry either. Of the seven elements of this tea, I taste the rosemary the strongest while the pine-y notes of the juniper seem to accentuate the rosemary, then I taste the lavender, followed by the bergamot (and orange), the black tea and then the elderberry. It tastes herb-y, pine-ish and floral with hints of citrus in the background.
Overall, it’s a pleasant cup of tea, but I find myself wanting to taste TEA here, and I’m not tasting a lot of it. It’s a very weak tea – but as far as a cleansing or detox type of tea, this is quite enjoyable.
Planters’ Earl Grey Tea from PMD P.M. David Silva & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: PMD P.M. David Silva & Sons
Tea Description:
We have taken this cherished tea back to its roots. Many of the Earl Grey teas on offer are created to misguide consumer’s senses. Tea makers mask poor quality tea with blue cornflowers as a visual distraction and then over scent the tea with artificial Bergamot essence. At PMD we have selected a high quality low grown tea and married it with natural bergamot oil; creating you a heavenly aromatic experience whilst finishing with smooth, citrus notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Earl Grey is a hit or miss kind of tea for me. I either love it or hate it. I’m not a huge fan of floral teas that completely overwhelm the senses. I even shied away from them until I met my boyfriend who loves them. He fell in love with them when he was traveling abroad.
This tea comes in two different variations, loose and bagged, which is very convenient for on the go people or for work. I have all of my tea hardware at work (kettle, teapot, filters, etc.) but sometimes you just want to plop the tea in some water and go. This is a tea that I think you could do just that with. I brewed this up on in my favorite rooster mug (yep, I have a rooster mug) with 1 cup of 212F water for about 3 minutes. Without question, I could tell this was an earl grey and hesitation started to grow. I wasn’t in the mood to be smacked in the face with a huge heaping of cup full of bergamot oil.
First sip, holy cow! This is a sleek and polished earl grey! Very smooth! With an incredible rich black base to boot! The citrus notes are a delightful addition. After a few sips, I added in some milk and made myself a latte which brought out the richness even more. As it cools off, the flavors mingle delightfully together and really provide a fantastic treat. Yum!
I’m incredibly impressed with this one! This Earl Grey may be the best bagged Earl Grey I’ve ever had!
