Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Fashionista Tea
Tea Description:
Organic, high grown estate black tea hand blended with cornflowers, fragrant oil of bergamot and a touch of French Vanilla.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Well, this is it, folks! This is the last tea that I have to try from the Fashionista Tea collection! And I saved (one of) the best for last! Organic Creamy Earl Grey Black Tea!
If you’ve been reading my reviews for any length of time, you are probably pretty aware of my love affair with the smooth Mr. Grey. I’ve never made it any secret of how much I adore the combination of rich black tea and the tangy bergamot fruit. And I’m always excited to try variations of the classic combination of bergamot and black tea … like this Creamy Earl Grey from Fashionista Tea.
They combined the delicious flavor of the traditional favorite and added a touch of French Vanilla, which adds a smooth, creamy note … eliminating the need to add milk or cream to get that delicious latte flavor! This has that flavor built right in!
But that’s not the reason I love it so much (because I rarely add milk or cream to my Earl Grey tea … make that VERY rarely … as in nearly never!) I love this because the creaminess of the vanilla gives the Earl Grey a really different kind of flavor. It is smooth and creamy, of course, and sweeter than the standard Earl Grey, but it is the play between those sweet, creamy notes and the bergamot that I really enjoy. It gives it an almost “creamsicle” kind of taste … only more interesting because the orange notes here are bergamot orange! It tastes like an exotic creamsicle.
The bergamot is markedly toned down here, it is not as sharp or tangy as it is in the classic version of Earl Grey. But don’t mistake that as meaning that there is less flavor – because this cup is definitely a full-flavored tea. It has a rich, solid flavor that offers a creamy overtone, tangy mid-notes and a strong, black tea base that supports it all. It is not overly astringent (it’s quite mild as far as astringency goes!) and not at all bitter. Just … really enjoyable!
After having tried all of the teas in the Fashionista Tea collection, I really must say that this company has some MUST TRY teas in their collection … and this one is among them. I’d also recommend their Fashionista Blend and their White Tip Jasmine Tea. Of course, you can’t go wrong with the Basic Black Blend, either. And you’ll LOVE getting a package in the mail from them – the packaging is as much fun as the tea!
Citrus Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
There’s a whole lot of tang in this tea: orange peel, lemongrass, bergamot oil. The Ceylon (Sri Lankan) base tea can also have a tangy character. This is a smooth, medium-bodied cup. Obviously, the citrus in this tea is bold, but it’s not aggressive or bergamot-heavy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This Citrus Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore is the second of the three teas I received in this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea. I really do enjoy these boxes, and this month, they did things a little different. Instead of providing three different teas/tisanes from three different tea vendors, they chose just one vendor to focus on, and selected three different teas from them.
I kind of like this change … it gives me the opportunity to try not just one tea from a tea company, but, three! Let’s just hope that the company they choose will be a new-to-me company – like this month’s vendor, Naked Teas Galore.
I am very happy with this particular selection – Citrus Earl Grey. Of course, Bergamot is already a citrus, but Naked Teas Galore really zoomed in on the citrus notes by adding Lemongrass and Orange Peel. These additional citrus flavors soften the sometimes sharp bergamot flavor and create a sort of “medley” of citrus-y flavor … sort of like a citrus punch, if you can imagine that. The bergamot is still distinct, of course, but just … more mellow. Smoother. Sweeter! The orange peel and lemongrass do not offer a strong, specific flavor of their own in the brewed cup; instead, these ingredients contribute to the aforementioned “citrus punch” like taste.
The black tea is sort of a mellow-tasting black tea that sits off in the background, content to let the citrus-y flavors play. It is a solid black tea flavor, but it is definitely off in the background. It is not an aggressive flavor, but I think a stronger black tea flavor would have interrupted the citrus-y notes that I think Naked Teas Galore was trying to hone in on with this blend. It might be interesting to see how a stronger black tea base would have tasted here, but as it it, I find this to be a really tasty tea, perfect for one of those lazy afternoons, when you just want to sit and contemplate the joy of tea!
Devonshire Earl Grey Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
A recent addition to our Earl Grey Blends. The base for this tea is an elegant long-leaf Ceylon BOP1. The fresh, full bergamot flavor is married with lemon notes to produce a rich and full bodied tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m always interested (and excited!) to try a new-to-me Earl Grey blend, so when my SororiTea Sister, TeaEqualsBliss, sent me a sampling of this Devonshire Earl Grey Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports, I was thrilled!
The aroma of the dry leaf is captivating – with that distinctive bergamot fragrance mingling with a lemon-y note … it’s very citrusy … very aromatic! The brewed tea has more of a lemon note than bergamot … the bergamot is still there, but the lemon definitely stands out as the stronger scent. It almost smells like a lemon scented furniture polish … let’s hope it doesn’t taste like it!
Fortunately, it doesn’t taste like furniture polish! It has a strong citrus-y flavor, with the bergamot notes playing a balancing act with the lemon notes. Together, the two taste more like a homogeneous citrus flavor rather than a distinguished bergamot and/or lemon flavor.
The black tea takes a backseat to the strong citrus tones – that is not to say that the Ceylon BOP1 is overwhelmed completely by the citrus flavors, but, the Ceylon is not quite strong enough to hold it’s own here. It is tasted, but it doesn’t offer a bold presentation. I do like it’s smooth character though, and the moderate astringency of the tea does accentuate the citrus flavors quite nicely.
Overall, this is a pleasant Earl Grey offering. Not my favorite, but, not a bad Earl Grey tea. It would be a good Earl Grey for those who like the focus to be on the citrus-y qualities of the bergamot fruit. As for me, I found myself wanting a little more black tea flavor in the background, and I wished there were more obvious bergamot notes to the cup. Not bad though!
Organic Crazy Earl Black Tea from Indie Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Indie Tea
Tea Description:
Finest Earl Grey Tea Decorated With Citrus Peel.
Some Are Left Of Crazy. Others Are To The Right Of Crazy. Then There Are Those Who Are Right Smack Dab In The Middle Of Crazy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Crazy Earl Black Tea from Indie Tea is really interesting! I can definitely taste the Earl Grey coming through, but, the additional orange and grapefruit flavors add their own little twist to the classic taste of the bergamot orange notes.
The black tea is brisk and smooth. I taste a peppery note to this black tea so it is making me wonder if this is possibly a Yunnan black tea base … or at least a blend with Yunnan tea. It’s a very flavorful black tea base.
The bergamot is softer here … it is smooth and doesn’t have the perfume-y quality that is often associated with bergamot. It has that tangy taste that you expect from a bergamot but without the strong floral/perfume taste. It could be that the additional citrus notes of orange and grapefruit bring the citrus notes of the bergamot into focus while blurring the more “perfumed” quality of the bergamot … I don’t know.
What I do know is that this Crazy Earl from Indie Tea is definitely an interesting take on Earl Grey … and a nice change from the usual Earl Grey. If you’re a fan of the Earl … you should give this one a try.
Posh Earl Grey from Lu-Lin Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lu-Lin Teas
Tea Description:
A LuLin Teas take on the English favourite Earl Grey. We’ve added bright blue corn flowers and zesty orange flowers to create our wonderful Posh Earl Grey Blend. Add a slice of lemon, drink with milk or keep it black for three very different taste sensations.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Posh Earl Grey is the first tea that I’ve tried from Lu-Lin Teas … and this is a company I’ve been excited to try for months now! I heard about them on Facebook, I think, and I’ve been in contact with a representative of the company, Hannah, about possibly sampling some of their products for a while, but because they’re in the UK, they wanted to wait until they were able to expand their shipping to the United States.
Well, they’re available here now … as well as in the UK, and this Posh Earl Grey is an excellent version of my classic favorite. It tastes smoother than a typical Earl Grey; it is not quite as pungent … the bergamot tastes sweeter and maybe a little less tangy than what I’ve become used to. And I like this difference. Oh sure, I still love that classic taste of bergamot, but I love it when I find something a little different too.
The black tea tastes … silky. It has a smooth flavor from start to finish. There is very little astringency and no bitterness whatsoever. It isn’t what I’d call a robust tasting tea, but, what it lacks in boldness, it makes up for with its even tone … I like that it is just so smooth!
The bergamot is nicely balanced, not overwhelming but also not too subtle. It has a very pleasing citrus-y taste, tasting bright and slightly acidic, but mostly, what I taste is a really lovely sweetness from the bergamot. It is a very pleasing, well-rounded cup.
If this tea is any indication of the quality and flavor of teas I can expect from this company, I’d say I’m in for a wonderful experience with Lu-Lin Teas!