Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Summery and delicious, this is a blend of premium first flush FTGFOP-1 Darjeelings, freeze-dried blueberries, marigold petals and organic flavors. You are not going to miss out on this one. Trust me.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
OK … so I love a good Earl Grey. Bergamot – as long as it’s done correctly – I love it. And I like blueberry flavored tea and I enjoy a good Darjeeling. So everything about this blend says that this should be a winner, right?
Not so much.
When the tea is hot, it ends up tasting a bit like a mouthful of blueberry flavored perfume. Not really my favorite thing to drink. So, I pushed the cup aside and hoped that some cool time would allow the flavors to develop in a pleasant sort of way. I kept my fingers crossed and decided to play a game of Mahjong while I waited.
The game is over now and I lost. I’m hoping that the tea isn’t as big a fail as the game was.
Now that the tea is a little cooler (not cold, it’s still quite warm but it’s not fresh from the teapot hot now) it doesn’t taste quite as bad as it did with my first two sips. The bergamot has become less perfume-y tasting and now tastes more like the Italian citrus fruit than Uncle Harvey’s aftershave. And the blueberry comes through nicely. I find myself … hmm … I’m not quite comfortable using the word “enjoying” given how much I really was put off by the first couple of sips, so I guess I’ll say I don’t hate the way the citrus notes and the blueberry play together in this cup.
The Darjeeling is pleasant. At this cooler temperature, the tea tastes a little fuller in body than some of the Darjeeling teas that I had been tasting earlier this year with the first flush, like perhaps this might be a blend rather than a single estate. It makes a pleasing base.
Overall, once the tea has cooled, this is not terrible. It’s drinkable. It doesn’t taste so much like perfume anymore.
But it certainly doesn’t qualify as a favorite from 52Teas. As much as I am a fan of 52Teas – and I am, they’re one of my favorite companies for unique flavored teas! – I really think they should steer clear of Earl Grey/bergamot teas (and jasmine teas as well, unless they source teas that have already been scented with jasmine essence – but don’t use that wretched jasmine flavoring oil!) because these are two flavors that 52Teas seems to have difficulty capturing in a proper way. They just come out tasting very chemical and perfume-ish and just … well, icky.
You know I adore you, Frank, but, please stop with the Earl Grey blends. You’ve made some pretty decent ones that I’ve liked, but most that I’ve tried have turned out to be rather disappointing.
Then again, maybe I’m just an Earl Grey snob. My husband would tell you that is what the issue is. It isn’t that Frank doesn’t make good Earl Grey, it’s that I’ve raised the bar too high for Earl Grey because I’m a tea snob. Yep. That’s what he’d say.
Then again … what does my husband know about it? He doesn’t even drink tea! He might know trivial things like … math (math is evil) and stuff like that, but when it comes to things that REALLY matter (like tea) … he’d be lost without me.
Organic Earl Grey Black Tea from White Lion
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: White Lion
Tea Description:
Natural Italian oil of Bergamot gives this tea its crisp citrusy bouquet. An all time classic, this tea is Sir Aubrey’s favorite.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yay! Earl Grey!
The dry leaf aroma is intensely bergamot with notes of bold top citrus notes and and undertone of a slightly floral note. The aroma of an Earl Grey tea is one of the things I love most about this traditional favorite, and so I was eager to taste this new-to-me Earl Grey!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch tea maker and poured 500ml of water into the jug. Then I measured out two bamboo scoops of the tea into the basket and set the controls for 205°F and 2 1/2 minutes. The brewed tea is dark in color with a considerably softer fragrance than the dry leaf, but I can still detect the bergamot very clearly.
The bergamot flavor is much more subtle than I usually desire from an Earl Grey tea, but I can still taste the distinct notes of bergamot. Sharp, tangy notes of citrus that are much more focused if I slurp the cup to aerate the tea as it hits the palate. The aftertaste has a clear citrus note. This tea gets bonus points for a low astringency, as I find that many Earl Grey (or other citrus teas, for that matter) tend to have astringency. Here, the astringency is mild.
The black tea has a pleasing robustness to it. It’s very smooth in flavor from start to finish. It’s a little bit earthy and a little bit malty, and the malty notes meld with the bergamot in a very favorable way. The tea is strong and rich in flavor. It’s a medium to full bodied tea that would make a good late morning cuppa or early afternoon cuppa.
This would be a good Earl Grey for those who are timid when it comes to their bergamot. The bergamot is flavorful but not overdone. It is mellow enough for those who find a strong bergamot flavor to be too overpowering for them, but there is enough bergamot here to know that you’re drinking an Earl Grey.
Personally speaking, I prefer my Earl Grey to have a stronger bergamot essence, but I am enjoying this cup. I like that the tea is organic and it has a very satisfying flavor. It’s a good Earl Grey and it’s of good quality.
That said … this tea is best iced! I usually prefer my Earl Grey the same way that Captain Picard does … hot. But, this particular Earl Grey tastes best iced. The bergamot really pops as the tea cools!
Lady Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tea Description:
Our very popular Earl Grey blend of citrus bergamot over an extraordinary Nilgiri Black Tea with the added indulgence of Vanilla. This mouthwatering combination is the perfect invigorating treat. For the famed “London Fog” effect, add steamed milk and enjoy a smooth and creamy delight.
Ingredients: South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Black Tea, Earl Grey Flavor, Vanilla Flavor, Cornflowers
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
How awesome is this? Lady Earl Grey in the Selection Club box for August. If I wasn’t already in love with these boxes from Simple Loose Leaf, they would have had me at this tea!
When I first saw the name of this tea – Lady Earl Grey – I thought that it might be a bergamot flavored black tea with either Lavender or Rose added. It wasn’t until I opened the pouch and smelled the tea and could immediately recognize the aroma of the vanilla that I knew that this was a Creme style Earl Grey. The vanilla is very well pronounced in the fragrance of the tea and this translates to the flavor.
I brewed this in my Breville One-Touch by pouring 500 ml of freshly filtered water into the jug, and then scooping out two bamboo scoops full of the fragrant loose leaf tea and putting it in the basket of the tea maker. I set the tea maker for 212°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes. This produced two cups of perfectly brewed tea! (Have I mentioned lately that I love my Breville One-Touch? Everyone should have one of these!)
This is one of the nicer creme Earl Grey teas that I’ve tried in a while. The bergamot is strong and flavorful, but the sharp edges of the Italian orange is softened beautifully with the vanilla notes. It’s so delightfully creamy and smooth!
The black tea base is nicely round and has a malty tone to it. I like how the malt-like flavors of the black tea marries with the vanilla flavors to create an almost caramel-esque flavor that is positively delectable. The black tea is an invigorating, full-flavored black tea. I like that it’s good and strong and isn’t overwhelmed by the flavors of bergamot and vanilla.
The bergamot is pleasantly strong. It’s not the strongest bergamot flavor that I’ve experienced from an Earl Grey tea, but, it’s by no means weak or lacking in any way, in my opinion. It’s balanced well with the notes of vanilla so that these two components are not competing with one another, but working very harmoniously with each other, making for a heavenly cup of tea!
Save 25% off when you sign up for the Selection Club. Use the coupon code SISTERSELECTION25 when you join. This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.
Earl Grey Black Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
We start with our most popular tea, Laoshan Black for a chocolatey base, and build a crisp flavor with Yu Lu Yan Cha and a long sweet aftertaste with roasted Wuyi Oolong from the Li family. We accent the sweet richness of the teas and meld them together with a touch of vanilla, and finish with the fine organic bergamot oil. The result is decadent, creamy, rich and subtle.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the more unique Earl Grey tea blends that I’ve tried, and it comes as no surprise that this blend should come from Verdant Tea – because they always seem to take a very unique approach when it comes to classic tea flavors like Earl Grey.
That’s one of the things I absolutely love about this company – this is a company of artists! They think outside the box when it comes to traditional favorites. Sure, they could have taken one of their superior black teas and added bergamot oil and said, “there you have our Earl Grey.” But, they didn’t stop with just one of their superior black teas, they chose two – their Laoshan Black and their Yu Lu Yan Cha – and then they added their Wuyi Oolong just to kick it up a notch (or two!)
Wait a second. Oolong and Black tea? OK … so since Wuyi Oolong tends to be a darker Oolong, I went with 195°F and 3 minute steep time for the first infusion.
The dry leaf smells amazing. The bergamot notes are strong, but I can also detect those sweet notes of vanilla in there too. And then I smelled the chocolate-y notes of the Laoshan Black. These chocolate-y notes were very THERE as the tea steeped. My mouth was watering from the aroma that filled my kitchen.
The brewed liquid – surprisingly – smells more of the Laoshan Black tea than it does bergamot. I was a little worried … but just a little, because this is Verdant Tea, after all, and I hoped they wouldn’t disappoint me.
When the tea is very hot, the Laoshan Black tea is a very dominate flavor. After allowing the tea to cool to a drinkable temperature, though, the other flavors began to emerge.
Oh my! This is lovely! The Laoshan Black tea with its distinct chocolate-y flavors remains a dominate flavor profile in each sip. (Yeah, that means I get chocolate happiness with every sip!) And I like the way this tea melds with the flavors of bergamot and vanilla.
The vanilla tones are subtle at first, but as I near mid-cup, the vanilla flavors are developing. It’s creamy and sweet, but unlike some of the Earl Grey Creme teas that I’ve tried, it’s not a dominate flavor. It doesn’t “soften” the bergamot, it complements the flavor profiles of the Laoshan Black and the Yu Lu Yan Cha Black teas, encouraging those chocolate-y and malty notes to come forward.
The Yu Lu Yan Cha Black is a tea that I will be reviewing at a later date. I was actually going to be writing that review now, but, when I went to the Verdant Website, I noticed that the Yu Lu Yan Cha Black is currently out of stock and the Earl Grey was still in stock, but in very low quantities. (In other words, if this tea interests you, you should go forth and buy it now before it sells out.)
The Wuyi Oolong offers a very soft toasty, nutty note that offers a very harmonious flavor that marries perfectly with the chocolate and malt notes of the black teas. It also offers a nice – almost buttery – texture the cup that melds nicely with the creamy notes of the vanilla.
The second infusion is as delightful as the first – although it is a little different from the first cup. Most notably, the Laoshan black tea has mellowed a little, allowing the other flavors some “play time.” This cup is smoother and creamier than the first. I’m tasting a sweet potato note as well as notes of fruit from the Oolong. I am not tasting much from the bergamot nor the vanilla, but this is still a very tasty cup of tea!
As lovely as this tea is, I have to admit that the bergamot flavor is not as strong as I would like it to be. I like a bright, bold bergamot note and that is something that I’m just not getting here. I do get a nice tangy tingle of bergamot in the aftertaste and this flavor dances on the palate long after the sip. I like that … but I do find myself wishing that there was more of that tangy bergamot during the sip to contrast with the sweet chocolate-y flavors of the Laoshan Black, the hints of toasty flavor from the Wuyi Oolong and the malty, sweet notes of the Yu Lu Yan Cha Black.
That said, I really enjoyed this blend and it’s a tea that I’d be happy to drink any time. It’s a really delicious tea with lots of layers of flavors to discover.
Lord Bergamot Tea from Steven Smith Teamaker
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Steven Smith Teamaker
Tea Description:
A flavor somewhat superior to traditional Earl Grey. Fragrant Ceylon Dimbulla and Uva are artfully combined with select teas from India’s Assam valley, then scented with the flavor of bergamot from the realm of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Lord Bergamot from Steven Smith Teamaker is one of my all-time favorite Earl Grey teas. So I was very happy when this tea was included in April’s box from Knoshy.
What makes Lord Bergamot so great? I think it has to do with the fact that the black tea base is a blend of Ceylon teas from the Dimbulla and Uva estates as well as Assam tea from India. This creates a very pleasant, full-bodied base for the scenting of the bergamot oil. The Ceylon provides a smooth, rich flavor while the Assam adds a touch of malty flavor. There is a slight “wine-like” quality to the tea that contrasts in a lovely way with the tangy bergamot.
And I love that when I tear into one of these individually wrapped sachets I can SMELL the bergamot and it’s a powerfully strong scent. This is the way bergamot should be. It should be very aromatic.
By the way, this tea is available loose leaf too, and that’s how I originally tried this tea and as is true with other teas: I prefer it loose! However, Knoshy decided to send a box of sachets instead of loose leaf tea. That said, even in a sachet, this is still a really excellent Earl Grey!
The flavor of the bergamot is evenly matched with the richness of the black tea base. It doesn’t taste fake or chemical-ish. It doesn’t have a perfume-y sort of taste to it. This happens sometimes when the tea blender has selected a bergamot oil that is of lesser quality ~or~ when the tea blender has gone a little too heavy handed with the bergamot scenting process. (Or perhaps a combination of both factors.) But when a high quality bergamot oil is used in the right amount, it produces a SUBLIME flavor like I have here in my teacup right now.
It is a bright and tangy flavor, but there is a really pleasant sweetness to this too. The combination of the caramel-ish, malty notes of the black tea and the sweet/tangy flavor of the bergamot is moreish. Which is why, as I said at the start of this review, this is one of my top three favorite Earl Grey teas.
Those top three change pretty frequently, depending upon availability – some times a tea company either closes shop or they discontinue or change their Earl Grey; and sometimes it depends upon my palate – meaning that sometimes I come across a new favorite Earl Grey and one of the other teas is knocked to the #4 spot. But this one continues to be a top contender.
It’s just really good. If you like Earl Grey … this is one you should be putting on your must try list.