Earl Grey Cream

Michael Menashy from Tea Sparrow says about this tea: “Wow, I’m impressed. I am not a fan of Cream Earl Grey, but this one is exceptional. Love it!” So, there you go, it’s recommended by at least one non-Earl Grey fan. I don’t hate Earl Greys, but I don’t often crave them, you know? And I think I usually like the “cream” addition in Cream Earl Greys. Mostly I’m steeping this right now because I have cold hands and want to wrap them around a hot mug. :)

The dry tea smells strongly of bergamot – I don’t detect much vanilla. Brewed, some more of the cream/vanilla aromas come out, though it’s still predominantly bergamot. Same with tasting, actually. The base tea is solid but fairly unremarkable. There is a very faint bitterness, but I think that’s mellowing out as it cools a bit.

Ok, I tried adding sugar, which made it… sweeter, obviously, but not really better. Then I added some milk, which helped quite a bit. I guess I just needed a wee bit of actual cream in order to appreciate the cream flavour in this tea. Pretty good, but it’s not changing my life or anything. Might have to try this head to head against another cream earl grey from my cupboard to appreciate the differences.

Edited to add:
I compared it with a regular earl grey, and another brand’s cream earl grey, and here’s what I’ve concluded: the cream/vanilla favour in this is so mild, it doesn’t really stand out as its own flavour (unless you stick your nose right in the cup). What it does is mellow out the bergamot into something smoother and less tart. So it’s like a regular earl grey, but… nicer! Unless a really bitey citrus is what you’re going for with your earl grey, in which case I guess this would be a downgrade. Anyway, the other cream earl grey I own has a much more distinct vanilla/cream flavour, it’s like BAM, right there alongside the bergamot. This one, not so much. :)