Ah! The familiar taste of a traditional Earl Grey. I can safely say that this is the best Earl Grey I have ever tasted, although I have not had that many. Twinings Earl Grey (loose leaf) and Kusmi Tea Earl Grey comes to mind, and this is better than both of them. The lemony bergamot is perfectly balanced with the tea itself so you can taste both the bergamot and the flavor of the tea, which is a blend of black, oolong and white tea (silver tips). The silver tips and the oolong adds an interesting, sweet, floral element that for some reason reminds me a little of the flavor of chamomile.
The bergamot is fresh and vibrant and I would call it a medium in terms of strength. It does not taste like some kind of cleaner like Lipton EG which contains way too much bergamot for my taste. This is refined and skillfully blended. The tea itself is medium-bodied, I would say. Not as strong as some of Harney & Sons’ plain black teas but more full-bodied than most of their flavored black teas in my opinion.
I don’t know how this tea compares to their regular Earl Grey, as I have never had it, but this Earl Grey Supreme variant is my idea of a perfect Earl Grey.
If you like EG, look no further!
Dry leaves, appearance:
Relatively long, charcoal grey/black tea leaves with long silver tips here and there.
Dry leaves, aroma:
Very strong bergamot aroma. Fresh, citrusy and vibrant.
Liquor:
Medium to dark brown.
Packaging:
4 oz. loose tea tin.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Citrusy, Floral, Hay, Malt, Tea
Preparation
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Comments
This is my favorite of all the Harney Earl Grey blends!
What a wonderful, compelling description! I have not drunk an Earl Grey in decades and this has whetted my appetite.
Nice to hear! What is the difference in terms of flavor profile between all their Earl Grey variants (Earl Grey Supreme, Earl Grey, Earl Grey Imperial, Viennese Earl Grey)?
Thank you very much! This is actually also my first Earl Grey in a very long time.
I highly recommend it. I can’t imagine a better EG than this one.
Andreastt: I find this one more refined. I actually dislike many Earl Grey blends. I find it too sour when they use a Ceylon base that is naturally lemony, like the high elevation ones. I prefer my bergamot on Keemun, and Nina’s of Paris used to be my absolute favorite until they switched to Ceylon tea. The other Harney blends differ in the base and amount of bergamot. They are a little rough around the edges to me, but that is just a matter of personal preference. I have a friend who prefers the rougher cups.
The base is the big difference for me with Harney, and the amount of bergamot added. I don’t want it too strong. Another good blend from Harney to try is Diamond Jubilee which is basically just this tea with a hint of grapefruit flavor added. I also enjoy their Winter White Earl Grey.
If you like lavender with bergamot, Parker’s Blend from Cuppageek is very good and you can resteep each teaspoon twice, for a total of three steeps. I combine these all together for a nicely balanced pot.
Viennese Earl Grey is a darjeeling base and VERY lemony, Imperial is their strongest base with the most bergamot and is just a little too much bergamot for me, and regular Earl Grey is a mix of black and oolong tea for the base.
My picks in order are Ear Grey Supreme, Winter White Earl Grey, and Diamond Jubilee, although on any given day number two and three may switch places!
Oh, their Victorian London Fog is good! It is Earl Grey with cream flavor!
Sorry if this is way too much information!
ashmanra: Thanks for the info. I enjoyed reading that. Diamond Jubilee sounds nice but it is a shame that you can’t get it in a tin. But I don’t think I will buy another Earl Grey blend now that I have one already, but Victorian London Fog is the one I am most intrigued by. Do you know if the black tea in Earl Grey Supreme is Keemun and do you know if the silver tips are Ceylon Vintage Silver Tips? I have 3 new Harney & Sons teas on the way: Apricot, Darjeeling and Black Currant. Have you tried those?
I looked up my old notes, and apparently I had Apricot in sample tea bag form years ago and loved it. I was just eyeing it at the supermarket so I guess this means I need to pick up a tin. I tried Black Currant but at that time I was drinking a lot of Tower of London which I dearly love and preferred over plain Black Currant. I have not tried Harney’s Darjeeling.
ashmanra No such thing as ‘too much information’ when it comes to tea! : )
ashmanra: It’s great to hear that you like their Apricot tea. I look forward to receiving it tomorrow :) I discovered Harney & Sons back in 2011 or 2012, but I first started drinking their teas at the beginning of 2021. I did not buy any teas from them back then (probably because I was 14 or 15 years old and didn’t have a lot of money) but I remember that Apricot was one of the teas I wanted to try back then, so that’s why I have now bought it. It’s going to be interesting to see how it tastes. I bought Black Currant because I wanted a plain Black Currant tea and also because it was their first flavored tea. I love the distinct taste of Darjeeling tea so I hope it’s going to have that characteristic Darjeeling flavor. I have not tried Tower of London and it is not available in loose leaf here in Europe so that’s unfortunate. It sounds very similar to Paris, though – which is also an excellent tea.
White Antlers: I definitely agree :)
This is my favorite of all the Harney Earl Grey blends!
What a wonderful, compelling description! I have not drunk an Earl Grey in decades and this has whetted my appetite.
Nice to hear! What is the difference in terms of flavor profile between all their Earl Grey variants (Earl Grey Supreme, Earl Grey, Earl Grey Imperial, Viennese Earl Grey)?
Thank you very much! This is actually also my first Earl Grey in a very long time.
I highly recommend it. I can’t imagine a better EG than this one.
Andreastt: I find this one more refined. I actually dislike many Earl Grey blends. I find it too sour when they use a Ceylon base that is naturally lemony, like the high elevation ones. I prefer my bergamot on Keemun, and Nina’s of Paris used to be my absolute favorite until they switched to Ceylon tea. The other Harney blends differ in the base and amount of bergamot. They are a little rough around the edges to me, but that is just a matter of personal preference. I have a friend who prefers the rougher cups.
The base is the big difference for me with Harney, and the amount of bergamot added. I don’t want it too strong. Another good blend from Harney to try is Diamond Jubilee which is basically just this tea with a hint of grapefruit flavor added. I also enjoy their Winter White Earl Grey.
If you like lavender with bergamot, Parker’s Blend from Cuppageek is very good and you can resteep each teaspoon twice, for a total of three steeps. I combine these all together for a nicely balanced pot.
Viennese Earl Grey is a darjeeling base and VERY lemony, Imperial is their strongest base with the most bergamot and is just a little too much bergamot for me, and regular Earl Grey is a mix of black and oolong tea for the base.
My picks in order are Ear Grey Supreme, Winter White Earl Grey, and Diamond Jubilee, although on any given day number two and three may switch places!
Oh, their Victorian London Fog is good! It is Earl Grey with cream flavor!
Sorry if this is way too much information!
ashmanra: Thanks for the info. I enjoyed reading that. Diamond Jubilee sounds nice but it is a shame that you can’t get it in a tin. But I don’t think I will buy another Earl Grey blend now that I have one already, but Victorian London Fog is the one I am most intrigued by. Do you know if the black tea in Earl Grey Supreme is Keemun and do you know if the silver tips are Ceylon Vintage Silver Tips? I have 3 new Harney & Sons teas on the way: Apricot, Darjeeling and Black Currant. Have you tried those?
I looked up my old notes, and apparently I had Apricot in sample tea bag form years ago and loved it. I was just eyeing it at the supermarket so I guess this means I need to pick up a tin. I tried Black Currant but at that time I was drinking a lot of Tower of London which I dearly love and preferred over plain Black Currant. I have not tried Harney’s Darjeeling.
ashmanra No such thing as ‘too much information’ when it comes to tea! : )
ashmanra: It’s great to hear that you like their Apricot tea. I look forward to receiving it tomorrow :) I discovered Harney & Sons back in 2011 or 2012, but I first started drinking their teas at the beginning of 2021. I did not buy any teas from them back then (probably because I was 14 or 15 years old and didn’t have a lot of money) but I remember that Apricot was one of the teas I wanted to try back then, so that’s why I have now bought it. It’s going to be interesting to see how it tastes. I bought Black Currant because I wanted a plain Black Currant tea and also because it was their first flavored tea. I love the distinct taste of Darjeeling tea so I hope it’s going to have that characteristic Darjeeling flavor. I have not tried Tower of London and it is not available in loose leaf here in Europe so that’s unfortunate. It sounds very similar to Paris, though – which is also an excellent tea.
White Antlers: I definitely agree :)