The tea leaves here are so dark and almost oily. They have a very unique look. This one has a vanilla scent, but it’s more the scent of a rich baked good. Like a vanilla earl grey shortbread or some other extraordinarily rich sweet. This is a fairly mellowed out Earl Grey Cream with hints of red fruits almost? There’s no astringency at all from the Assam base, just a lovely deep base that seems to alter the entire profile of this tea. I almost forget I’m drinking an EGC here. However, the richness and/or vanilla does seem to be upsetting my stomach here, though not with quite the same intensity as a purely vanilla-heavy EGC.