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I’ve been neglecting my tea lately. The husband and I are in the process of house shopping (and offering!) so all these things I mean to do… yeah, they haven’t been getting done. Shame on me. But today, I’m trying to reverse the trend. First step tea review, next step the world!

Ahem. So I realize this is random, but I like the fact that Mount Gray is spelled with an “a”. What can I say? I’m a Southern girl. “Grey” is not my default setting.

The smell is fragrant and a bit sharp. Spicy, I’d say. Perfume-y (just a tad) but in an expensive way and something that had a strong white pepper note or something. It tickles my nose, but it isn’t unpleasant. Currently, my top EG is Whittard of Chelsea’s, so I can’t help but compare a little. I don’t detect the earthy edge WoC’s had in this one, though that could be because the pepper tickle in my nose prevents me from massive sniffing.

In my cup, the smell mellows greatly. It has been a bit since I had WoC’s (my default tea lately has been a comforting Keemun) but I think this is mellower in cup. It’s a bit more floral and sweet than the peppery it was dry, but it’s pretty – soft and sort of cushy with an occasional twang of pepper.

So I’m a tiny bit mixed on the taste. It’s not overwhelmingly flavored – the bergamot is nice and light – definitely noticeable but not punch-you-in-the-face – but it edges a tad towards the floral. Not disturbingly so, but I do tend to prefer my bergamots with a tad of a peel note to them (I like that note of sharp intensity in my citrus). This one lacks that note, it seems. Also, the tea itself feels kind of… thin? I’m sure part of that is the fact that I do such short steep times (about 1:30) but other teas can feel silky and sexy after that steep time, why can’t this one? And, as is the case with most EGs, the flavor of the tea itself is definitely not a main player. I’m not even sure I’d say it is a backup singer. More like the random percussion dude that plays the maracas. You don’t really notice him, but he does add nice depth to the song.

All that whining aside, the balance of the flavoring is really nice. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s just flat out pretty. Soft and very easy to drink, the overall vibe is nice and relaxing. It’s the kind of tea that you heave a big sigh after sipping, releasing all your tension. As it cools, the balance of the bergamot shifts a tad from floral to citrus-sweet, and I like that.

I can’t say that yes, this is what Jean Luc Picard would drink, but I definitely don’t think he’d dump it out of his teacup.