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I bought this from an Asian supermarket because it was inexpensive and I like the tin. I honestly had very low expectations for the tea itself. I buy every variety of earl grey I can get my hands on, which means I’ve been disappointed more often than not. There are a few brands which have been very pleasant surprises, but most have been a letdown. My expectations for this tea were adjusted accordingly.

I would say that this tea is more of a pleasant surprise than a letdown, but that isn’t to say that it’s one of my favorite earl greys. It is a serviceable tea. It will tide me over when I don’t want to dip into my more expensive blends, but it is not my first choice when I go to the cupboard.

The coloration in the cup is quite nice. It has that deep burgundy that marks the better earl greys. The quality of the black tea itself is something lacking. It’s just not quite up to the quality I prefer. The bergamot flavoring is nice, and the blend is fairly well-balanced. All in all, this falls just shy of what I want in an earl grey. I won’t recommend it, but I won’t fault anyone who enjoys it.

Really more a lady grey than an earl grey. There are big chunks of orange peel in the bag, but I opt to not ever drop them in the infuser, as this tea has plenty enough citrus flavor to go around without the peels.

In general, I try to avoid the fruitier teas, especially when I am dealing with earl grey. Double bergamots are the sort of thing I have no interest in, and lady greys are pushing the limits of my fruit threshold. With all of that said, this really is a delicious tea which I regularly enjoy and have no hesitation in recommending. I picked this up at the Trailhead store location in downtown Sedona, and was pleased to meet the proprietor and see his utter devotion to fine teas. If you are ever in the Sedona area, definitely stop in and sample the goods in this tea shop. Their selection is astonishing and the proprietor’s expertise is impressive.

As for the tea itself, as I noted earlier, it does carry quite a citrus kick, but the quality of the Ceylon black tea is what carries this blend over the top. Really makes a refreshing cup, particularly if you really watch the clock, as the window for optimum steeping is quite narrow here. I find 4:30 to be the perfect steeping time, and not a second longer. Well-steeped, this makes a delicious and heartily strong cup which can really get you going on a winter morning. The coloration is a beautiful burgundy, and the aroma will linger pleasantly in the kitchen for a good long while. I made a pot this morning and complimented it with a plain bagel with a schmear of plain cream cheese. It was a simple breakfast, but absolutely delicious to the last crumb and drop. As I said, I highly recommend this tea, and I highly recommend stopping by the Trailhead store as well.

I bought a tin of Harney and Sons Early Grey and Earl Grey Imperial on the same day, and I just finished the regular Earl Grey, having loved every cup. When I cracked the seal on this tin I wondered how much better it could possibly be than the regular Earl Grey. What I loved about the regular Earl Grey was its simplicity. They just take damn good tea leaves, add a hint of bergamot, and that’s it (and for the record, that’s all an Earl Grey should ever be). The Earl Grey Imperial has the same formula, but it’s even better. The quality of the tea leaves in this blend is amazing. Every flavor in the cup is perfectly balanced. No single flavor overpowers any other, which makes every sip an absolute delight. This is the best Earl Grey I’ve tasted yet, and I look forward to many more cups of this tea in the future.

I just finished the entire tin of this tea, and it has really grown on me. I really enjoy the subtlety and the high quality of the black tea in this blend. I also love the fact that the bergamot is not overpowering. This is an incredibly simple tea with no fruitiness or floweriness whatsoever. This is exactly what an Earl Grey ought to be. The only bad thing I’ll say about it is that it is incredibly delicate when it comes to the steeping. If you don’t do it exactly right, you’ll end up with a hot cup of disappointment. Once you nail the precise water temperature and steeping time, this tea never fails to impress.

I purchased this tea after the insistence of my sister and her children. They are all big fans of Teavana, but the teas they purchase tend to be so flowery and fruity, you can’t even smell the tea. I figured I would be safe in purchasing Teavana’s straight Earl Grey, but I have been less than satisfied with it.

In the same way that Starbucks sells coffee for people who don’t want to taste the coffee flavor in their coffee, Teavana seems to cater to people who don’t particularly like the flavor of tea leaves. This tea is entirely too flowery and fruity. I can hardly taste the black tea in it at all. As a loose leaf, this Earl Grey pales in comparison to every bagged Earl Grey I’ve ever tasted. When I drink this stuff I taste jasmine (the most prominent flavor in the cup), I taste bergamot, and the only thing I don’t taste is tea.

This is a fine Earl Grey that leans heavily on the quality of its black tea and doesn’t rely too heavily on the bergamot to add flavor. The one downside of this tea is that it is very sensitive to steeping time and temperature. Steep it too hot or too long and you’ll be drinking the dregs of a very bitter cup . Steep it just right (4 minutes at 190 degrees) and this is a fantastic drink. The bergamot is very subtle, so this will likely not be your cuppa if you’re a fan of Stash’s double bergamot or other heavily flavored teas. If you don’t mind an Earl Grey that has more in common with an English Breakfast than some of the more flowery and fruity varieties of Earl Grey, you’ll likely enjoy this one quite a bit.

I must add my voice to those who have already stated that this tea has way too much ginger and black pepper. Just know that black pepper is my favorite flavor of chips, and ginger chicken is my favorite dish (I actually prefer to have more ginger than chicken in my ginger chicken). In order for me to say, “Whoa” on ginger and black pepper, it has to be undrinkably strong, which it is.

Why am I giving this tea such a high rating? Because it makes the most delicious chai latte I have ever tasted. So many other chai teas lose their flavor when buried under a hot mess of frothy milk. Tazo’s chai is actually improved when diluted. If you are looking to drink this as a straight chai, you might be very disappointed. If you plan on dumping a bunch of frothy milk and adding a dusting of cinnamon on top, you’ll likely be delighted.

I started drinking Earl Grey because I wanted to be a badass like Jean Luc Picard. I didn’t know at the time that my favorite tea would actually become Lady Grey. Maybe I’m just not cut out for Starfleet.

Anyway, this is basically an Earl Grey with a little orange and lemon thrown in. You would expect it to have an overpowering citrus flavor, but it really doesn’t. It has a smooth black tea foretaste, and a refreshing citrus aftertaste. Neither part of this tea is particularly overpowering. It’s just a well-balanced, finely blended cup of comfort. My innards feel happy for a solid hour after I pour a cup of Lady Grey down. Do yourself a favor and try this stuff. It’s fantastic.

This is my favorite Earl Grey at present. It is also the finest Earl Grey I am able to buy over the counter in this small town, so I am assuming that I may yet find Earl Greys I enjoy more than this one.

This tea has a very nice aroma, and the black tea to bergamot ratio is right on the money. I know they use bergamot flavoring rather than actual bergamot oil, but I have to remind myself that this is a mass market tea which I buy for $3 a box. This is about as good as you can do in that price range.

I drink this tea straight, hot, and strong. It hasn’t disappointed yet, so I think regardless of how many fancy tins of loose leaf Earl Grey I acquire in the future, this one will always be the baseline. It’s a nice comfortable cup that I can always come back to.