Earl Grey

If you are into British teas, this is a true classic. Very good taste!

This is my first proper cup of Earl Grey tea. I went straight from Lipton and Teavana to Yunnan blacks, Oolongs, etc. so I was very intrigued by the scent of real Earl Grey!! I also got a proper British style bone china teacup and saucer (bc all I had was Asian style tea ware) which I absolutely think is gorgeous and adds to the experience.
Origin: Sri Lanka
Dry Leaf: Black and twisted leaves with the scent of the Bergamot Orange oil
Method: 212F 1 tsp tea for 12 oz water steeped for 3 minutes
Wet Leaf: Cut with scents of the essential oil
Liquor: Smells of some light smoke and has a beautiful light orange color. Very clear.
Flavor: Light with touches of the Bergamot Orange oil that gives the tea a subtle citrus taste. This tea is meant to have milk and sugar if you like. I don’t ever add sugar but I added a splash of milk. How delicious when you do that bc this makes the citrus notes come to the forefront and blend into a creamy citrus tea. There is no astringency or bitterness in this tea so I am very pleased with my first experience with a true Earl Grey. Thank you Steepster!!!

From the Steepster Select Box; June, 2014

A classic earl grey, the bergamot is natural and rich which adds a sweet lemon note. It is a pleasant black tea and not too strong. You can leave it longer on a repeat steep for a mellow but still floral cup.

This is a solid Earl Grey. Even if you don’t usually care for EG, you should probably try this one; it’s very mild. I personally tend to want as much bergamot as you can give me when I’m going the Earl Grey route, but this is still good tea and one that I would recommend.

This smells really good – very lemony. The taste was really bad at first but that’s probably because I just blindly put the whole packet in a filter for one cup which was too much. Last box, it was 2 packets of each tea and you just put a packet per filter (10 packets total). This one is 5 packets so I guess we are to split the contents. Didn’t realize that till I was looking for this tea to input the tasting note and read it on Skulleigh’s note that it’d changed. I adjusted for the second cup and it was much better. I guess I should have paid more attention myself, but some note really would have been good to include when things changed. It was a good earl grey with strong citrus taste after all.

I’ll be honest; I’m not a super big EG fan, but I do find myself liking this a lot. The bergamot and citrus come through without being overwhelming, and the Ceylon is easy to keep from getting overpowering. It’s not a struggle to drink like I find most EGs, but I don’t think I would buy it for myself.

This is a nice alternative to coffee. Nice boost of caffeine. And the added lemon flavor is this Earl Gray was nice for the summer time.

I got my last Steepster Select box for the summer a few days ago… I think. This week is a blur. Hubs had surgery on Tuesday to fix his deviated septum. So I’m a little out of it on what events happened when since about last Thursday :D

This Select box confused me a bit – I think they consolidated the samples into 1 packet each instead of 2, as all the packets are fatter and this one definitely had enough for 2 servings. But it was a bit disconcerting to have half the number of packets expected and no mention in the box of the change. No email notice of it either, and Steepster kept going down so I couldn’t even check the forums for any mention of it.

I am having a pot of this with my morning oatmeal. Not a great match, but not as bad as another EG might be. It’s not as heavy on the bergamot as most EGs, and the lemon is pretty light too – I hate when tea tastes like I got smacked in the face with a can of Lemon Pledge.

I tend to think of EG as an aggressive flavor. It’s very “HEY! I’M EARL GREY!” and this isn’t doing that; it’s very understated. The volume is turned down to a 5 or so instead of an 8. In comparison, Lapsang Souchong is generally a 9. 10 is reserved for really obnoxious flavored teas, and 11 is for industrial accidents.

I am pretty burned out on Earl Greys though, so it’s not something I would order. But it’s good as far as EGs go, and I would recommend it to someone who wants a light EG.

This is a great version of this tea and I appreciate the actual bergamot oil being used.

Wow. This was my first sample from the June’s Steepster Essentials vol 1 set. I’d describe it as bright and rounded. Just opening the pouch released the scent of bergamot, causing me to smile. Very tasty. I’m considering purchasing some when my small pouch runs out.