No. 55 Lord Bergamot

My daily cup of choice. A bright and strong start to my morning. It becomes more delicate and floral if brewed for a shorter time (closer to 2min). I enjoy it with milk.

This was pretty good— I’m an Earl Grey fan, but sometimes strong bergamot can taste soapy to me. This didn’t taste soapy at all. I added a small bit of french vanilla creamer, and no sweetener; I left it in my mug, which made it a bit bitter.

This came my way via the previous round of the GCTTB. I haven’t had a chance to try any Steven Smith Teamaker teas though like most I’ve drank teas from his other brands, Tazo and Stash. The brewing instructions on the package made me giggle: “Steep 5 minutes while pondering the Earl’s affair with the Duchess of Devonshire.” Alright then. ;)

It’s a fairly standard earl grey though the base is most robust than most, in any event it’s quite enjoyable with milk, but I wouldn’t consider it to be anything remarkable. It’s more the sort of tea that would be a cupboard staple for anyone who wanted a good, basic earl grey.

RIP Steven Smith

Not really an earl grey, but certainly in the same bergamot family. I found it to be utterly delicious when prepared exactly as on the package despite it being a longer steep than I normally prefer.

My favorite Earl Grey that I can buy in bags.

Another cup this morning. Really enjoy the bright citrus note from the bergamot. Put a little extra sugar in this time and, well, it was sweeter as one might expect. Just right for my mood this morning.

Drinking the last of this sample from Terri. Thanks, again, Terri. This was super tasty. And I followed the instructions to the letter, regarding the playing of opera in the background, while the tea is brewing.

Yesterday’s two cups were accompanied by “Faust” and “La Boheme,” respectively. Today’s cup is accompanied by “Le nozze di Figaro.”

Cup from last night. Made it latte style with tiny bit of maple syrup. While it was good I probably had craved something else. If only I knew…

This smells pretty much like Earl Grey to me, which is totally fine, but it meant I got out the almond milk to splash in it before even brewing. Without, bergamot tastes super soapy to me.

Anyway, with a bit of almond milk, this was fantastic. I could taste the tea, bergamot, AND almond from my milk (something I really enjoy, and why I buy almond milk in the first place). Win.

Found a sample sachet of this, and since I’ve seen some Steven Smith reviews floating around lately I decided to give it a try.

First off, a little background info.

Earl Grey is my first tea love. It’s my go to if I need to drink a bag in public (like at a work conference or something, for example), and I don’t think I’ve met an EG I haven’t enjoyed. Not that I LOVE them all or anything, but they are easy to please me.

Anyhow, all that to say – this might be the very best non cream Earl Grey I’ve ever had.
The base is so delicious, it’s rich and smooth and silky and flavorful. The bergamot is perfect.

I added milk like I always do with EG and it was the very thing that I wanted to drink at that exact moment in time.

I do indeed foresee a Steven Smith order in my future, I’d love to be able to try some more sometime before I order! The Bungalow and Assam intrigue me especially.

They’ve been added to my future shopping list!