Earl Grey Blue Flower (TE16)

So Tuesdays are pretty much the worst day of the week for me. I start class at 9 and basically have it in some form until 6 (with an hour long break here and there) and the last class is the one where we talk about Foucault ad infinitum. So, rather than go for a strong pick me up tea today, I wanted something tasty and flavored to give me a bit of comfort as I thought about the rest of the day. As an added bonus I was able to finish off my sample of this in anticipation of the arrival of my Harney and Son order!

The more I drink it the more I like this Earl Grey. It seems to have just the right ratio of aroma to tea, and it the floral addition gives it a nice twist on the Earl Grey theme. Think it needs to go on my shopping list!

Sipdown no. 3 of May 2019 (no. 65 of 2019 total, no. 553 grand total). Sample tin.

I have been drinking the Harney Viennese Earl Grey fairly regularly also given its rating, and I prefer this one. It’s mellower, and the bergamot isn’t quite as strong.

In fact, I think it needs a bit of a bump in the rating as I say goodbye.

In other news, I am seeing the light at the end of the chamomile tunnel! (At least for the pure chamomile, which is among the lowest rated items in my cupboard.) I need to learn that I am not a straight chamomile fan, try as I might. I kept thinking it would be nice to have around to round out my collection, but the truth is it just takes up space.

Also, I am down to 19 cupboard pages as of this sipdown! Huzzah!

D&D&Tea, day 1, roll 2: 7

Cait sat down in the proffered chair with a heavy thump. “Ow,” she muttered. “You didn’t say anything about there being undead guarding the magic for your scrolls.”

The hood of Rabs’ cloak tipped in a way reminiscent of a secretive wizard hiding an eyeroll. “Why did you think I needed an adventurer?” she asked, and pushed a new scroll and quill across the table to Cait.

The innkeeper came by with a mug of cider, set it down by the wizard’s elbow, and gave Cait a sympathetic look. “Are they all so dangerous?” she asked. “I mean, this is why I have these adventurers pay for the whole week up front, but this seems a little harsh.”

Rabs snorted. “Here,” she said, and held up her cupped hands for the innkeeper’s inspection. “You pick the next one, then.” The innkeeper poked dubiously through something that Cait couldn’t see. “That one?”

“No, no,” said the innkeeper. “How about there?”

“Hmm, the seventh facet,” Rabs said. “Very well!”

Cait blinked as the air thickened around her. Then, with emphatic care, she stood up from the chair and drew her club. This one appeared to be a jungle filled with the heady fragrance of flowers in bloom.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cait_tea/4688402121/in/set-72157624121434691/

“This is lovely,” Cait said, and braced herself.

Nothing attacked.

“Hmm,” Cait said, and stopped to just breathe in the flowers for a few moments. Revitalized, she chose a direction and began picking her way through the tangled vines. A beautiful line of blue flowers ran past her feet like a stream, and she crouched down to admire them. Above her head, jaws snapped shut and something growled angrily.

Cait didn’t shriek this time (any slight squeaking noise was surely your imagination). She whirled around and drove her club hard into the throat of the —

Well. She whirled around and struck, glancing the very tip of her club off of a heavy vine that writhed away. Beside her face, a pugnacious purple-mottled jaw dropped open again to reveal a row of vegetative yet extremely vicious teeth. Cait rolled to the side and struck at the vine again, this time barely bruising the thick greenery. However, it bought her time to reach into her bag, pull out a bag of salt, and dump it into the maw of the cleric-eating plant. With one last writhe, the plant wilted to the ground. Behind it, Cait could see that the stream of blue-flowering plants appeared to be pouring from another cauldron. Eagerly she approached this one and scooped up a mug. Then, remembering the previous tea, she pulled out a different bag and shook a small twist’s worth of sugar into the mug.

Holding it up, she took a deep breath. Yes, the floral richness of the blue flowers was wafting from the steam of the tea as well. A cautious sip broke open a lovely sweetness and Cait smiled, sipping peacefully as the warmth of the tea washed through her. As it cooled, though, the sweetness began to turn cloying. Heaviness dragged at her limbs, and she shook it off and paced, returning to the tea only to find it cooler and sweeter than before.

As she turned again, a sharp scent broke through the air and Cait turned, about to welcome the change when she recognized the blood orange from the earlier tea, a last remnant perhaps of her spell to detect the undead as the carnivorous vine rose up again, swaying before her on its weakened stalk. The jaws seemed to part with foul laughter and then, even as Cait reached for her traveling mug of holy water, it turned and slithered away.

Grimly, Cait lifted her mug of tea and drank the cold liquid down. She pulled the scroll out of her bag and, lifting its quill, bordered it with arrows of urgency and sweetened it only with licks of flame through the middle. Then she stopped, looked down at the bubbling blue flowers, and threw rune-petals of joy and delight out from the middle to meet those ominous borders and give them meaning. With one last smile for the blossoms, she snapped the quill and reformed at the inn.

“That was nice,” she said to Rabs and the innkeeper. “Thank you! But you know, you’re going to have to do something about all of those chairs I keep losing.”

The dry leaf smells awful perfume-y but happily once it is brewed a bit of a tea smell joins up with it. The taste is not overwhelmingly bergamot thankfully – it’s actually a pretty smooth blend of tea base (though not an overly strong or distinct tasting base) and bergamot. It’s got a heavy feel on my tongue, kind of silky, and that’s nice.

I’m having this cup straight, but unlike yesterday’s EG, this one isn’t really very sweet and the bergamot is a straight bergamot (instead of candied citrus) so I think it would take additives rather well. It doesn’t necessarily need them though but it couldn’t hurt to slightly soften and sweeten the bergamot edge to the end which occasionally comes across as a bit sharp and dry.

All in all, it seems to be on the good side of a standard Earl Grey. I think I prefer the not-quite-as-EG EGs from Upton that I’ve been sampling recently, just because they are something different and a hair more exciting.

Hmm…I feel like I’ve had this before, but I haven’t logged it, apparently. Maybe I’m confusing it with Earl Grey Creme from Teavana? They look very similar to each other – the bright blue flowers make a gorgeous contrast against the black tea. I guess I’ll just make it and find out!

The amount of tea in my cupboard right now is perfect – just enough variety to not get bored, but also, the amount of incoming leaf vs. outgoing is more or less balanced. Whenever the David’s Tea order gets here (fingers crossed for today!) I’ll be back in my normal pattern of accumulating faster than I can drink. :)

This blend stuck out to me in particular this morning because I haven’t had earl grey in a while – and the creamy vanilla mixed in with the scent of citrusy bergamot was wonderfully enticing. I love the smell and taste of vanilla. I’d pick vanilla over chocolate anytime!

Steeping parameters are below – the only additive was a splash of milk added to about 1.5 tsp. leaf in 8 oz. water.

I may have gone a bit heavy on leaf amount – the bergamot was STRONG when I first started drinking. But after a bit the milk helped get the vanilla more front and center. It was a smooth tea – no astringence, just a wallop of bergamot, followed by a blend of vanilla and black tea to finish off the sip. Mouthfeel, even with the milk, was a little thin, but I drained the cup pretty quickly regardless.

This is boyfriends black tea of choice, besides the East Frisian blend. He goes through this and his Moroccan Green Mint at a pretty quick clip – drinks one or the other daily with his lunch at work. I can’t imagine pairing this with a sandwich and chips, but he seems okay with it. Whether I’ve had it before or not, it really does remind me almost exactly of the Teavana version of this tea. That’s not a bad thing at all, though – this version’s cheaper so I’ll just stick with it!

This was the first sample I tried from Upton Tea. If this is any indication of what I can expect from them, then I’m delighted.

This is a lovely Earl Grey. It’s fairly heavy on the bergamot, which is my preference. The little blue cornflowers are pretty, but don’t add (or detract) from the flavor.

I drank this with a bit of honey.

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More thanks to Sandy Stith for this sample! :)

There is a very clear bergamot aroma in the leaves both wet and dry. The blue flowers make the leaves quite pretty to look at as well as sniff :) It’s not an overly strong EG but definitely not weak by any means. I think it would make a good staple EG to have in the cupboard. I like that it’s not all that sweet on its own like some EG’s that I’ve had. It better allows me to choose how sweet I want my tea. I might have a big sweet tooth one day but not want any sweetening another day. I like that I have that choice.

I’m not quite sure what the blue flowers bring to this tea aside from decoration. I am finding that more and more these days I’m running across them in black teas merely to impart colour to the blend it seems. As long as it doesn’t impact taste I am fine with it I guess but do find it a tad silly.

This is one of the better Earl Greys I have tried and one of the samples I got from Upton. It is just a regular ol’ Earl Grey. Nothing shocking or surprising here. Nicely balanced mix between the bergamot and the tea. I’m a huge fan of Earl Grey and will say that this will go onto my shopping list for the next time I decide to bite the bullet and pay for the shipping Uptons’ charges.

Yep, it’s earl grey. I’m not quite sure I can taste anything that the blue flower might be adding to this. It’s a good earl grey though, quite possibly a candidate to keep around when I just want a cup of EG. Oh, and my tummy hurts. I think I OD’ed a bit on the spicy kimchi-bean curd stew at the Korean restaurant last night. And the kimchi pancake. I’m trying to drink soothing tea with almond milk to make it better, but it’s not working so far. Anyway, good thing I like earl grey by itself…. I have had blue flower in delicious chai blends, and I thought it added sweetness? Eh? Well, I’ll finish the sample. I bought too much earl grey at once, and I may hate it by the time I’m done the 3000 lbs of it in my house.

Bought some of this a couple mons ago and boy is it smooth. The only complaaint I have is that it’s a bit weak tasting, especially the bergamot.