I have to admit that I usually don’t like Earl Grey. I just don’t like the bergamotte oil. And I don’t like citrus flavors. And this tea has both. But it is absolutely fantastic! By far the best Earl Grey I’ve had so far.
Let’s start from the beginning. The base of this tea is Justea’s Kenyan Black. See my review notes there for details of the base tea, I won’t get too much into detail here. Just let me remind you that this black tea is absolutely amazing!
Brendan Waye has blended this black tea with organic, cold pressed, mediterranean bergamotte oil, check out his review of this tea here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx83jZ3ebJE
I had the pleasure of trying Brendans own Earl grey and he convinced me that Earl Greys can be really amazing. He is really a master of blending tea! And this one is IMO his masterpiece in the Earl Grey section.
The citrussy, fruity notes blend in fantastically with the base notes of the tea (malty, “green”, green grass and fresh sprouts of trees come to mind for me). This makes the tea absolutely rich and flavorful on the full palatte. The “sweetness” of the black base teas (that others have described as well) works so amazing with the fuitiness of the citrus notes coming from the bergamotte oil. Absolutely fantastic. You have the feeling of fresh lemons and limes combined with a nice robust Assam like tea. Amazing, this one is definitely going to have a permanent spot in my shelf!
