84
drank Rosy Earl Grey by Teas Etc
2036 tasting notes

Though I continue to protest that I can’t add tea swaps to my already horrendous schedule, that I’m trying to simplify my life rather than complicate it more, etc., Rabs prevailed upon me to accept her generous offer of a sample of this. The sample came in a lovely heat sealed ziplock, gold on one side and clear on the other, with a charming label indicating the name of the tea, the company, and steeping temperature and time, in a quaint old-timey font that looks like what my old Smith Corona used to produce. Really well done, looks more professional in its packaging than some samples I’ve received from companies!

I didn’t know until now that this was another of those mixed green and black teas that tend to drive me nuts. But fortunately I don’t have to guess at the steeping time and temp because Rabs has taken the guess work out for me.

This is a visually pretty tea, a lot of rose petals adding color to the mix. In the packet it smells really flowery and I totally get the adjective “frou-frou” to describe this. The mixture of rose and jasmine is a really nice one, with the components of each scent blending together to create some third scent with aspects of both but something unto itself as well. There’s a green tea aromatic aura more than an actual smell. I’m made aware of the green tea’s presence but it’s not obvious. And there is a black tea strength around the edges. I don’t get Earl Grey but I’ve discovered sometimes it comes out in the steeping even if I can’t smell it in the dry leaves. Really, this smell is mostly flowers.

My first attempt at making this, in the Breville, didn’t come out right. I am gradually learning that the measuring spoon provided with the Breville is not at all to be trusted with mixtures that include things other than relatively small tea leaves. Even though I clearly made it weaker than it ought to be, it had a really lovely jasmine/rose aroma and a pleasant, mild taste. There’s even a hint of Earl Grey.

Second try: Stronger, more flavorful, as expected. Very nice flavor. Nice enough that I want to spend more time with it as I ended up having to get on a phone call for work and didn’t get to savor my second try as much as I would have liked. I’m not sure I’m getting as much Earl Grey as I’d like even now, but that’s what experimentation is for — and besides, there are some teas styled as Earl Greys that don’t taste like them and that I like just fine.

Believe it or not, this one is enough to make me break with my decision not to order black/green mixes.

Rating is provisional for now. I can see it going up with more experience, though.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Rabs

Egad! I totally forgot how much green/black tea blends distress you. I’m so glad that it worked out in the end :) Hooray for Frou-Frou!

Rabs

Now that I’m home from work and not sneaking on Steepster: I don’t really consider this as an Earl Grey, but more of a floral. The first time that I steeped it I did the water at boiling and got a lot more citrus which I didn’t enjoy, but you might like it :)

The font is called “old typewriter” so you nailed that. I purchased the zip bags from Sorbent Systems but alas do not have the ability to heat-seal them, but they’re the perfect size and food safe.

__Morgana__

Really? Maybe they just looked heat sealed. I cut the top off before opening, right above the zip lock because it looked hermetically sealed. Lol.

Rabs

Maybe some magic happened in the shipping? ;)

__Morgana__

Like the mailman left it in the sun on his dashboard and it melted together? Horrors! ;-)

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Comments

Rabs

Egad! I totally forgot how much green/black tea blends distress you. I’m so glad that it worked out in the end :) Hooray for Frou-Frou!

Rabs

Now that I’m home from work and not sneaking on Steepster: I don’t really consider this as an Earl Grey, but more of a floral. The first time that I steeped it I did the water at boiling and got a lot more citrus which I didn’t enjoy, but you might like it :)

The font is called “old typewriter” so you nailed that. I purchased the zip bags from Sorbent Systems but alas do not have the ability to heat-seal them, but they’re the perfect size and food safe.

__Morgana__

Really? Maybe they just looked heat sealed. I cut the top off before opening, right above the zip lock because it looked hermetically sealed. Lol.

Rabs

Maybe some magic happened in the shipping? ;)

__Morgana__

Like the mailman left it in the sun on his dashboard and it melted together? Horrors! ;-)

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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