Sample package label:
“Earl Grey Creme
Black tea, bergamot orange oil, cream flavor”
Per http://www.dellaterrateas.com/earl-grey-creme/:
“Product Description
If you love Earl Grey you will adore our Earl Grey Creme. It has the classic Earl Grey flavoring matched with a delicious creme.”
“Ingredients: Black tea, bergamot orange oil, cream flavor”
“Allergens: contains dairy. For more allergy info visit our FAQ”
“Suggested brewing tips:
Serving Size: 1 level tsp. /6 to 8oz serving
Water Temp: 210°
Steep Time: 2-3 minutes”
Technique:
6-oz water with total dissolved solids (TDS) of 28 ppm, heated to 212*F and allowed to cool to 210*F – verified with DAVIDsTEA digital thermometer.
1 level Tevanna teaspoon, without sweeteners, milk or cream.
Dry leaf: Dark brown with blue cornflower petals and some straw-colored petals
Fragrance: This tea has an Earl Grey and cream-like fragrance plus an additional unidentified fragrance. It smells similar to anise.
Liquor: Somewhat clear amber-brown hue
3-min Infusion: The mild aroma follows the fragrance. The initial taste follows the unidentified fragrance & aroma. Mid sip one tastes the base tea. The end of the sip reveals the not very creamy crème flavoring. The bergamot orange oil is overshadowed and hard to recognize. There was also an unpleasant aftertaste left in my mouth that persisted quite a while. Neither my wife or I finished our cups of this tea.
Impression: The fragrance, aroma, and flavor make me wonder if some artificial flavorings were included. Perhaps this sample came from a sub-optimal batch of this tea? If I were to rate this EGC on the merits of this one sample, I would say that there are other better tasting Earl Grey Cream teas available. However, the question that remains, is this sample truly representative of Della Terra’s Earl Grey Crème?
Suggestion: A quick review of http://steepster.com/teas/della-terra-teas/29162-earl-grey-creme shows a wide range of Tasting Notes scores from 90 to 60 points even among very experienced Steepster reviewers. These results suggest both near-optimal and sub-optimal batches. Thus, I’d suggest a thorough review of the quality control processes for both ingredient selection and the blending process.
Thanks to David Worgul of Della Terra Tea for providing this free sample.
