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Sampler Sipdown September! Had more water in the kettle to use up after the gong fu session but definitely wanted to switch to herbals, so found this sampler. I actually had two Rooibos Earl Greys tucked away, so I grabbed the older of the two.

This tastes really odd to me. Bergamot is one of those flavors I used to hate and it took a lot of coaxing of my palate to adapt to it, so it just feels really forefront and dominant here, and I’m just not sure how I feel about that. I’m okay with it when it’s a bit more subdued, or mixed with other flavors. But I feel a bit like I’m drinking straight bergamot because the rooibos doesn’t really have enough body and flavor to provide much else; at least not against how much they included in this. The tea is a bit sweeter than a black Earl Grey, but doesn’t really taste of rooibos, just staggering, blunt, citrusy bergamot. Not really my thing.

I quickly realized I was going to have to London Fog this to make it palatable for me, but I’m currently out of vanilla almond milk. But… I do have coconut milk, and my favorite Earl Grey blend is still 52Teas Foggy Coconut! Yes. Added a bit of sweet coconut milk to this just to take a little bit of the edge off the staggering bergamot and give it a little something else tastewise and it was actually great after that.

I don’t think I can rate it very high considering the base flavor wasn’t really my thing, but I’ll have no problem finishing off the remainder of the sampler making coconut milk lattes with the stuff, which are quite fantastic.

Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Sweet, Tart

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 2 g 12 OZ / 350 ML
derk

I can’t imagine a red rooibos Earl Grey tasting good :X but I’d still give one a try. I’m pretty sure the co-op sells it in bulk so I can get enough for a few servings.

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derk

I can’t imagine a red rooibos Earl Grey tasting good :X but I’d still give one a try. I’m pretty sure the co-op sells it in bulk so I can get enough for a few servings.

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Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

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https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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