It was one of those mornings where, actually having the time to properly prepare a cup of tea without having to be in a rush out the door for work, I stood in front of my massive tea collection and couldn’t decided what I wanted. When I saw my two sampler pouches of this in the (almost empty now) flavored black teas sampler bag, I decided I really was in an Earl Grey mood.
I actually do smell the plum and clove from the dry leaf… and something coming across peppery? Lazily scooped one perfect teaspoon leaf instead of measuring grams like I usually do, steeped in 350ml 205F water for three minutes. The steeped leaf smelled more strongly of a lemony/bergamot citrus. The brewed up has a very appealing aroma; beramot, plum, and spices.
Mmm… this is interesting, and I like it! To me, it tastes like an Earl Grey and a Mulled Wine tea had a child, and those are both tea types I really like. There is a deep fruitiness to the cup; I do taste plum, but it is also reading a little like lychee to me, since I’m getting a slight floral undertone. The bergamot is pretty pervasive and fills the sip, with a crisp, citrusy, and slightly tart/sour lemon note. When the berg settles on the touch, there is a strong aftertaste of spices; I taste the clove, but the nutmeg is reading to me as more of a black pepper taste.
Perhaps a strange combination of flavors but it’s working for me… and it feels nice to get to lazily sip on a warm cup of tea, taking my time and savoring the sips!
In other tea news, I recently bought one of those CO2 infusing “soda” machines to experiment with my cold teas. The first one I tried (B&B’s Peppermint Cream) tasted questionable, but I looooooooove TeaSource’s vanilla black, Moon Over Madegascar, that way! Looking forward to experimenting with other teas (I have some of Lupicia’s Ramune tea to try next!)
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Clove, Floral, Fruity, Lemon, Lychee, Pepper, Pleasantly Sour, Plum, Spices, Tart
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I’ve never considered carbonating a cold tea, but that sounds like a wonderful idea! I will have to try that with our machine. I hope you’ll share some that you try and it turns out well!
Right now I’m having the French tea I made yesterday (my leftovers from work went into the fridge to get ice cold). It was called C’est Sympathique and supposedly was melon-flavored, but has a strong tart lemony taste to me. That strong, bright citrus flavor also tastes really good carbonated.
I’ve never considered carbonating a cold tea, but that sounds like a wonderful idea! I will have to try that with our machine. I hope you’ll share some that you try and it turns out well!
Right now I’m having the French tea I made yesterday (my leftovers from work went into the fridge to get ice cold). It was called C’est Sympathique and supposedly was melon-flavored, but has a strong tart lemony taste to me. That strong, bright citrus flavor also tastes really good carbonated.