One of about ten teas I recently picked up from Silk Road; most of them were sample amounts (including this one) but a couple were larger restocks. This wasn’t a planned sample though; generally I don’t really go for Earl Greys and I’ve had so many vanilla Earl Greys now that there’s just nothing really exciting about them to me…
So why did I end up with a sample of this one? I think I must have just been really craving vanilla the day that I ordered – otherwise I would have skipped over this one like I normally do when companies offer vanilla Earl Greys. When I cracked open the tin it smelled really good though; strong whiffs of vanilla bean with mild, fresh bergamot undertones to it! I’ll admit, even I was excited to try it.
I steeped it up this evening to watch while checking out Netflix’s new Magic School Bus reboot! I was totally excited to talk about the new show with The Boyfriend but he hasn’t started it yet, and apparently he’s excited enough about it that he’s placed a ban on discussing it with him until he catches up. I didn’t realize Magic School Bus was such a big deal that ‘spoilers’ would ruin the experience.
Since I was riding the nostalgia wave watching the new reboot, this was a good tea to sip on since it provided a sense of comfort and familiarity even if this was just my first time trying it. Unlike the dry aroma, I think this is more bergamot than vanilla but both are really pleasant flavours. I like that the bergamot doesn’t seem to push past being a medium bodied flavour; that doesn’t make it too intense/make me feel like I need to add milk to it to soften it, but it’s strong enough that if I DID add milk I don’t think I’d lose the flavour. The vanilla is so creamy and fresh tasting, I really liked it too.
I think for this to be a perfect London Fog kind of flavour representation for me it would have had to be a little bit sweeter though, but all in all it’s a satisfying enough flavour and even though it’s not something I generally find myself craving I think it’s pleasant enough I’ll be able to finish it off no troubles.
And I guess I should give you all a spoiler warning since I’m going to let out my thoughts on the first few episodes of the Magic School Bus reboot here since The Boyfriend doesn’t want me ruining anything for him and I REALLY want to talk about it:
- Not digging the new animation style thus far, though I’m sure I’ll adjust
- I absolutely LOVE the redone theme; Lin Manuel Miranda singing it is PERFECT
- The new Mrs. Frizzle is great; and I love the explanation for WHY she’s taking over
- The fact they got Lily Tomlin back for the OG Frizzle is equally wonderful
- And based on the few episodes I’ve seen, she IS reoccurring throughout the show
- That or they’re just gently easing us into the new Frizz, which is fine too
- THEY KEPT THE PHONE SEQUENCE AT THE END OF THE EPISODES
- Where they explain more of the science/things they depicted that were a bit inaccurate
- OG Frizzle’s new sidekick “Goldie” is the fucking best
- Arnold’s cousin Janet is in episode two which is pretty cool!
- The new kid is neat; I liked the ecosystem explanation/tie in for her & new Frizz
- Is that really the only explanation we get for Pheobe being written out!?
- Like, it’s realistic but also unsatisfactory…
