Organic Earl Grey Black Tea

The Final Sipdown: Day 7
Decupboarding Total: 14

Per the husband’s request we are having this one again, which works out nicely since it can then be my second tea decupboarded today. However, if he likes it without additives as much as he liked it with additives, I’m thinking this one won’t stay gone from my pantry long as I will be buying a big tin of it.

Honestly, this one is such a nice relief from the Upton samples I’ve been trying to get through. This has a nice smooth and full tea taste with some light but pleasant astringency to the end of the sip. The scent and flavor is lightly but noticeably Earl Grey. And the EG bit is very nice – not perfume-ish, not frou-frou. If I can call a tea ‘manly’ without making it sound like it’s a nasty b.o. type thing, this EG is manly. Masculine, maybe? Strong. Not as in strong tasting but the strength that confident men seem have – noticeably masculine without being a muscle-bound bully. Perhaps because the astringency makes it nicely bracing even with the flavoring, making it not a girlie or soft tea.

Sigh. I need to just face facts. This is an Earl Grey that a man like Jean Luc Picard would drink. Which is pretty much exactly what we were looking for. So win!

Enjoying a cup of this as I mentally prepare myself to go into the kitchen and start fixing dinner. A very enjoyable cup of Earl Grey. Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/01/18/organic-earl-grey-black-tea-from-arbor-teas/

I’m working on sipping this one down. It’s a fairly close thing. Preparing tea samplers for Christmas did wonderful things for the numbers of tea in my cupboard… and allowed me to find new homes for some of the wonderful apple teas my husband hadn’t yet finished!

This is pretty much as I remember it – a little light, with a bright little burst of bergamot. It’s not going to be a hardship to finish, but I’m also not going to be ordering more.

The aroma is intense and I assumed it would be over-the-top in taste…by that I mean ‘hard to handle’ but it certainly was NOT hard to handle. This was very easy to handle…it’s also the most forgiving Earl Grey I have come across…I over infused and it was very generous not to get bitter which I am very grateful for! This is a medium strength black tea as well as a medium to medium-strong Earl Grey…which is fine by me because it tastes very good! I was pleasantly surprised and Arbor Teas EG and I have quickly become friends!

This is now the… sixth? Earl Grey in my cupboard. It’s a sickness.

This is a good, solid Earl Grey. The bergamot isn’t too strong, and doesn’t have that sort of perfumey or soapy taste to it, which some of the… lesser blends can have. I think it’s balanced well with the tea… it’s bold, but not overpowering. Yum-o.

A very nice surprise, I’m also an Earl Grey freak & this one hits the top 3 of my list. As TeaEqualsBliss wrote, it’s a strong black tea but you’ll be ok if you accidentally oversteep. Either a straight cup, or with honey & milk (I might get crucified for this) it’s a perfect tea to wake up in the morning or a sweet treat in the afternoon. The bergamot amount it’s perfect & tastes natural.

Good flavor, light but dynamic flavors, not heavy or muddy. It did not overly stand out in any one area, just really good overall. I would definitely like to get this again since this was only a sample.

Sample package label:
“Ingredients: Organic Black Tea, and natural oil of Bergamot.”
Fair Trade certified – USDA Organic
“Suggested serving size – one level teaspoon”
“Suggested Steeping Guide: 212*F, Steep 3 – 5 minutes”

6-oz water with total dissolved solids (TDS) of 15 ppm, boiled

1 level Tevanna teaspoon:

Introduction: I understand Arbor Teas Earl Grey organic base comes from the “Assam and Dooars areas of India. Most EG teas come from Shi Lanka formerly known as Ceylon. Having a different base tea, was a significant reason for wanting to sample this tea. Our current EG has a Ceylon base and I can’t get past the astringency. Other primary reasons: My wife loves EG and prefers organic teas.

This tea has that classic lemon Earl Grey fragrance – quite fantastic!

Amber hue

5-min Infusion: A mild lemon aroma, medium-bodied EG without astringency – Excellent! The taste of lemon does not linger too long on the tongue.

Impression: An excellent classic Earl Grey tea.

Additional thoughts: I would like to encourage Arbor Teas to develop a well-balanced organic Vanilla Earl Grey or EG Cream. Why you ask?

Per Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamot_orange):
“Citrus bergamia is a small tree which blossoms during the winter. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit. The distinctive aroma of bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea.8”

The tartness of citrus bergamia is a common characteristic of most Earl Grey tea. Adding a creamy vanilla should smooth out the natural tartness of the oil of Bergamot. Other tea companies have tried this approach. Many of them are not organic and at least one uses artificial flavoring. Only a few have discovered a pleasing balance of among all the ingredients.

Thanks to Arbor Teas for providing this very generous size free sample.

I got a wonderful whiff of bergamot the moment I opened the box. The tangy smell was only enhanced when I opened the pouch itself. Thankfully, the bergamot flavor is mellow and balanced once steeped. The tea itself is smooth and aromatic. A tiny bit of sugar really enhances the flavor for me. I can even get a couple of steepings out of it, so the value really streches.