Lavender Cream Earl Grey (Butterfly Tea)

Lavender and vanilla are usually a win for me. See previous/original comments on this tea.

Today was another day that I v entered out with intentions to go to the beach for a walk after running some errands. I live in a residential neighbourhood, but now there are several condominiums in various stages of construction. And my neighbours—insert vile curse word here—continue to wake me up and keep me awake with whatever silent electronic/microwave/radiating/technological or who even knows what devices from 3 am onwards every night.

Yeah, I am beyond done. I really needed some soothing nature to look at and be with. Something away from the dust and traffic and construction. That was the plan.

By the time I finished my errands, my feet were tired. I was tired. Well, I am always chronically tired-but even more so. And I was hungry.

No beach today. I ended up going the other way and picked up a couple of treats as self-bribes. I did manage to sneak in walks through lush well-forested neighbourhoods while taking care of things. I also had a bit of a rest on a park bench and visited with pigeons and squirrels until loud energetic children scattered them.

And it’s a sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

From the Great Canadian Tea Box Round 5

I feel like hibiscus is in everything these days, but hibiscus in an earl grey is definitely a new one for me. I can’t taste any of it once brewed, but that’s probably for the best. I’m surprised by how much I like this actually. It’s drinkable, and it’s definitely got the “cream” part of “cream earl grey”, but I still don’t think this is something I’d drink often.

bah. lost my tasting note. Long story short. I hate blergamot. I hate floral teas. the smell of this one is terrible. like potpourri…and blergamot. blech. taste wise though? it’s not as terrible as all that – i think it’s helped by the fact that it’s an EG cream. Appreciate the share omgsrsly keep the gross things coming :)

This blend is so incredibly fragrant. Both the lavender and the bergamot are powerful here. I read a couple of notes saying that lavender earl greys are pretty common. This is the first of those I’ve experienced so it seems so exciting to me. My first sip was just a small amount of bitterness and there wasn’t as much flavor as the aroma would have you believe, but it was still apparent that this has lavender and bergamot in the cup. I enjoyed it overall, but I do wish there was as much flavor in the taste as there was in the scent.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 195 degrees + 10 minutes

Sipdown (116)!

Man, I’m sleepy already – and I swear all I’ve done today is sleep! So, we’ll see how many notes I can post before The Voice is over, and then it’ll be time to cozy up in bed.

This one is from the Amoda February box. I don’t know how I felt about it seeing it included; it’s not an overly unique blend is it? There are a lot of lavender EG blends out there. One thing that is really cool about this one though is that part of the sales for this one go to The Chilliwack Hospice Society. I wonder, if I were to buy this one straight from the Amoda site would some of the proceeds still go to that charity?

I cold brewed my sample; there’s supposedly hibiscus in this (WHY!? GOD WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO EG!?) and I thought that’d make it the least noticeable. However I didn’t see a single piece of it in the leaf when I was measuring everything out. Was I just that lucky?

This has a really floral start; the lavender is almost soapy but doesn’t quite cross that line. It gets awfully close though; like middle schoolers’ pelvises at their parent chaperoned dances. LEAVE ROOM FOR JESUS! And the wave of lavender transitions into a really brisk black base and very heavy handed bergamot notes. Nothing too strong, though. It finishes on a really soft, velvety vanilla note that’s to die for. Best part for sure; and it’s what drove me to finish this as quickly as I did.

Overall, it’s relatively average but that finishing note makes it a little better than the usual lavender Earl Grey. Mmm!

From the Amoda Tea box February 2015!

I love(d) lavender Earl Greys. I went through a discovery point in my life where I hated everything about lavender buds in my cup. While I am still probably in that phase, something about the combination of bergamot and lavender still gets to me.

The cream in this tea smells almost coconutty. Like cream of coconut. Steeped in my travel mug, it is slightly reminiscent of vanilla yogurt. I can’t say if it is a good thing or not. The first two mugs I drank straight, and the third cup I thought I would try adding some cream to it. It brought out the cream and the early grey-ness. The lavender, thank goodness, was pushed to the back burner.

I am at this point in the winter where I am bored by the winter-y flavors and heavy scents. I am waiting impatiently for the newest crop of spring harvests to arrive and am itching for some fresh AF tea :P

The cream is great in this. Everything else, not so much. In fairness, I am not a fan of earl greys or lavender so this was doomed from the start. Still, I could see someone who enjoys those flavors being pleased with this tea.