Earl Grey

A beautiful day, and a little Early Grey. A bit of amber agave nectar for a slightly sweet bouquet.

This is a decent enough Earl Grey Blend – not my favorite, but certainly not the worst I’ve tasted either. It has a pleasant bergamot aroma – the dry leaf is a little strong which worried me at first, but the brewing evens it out a bit.

The bergamot flavor is crisp and juicy, not as floral as some bergamot flavorings I’ve encountered, not perfume-y or soapy. Nice and this one is one that I could see adding milk to – it has a smooth enough flavor to it that it would work well.

Definitely good for a bagged tea – one of the better bagged varieties I’ve tried, and one I wouldn’t mind enjoying now and again… I like to have a good black bagged tea on hand for those mornings when I NEED tea but I don’t have time to fiddle with all the accessories.

The temperature is going to drop all day and it is starting to snow. Stupid winter. I needed to feel all warm and fuzzy so I grabbed this. My bagged Cheapster Steepster offering of the day. Steeped 2 ½ minutes in boiling water. Almost just left the bag in for old times sake. Ha.

Constant Comment introduced me to tea beyond Lipton. This tea started my lifelong addiction. Yes, the brew is a bit murky. Yes, there is usually an oil slick floating on the surface from the bergamot, but I love it so. It just smells so good. It doesn’t matter how many exotic teas I might be fortunate enough to sample, whenever I sit down with a cup of this dust in a bag, I am home. Thank you Bigelow for starting me on this journey.

I had a cup of this at The Remedy Diner (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-remedy-diner-raleigh) the other night. It’s about what you would expect it to be. A safe bet, but nothing hit out of the park.

BTW, guys, I’m back in town, so the posting will resume with a more normal frequency!

This is my first time having Earl Grey tea! I generally avoid my works selection of tea because, last I checked, it was mainly minty teas (ick). One of my co-workers mentioned that this was in there though so I was decided, “HEY! LETS GIVE IT A SHOT!”

After reading some reviews, I really wanted to try Verdant teas “Earl of Anxi”, but my friend discouraged me since I had never had earl grey before. I’m glad that my work had this, so I can make my decision!

It’s pretty alright! I like it. It’s a lot more robust than the teas I’m used to having. It’s also a black tea, which I usually sweeten, or latte. I could definitely had a bit of sugar to this, but I’m also enjoying it plain. Now I know what bergamot is as well! I can see why my friend’s dad loves it, he pretty much exclusively drinks earl grey, though he prefers it iced.

Overall, this was a pleasant first experience. I wouldn’t mind having it again. This particular tea isn’t something I would stock my cupboard with, but it’s good enough for me to get a sample from Verdant I think!

I had this one from a k cup sampler in the keurig coffeemaker i just bought. I have had earl grey before and this experience just jogs my memory as to why to never have earl grey again. The bergamot taste seems almost bitter to me when used to drinking other teas. I had to add milk to this tea and I never add milk to any tea because it reduces the effectiveness of the antioxidants. This is one that I would definitely not have again for a very long time.

The tea has a great taste and smell. I go for somewhere between 1 and 2 minutes of steep time, and add a half teaspoon of sugar to sweeten it a bit. It really is a good cuppa tea. Not the best, but definitely good when needed.

I never thought I’d say this, but the bergamot was too strong! Maybe I oversteeped, though. I’ll be trying this again sometime soon. I think I prefer Twinings, though.

Tuesday Jan. 4 2011
1st and 2nd Steep of the Day.
Visiting my daughter’s and reached for Tea.
This was all she had, apart from Zhena’s Raspberry Earl.
So wanted a Straight Standard High Grade Earl.
Bigelow is the way to Go.
Great Steep after 5 min. in Boiling water.
Keep on Steepin

We have this tea in our cafeteria at work. I ran out of my Ceylon black so I went for this one. The smell of the dry bag was ok, but that’s about it. Once brewed, the tea flavor was a mess. Usually in an Earl Grey I expect a balance between black tea bergamot flavors. This tea offered nothing like that. The black tea flavor was of old/dusty tea and I don’t think I even tasted the bergamot. I steeped the tea about 2 minutes and it was bitter. Can’t really recommend this one.