Countess of Seville (Organic)

This is yet another tea that we purchased, sampled once or twice and promptly lost in the back of the cupboard. I decided to try this again today at switchboard because the aroma was SO appealing! I am not a fan of green tea at all and am not much for earl grey’s, as I mentioned in my previous note. However, the aroma of this is so crisp and reminiscent of fresh orange zest (almost like when you peel citrus and the spray comes out everywhere, you know what I mean?) that I couldn’t resist. I like citrus teas and am always hoping for a great one – unfortunately they tend to be paired with greens, so I have yet to find the perfect one.

I steeped this in my Perfect Tea Mug for about 2 – 2.5 minutes, which is about as exact as things get while making tea at switchboard. Thank God I am only here an hour a day, because it would drive me batty for any longer stretch of time! The steeped aroma is muted and a bit flowery/dusty. It reminds me a bit of dryer sheets – this does not appeal. More likely than not, it is the bergamot I am picking up on. I am also getting a sense of froot loops, as I usually do with EGs.

The first sips are a bit of an adventure. A bit too much dusty floral-esque bergamot, but underneath that I get a bit of sweet green tea and a hint of something cinnamony – but here’s the shocker: I’m liking the green tea underneath! Maybe I over-steep my flavoured greens? Something to consider, though I’m still not even close to ready for green tea. This does have me craving a good green oolong though. At the moment, this is hitting the spot, but it doesn’t seem to have lasting appeal. I think I want a bit more citrus in here. Maybe some grapefruit? Oh, how I love grapefruit.. One of the issues with flavoured green tea for me is that the green tea needs less steep time, but the flavours seem to need more (or higher temps). Bah!

I think it’s time I tried the new citrus teas I got at DTs a month or two (or three?) ago.

Got this iced and to-go when I found myself in DAVIDs. I went to the mall to buy gloves and somehow that resulted with me buying more tea. I almost grabbed 10 g of this but tbh, I am glad I didn’t. I remember this smelling and tasting like fruit loops when I tried my roommates cup but today it was grassy and a bit too heavy on the bergamot. Oh well, one less tea for me to dream about.

And I’m one cup away from a sipdown of this. :( Too bad as this is a green that I can get behind!

I’m rewatching Doctor Who now that it’s on netflix, but OMG, those early episodes are really pretty awful. And I love David Tennant and his Doctor, but going back just reminds me how flawed some of the characters are. :( Maybe I’ll just skip an episode or two. :P

This is a good though because TEA plays an important role. Even if it is an awful Christmas episode. (Those are generally cringeworthy, aren’t they? Aside from the 2 newest ones!)

I haven’t tried an Earl Grey green before, but I’ve heard good things! So, I picked up a sample of this back in June when I visited DAVIDsTEA in New York City and have held on to it ever since. It’s time to try it!

The aroma of the dry leaf is strong bergamot and citrus. The combination of the two reminds me of soap. Let’s hope it doesn’t taste like that! The brewed tea aroma is even more potent. But I can’t be afraid. Not of tea!! Here goes nothing!

First sip…phew! This tastes pretty much exactly like it smells. There’s virtually no green tea taste. Just lots of bergamot and lots of citrus. I guess if you love those two things, then this would be spectacular. But I’m finding this bergamot to be a little too powerful for me. It feels like I’m drinking it through my nose instead of my mouth, kind of like getting water up your nose when you go swimming. Not an entirely pleasant feeling.

Overall impression? Not good. First impression was maybe a 62. But upon further reflection (and further sips), this one is really too bergamot-y for me to enjoy so it’s getting a 45. Oh well, it was worth a shot. Maybe another Earl Grey green will be more to my liking. Or maybe this just isn’t a good combo for my taste buds. Either way, it was fun to try! :)

my sister picked this one out of the swap box.
she’s taken to trying the new teas with a bit of personal zest, so it really helps in encourage me to drink more new teas than i might otherwise. also sharing rules.

and she is an earl grey person. always wants to try it.

this tea was fun! i mean, i know it’s weird to describe a tea as fun, but i just never thought of an earl grey green before. i don’t know why not.
and it seemed playful.
thanks for the taste CHAroma!

Shock! I’m not a huge fan of Earls, occasionally I like a cuppa, but overall I can take ‘em or leave ’em. This surprised me this morning. It’s one of my wife’s favorites, so I had her make the pot this morning. It was light and delicate and very refreshing! I was very, very happy with this.

I don’t know if it’s mind over matter or what, but so far I’ve come across two teas in the advent calendar I didn’t really like (Creme de Menthe and this one) and the days they were in the calendar, I enjoyed them! So huzzah! I look forward to the rest of these beauties.

My wife was very pleased to see this one and ended up making 3 pots, of which I only had 1 cup XD

Yum!

This is light and fresh but has the essence of a classic Earl Grey. The bergamot and orange here are crisp and refreshing, and the green makes a lovely base. The citrus is sharp on the nose but perfectly mellow and smooth when sipping. I haven’t had a lot of luck with alternative Earl Grey-types (except for the Cream) but this is nicely balanced and exceedingly pleasant. It’s a lovely variation and I can see it being an afternoon standby. It also kind of feels like an honorary member of the spring collection.

I took a sip of this and my wife asked, “Is it everything you dreamed of?”

Yes. Yes, yes, unequivocally, yes. Very light green tea, without a hint of earthiness or bitterness, with the bergamot that makes Earl Grey delicious, and then the twist of citrus from the orange. Delicious. I think I could drink this all day. So. Very. Good. And hopefully, being a green, it will resteep nicely.

This one is tonight’s advent calendar sipdown! Unfortunately though, my roommate and I brewed up a nice big pot of it (literally, a pot. On the stove. Neither of us has an actual teapot here) and when she tasted it, it tasted fishy to her. We don’t recall this being a problem previously, but perhaps it’s an age thing. I can’t really taste any fishiness myself, but I also am a bit suspicious of my tasting capabilities at the moment given my cold. Soooo, looks like it’s up to me to drink the entire pot. She finished off our tin of Buttered Rum instead (which I must say, smells way, way better than the bag of Buttered Rum I have…. interesting.)

From what I can tell, this is a lightly citrusy (bergamot) tea with an aroma much like a standard earl grey. I can’t really tell is there’s much green tea in there; my tastebuds are muted enough that I can’t really be sure. I do remember liking this one in the past as an interesting twist on earl grey (which I thought I didn’t like straight, but apparently I just needed to try non-Tetley versions!) However, now that I’ve tried DT’s Earl of Lemon, that one would probably be my go-to non-black earl grey over this one, even though I think the bergamot is a bit stronger with that one. And I must admit, I prefer the Cream of Earl Grey over either. Nom nom nom.

WOW. Of all the failish things to do, I just blew my nose and tossed the kleenex…. straight into my cup. Grosssss. Lucky for me, I have another half pot + downstairs waiting for me, so I can pour this out, rinse the mug, and refill it…. sigh.

I really like this one (though oddly, I don’t drink it all the time.. Hmmm). Soft, orangy with a hint of bergamot, and fully approved by my doctor as its green tea! I’ve never tried icing it, that will be my next challenge.

As with many greens, this one is a bit tricky to get right, the green can go bitter easily, so getting it right can be hard, but totally worth it.