Earl Grey Grand Classic

Another interesting tea courtesy of ifjuly
I’ve been avoiding this one. I don’t really do well with Earl Grey, but am willing to try anything people send me. This says it’s not bergamot but the oriental fruit longan. I have no idea what that is, but at least it’s ot bergamot.
This is really citrus. Incredibly citrus. Drowning out everything else citrus. Sorry ifjuly, I know you adore this one, but it’s a big miss for me. Oh well, I learned something – googled longan.

Thank you for the sample Dexter3657 :)

I haven’t had Earl Grey in a long time…there is something weird and not quite right about this one IMO. It SMELLS really good but tastes weird. I will finish my cup and glad I got to try it but this is on my do not like list , heh.

I don’t know what a longan fruit smells or tastes like, but I’m guessing it’s very similar to lychee because the dry leaf smells like lychee with an undernote of spicy, whooshy citrus. Post-brewing the top note of the smell is still sweetly lychee with a stronger undercurrent of bergamot.

The taste is not quite lychee, almost muscat and with a smooth note of bergamot underneath. Sometimes there’s a hint of bitterness at the end of the sip. Other times it feels smooth and silky. There’s a little spicy tingle in the aftertaste – I’m not sure if it is from the tea or the bergamot. The description says ‘smokey’ but I don’t really get much of that (unless you count the spicy bit). It’s more of a hint of darkness/richness that would pair well with a smoky tea but, in this, pairs with almost-lychee.

Ultimately, probably a little too fruity/unique for it to be a regular sipper but enjoyable.

Amazing blend both hot and cold. Surprisingly smoky, and you can definitely taste and smell the longan which lends an exotic, mysterious, “vintage” sort of feel to the whole thing. Brewed an enormous 10-cup pot the other night for our Breaking Bad marathon (trying desperately to catch up before the end of the series lest we face spoilers) and was utterly enchanted. The leftover tea iced was wonderful today with a huge salade nicoise with all the trimmings and some creamy nutty gouda on baguette rounds. I love the way it has elements of all sorts of things I love—smoky afternoon-type blends, that delicate Chinese tea quality, mysterious heady un-tart fruit—together in a single refreshing but haunting brew. Will definitely be restocking.

I’ve been wanting to try this for a while and I finally ordered it! I’m so glad I did. Its meant to be a recreation of the original earl grey tea. It is quite different to your typical earl grey but still has that very earl grey-ish quality but just a little more exotic.

I love the smokiness of this tea which balances perfectly with the longan fruit. Its a very relaxing tea.

Earl Grey is my “must-have” morning tea. I usually drink Twinings Earl Grey, but if I could afford it I would drink Lupicia’s Earl Grey Grand Classic every morning. Once you’ve tried the Grand Classic, other Earl Greys seem somewhat bland in comparison.

I didn’t find it to be smokey, but then again as a regular Lapsang Souchong drinker most other teas don’t really taste smokey to me.

I certainly couldn’t drink it all day long, as the fruity notes of the Grand Classic seem to accumulate on the palate over a number of cups, but I prefer more robust teas later in the day anyway.

I love this tea! I am not to partial to smokey teas but this one has a medium smokey base and the Chinese logan fruit blends very nicely with the Bergamont flavour. During the summer, i love making this tea into a tea spritzer or soda. It’s an interesting taste but also very good! I recommend this tea for Earl Grey lovers as well as smokey tea people! If you’re neither i still urge you to try it!

I was a bit alarmed when I smelled a smokiness upon opening the tea package. After steeping I could smell some of the fruit flavor too. I was expecting the smokiness to have a very sharp taste, but it actually blends well and is more of a smoother flavor.

Over time, I’ve grown to appreciate this tea more~ I don’t know if the tea has aired out a bit and isn’t as pungent/smokey as before but it is quite nice now.

Sipdown!

And not just any sipdown, but the one that drops my cupboard below 100 for the first time in ever so many years! I do not expect to hit my goal of 75 and I know I will get tea for Christmas that will push the number up a little, but this is progress! My oldest teas that are not intended for aging are mostly gone. And I purposely did not order any advent teas because I am serious about getting my cupboard at a point I am happy with!

I am a little picky about Earl Grey tea. I don”t want it to be too sour or sharp, so that rules out most Ceylon bases. I really like bergamot on Keemun but other bases or a low grown Ceylon can be good, too.

This is a strong Earl Grey type tea. There is nothing subtle about it. But it has several twists that make it really nice. First, it has a smoky base instead of a lemony Ceylon one such as is often used. Second, it has longan fruit for the tart and citrusy scenting.

This one was finished off well in advance of its “best by” date.

This is from the “sipdown-in-progress” box. To be honest, I was hesitant to try this one, as I find myself not enjoying smoky teas as much lately as I used to…

But I actually really like the smoke here, it pairs so nicely with the bergamot. The overall taste is a bit light, I think this would be ideal for afternoon tea. The bergamot is not overpowering, and has a nice citrusy zing. The smoke is fairly light as well, a nice savory smoked food sort of note. I’ve never had a longan fruit, but to me the fruit here tastes quite a bit like lychee, with that unique juicy sort of floral tropical flavor. It seems an odd pairing with the other two flavors but goes over well, happily I am a fan of lychee in general.

Raising the rating a bit here because I like this one more than I remember. Happily, I see that the US website still offers it, in the case that I find I need it in my cupboard later on.

In other news, I seem to be amassing quite a stockpile of freeze-dried miso soup. I fell in love with it a few months ago after I think discovering it through Kickstarter? So now I’ve ordered some alternate brands through Amazon and am in miso heaven. The freeze-dried variety is so much better than the instant kind I’ve had in the past, with actual big chonks of veggies and such. And the flavor variety is amazing! Today I had an eggplant version that was delish… (drool)