Ancient Tree Earl Grey Organic Fair Trade

THANK YOU TO RISHI TEA FOR THIS SAMPLE!
Unlike any other Earl Grey I’ve had – no bitter astringency …this tea is superb by itself, or how I love it, 2 sugars and a drop of creme.

(Goes great with buttered toast and jam)

:) Loved this one.

Backlogging

Third time’s the charm. I used less leaf and did a shorter steep time and what do you know, Earl Grey really can be drinkable! No offense meant to people who love Earl Grey tea, I’ve just never managed to find a good cup of it before (plus the amount of bergamot in the Twinnings bags makes me sneeze). The bergamot here, however, was pleasant, not overwhelming.

I think I am officially impressed. I’m not an Earl Grey convert by any stretch of the imagination but this variety at least I can manage.

This organic Earl Grey is made using the same ancient assamica tree leaves as Rishi’s regular Golden Yunnan. The leaves here are much darker than in the Golden Yunnan either as a result of the scenting process or, as I suspect, because it’s less tippy (has fewer buds). Truth is, if you’re planning on scenting a tea, it makes sense that you wouldn’t use a lot of buds, the flavor of which will only get overwhelmed by the bergamot. Anyway, this brew yields a rich liquor with a great citrus taste that doesn’t taste medicinal the way some some cheaper Earl Greys can taste. A nice tea, as my grandmother would say.

A nice travelogue about the ancient Yunnan harvest can be found at http://www.rishi-tea.com/travelogue/Fair_Trade_Organic_Tea/slides/Map_of_China.php.

Another good article about the wild Yunnan harvest can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/asia/21tea.html?scp=7&sq=tea&st=cse

The quintessential Earl; powerful, but with the bergamot and tannins balanced just so. Be very wary of oversteeping, as it will KILL you.

No, really. Watch out.

Earl Grey has always been my favorite type of tea, but this is the best of the Earl Greys. Bold, smooth, and not too overpowering with the bergemot. It’s good for repeat brews. The aroma is very strong, and the tin it comes in is very well sealed. I do advise caution when opening the lid, though, as I and some of my friends have had trouble getting it off and wound up with tea on the floor.

It absolutely cannot be steeped too long; it’s horribly bitter over-steeped, and honey can’t salvage it. I also think I once got the temperature too high and ruined the tea that way.

I have never been much of a fan of Earl Grey teas, but now I learn it was just that I hadn’t found the right Earl Grey. The citrus flavor on this one is a little stronger than others but it has a much more “clean” flavor than others I have tried. I think the fact they use the Golden Yuunan as a base probably appeals to me as that is one of my favorite plain teas. A co-worker I shared this with grew up in the UK and his mom and family had never been able to find Earl Grey here in the US they really liked. They now buy this one on a regular basis and consider it a “treat” when they have it. I steep for 4.5 to 5.0 minutes with boiling water using a Chatsford type teapot and have very good results.

I was going to wait until next year to evolve from tea bags to loose leaf. However, thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, who bought me the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker for my birthday yesterday, I’m ahead of schedule. I’m a gadget kind of guy and I would love this very cool machine even if all it did was boil water. Of course, though, I need loose leaf tea to properly play with my new toy. I ran out to the store last night and chose Rishi Earl Grey for my inaugural launch. As the tea was steeping for four minutes at 212 degrees, I immediately noticed a richer aroma than I had ever experienced with bagged tea and 192-degree water. The color of the tea was also more vibrant than I had encountered with bagged Earl Grey teas. As I excitedly took my first sip, I tasted a cornucopia of tea, bergamot, malt, and spice. The experience reminded me of when I first emerged from black-and-white to color television. I love this tea, I love my new tea maker, I love loose leaf, I love my girlfriend, I love life, and I love you. All is well with the world today. :-)

This has been my go to tea since I received two containers last Christmas. I agree with the others that this is one tea that can’t over-steep. I find that if I don’t steep more than 4 minutes the bitterness is contained. Bonus is that the second brew is also quite good. I enjoy this with about a quarter cup of milk (sorry purists). But I am still on my quest for the ultimate earl grey.

Now that this was the last spoonful of leaves from the tin, I find that I like this tea much more than when I first got it.

This is the tea that got me hooked on earl grey. The bergamot is perfect and the tea is perfectly balanced. I’m starting to get curious about other Earl Greys, but I will compare them to this.