Strong Earl Grey

Backlog:

Back when looseTman told me about this blend, I knew I had to try this. So, I contacted Shanti Tea right away (and thank you to Shanti Tea for sending me some!) Because … I had to try it. Yeah, I know I said that already. But it’s a strong Earl Grey … so you know I had to try it.

This is a remarkable Earl Grey … and after having recently found out that one of my favorite Earl Grey teas is no longer available (Superior Earl Grey from Tealicious Tea Company), I think that this may be the Earl Grey to replace it because it is AWESOME!

The bergamot is strong as the name might suggest, it has a lot of citrus TANG to it, but it doesn’t taste perfume-y. None of that icky soap-y taste. Just delicious bergamot. The kind of deliciousness that makes my toes curl as I sip. Just remembering it … is making my toes curl. I want more of this tea.

The black tea is malty and rich and this is an excellent Earl Grey! Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/07/28/strong-earl-grey-tea-from-shanti-tea/

Per: https://www.shantitea.ca/sthome/product/strong-earl-grey:
Origin: India / Serving: 2.8 grams per cup / Temp. 100*C / Steeping Time 2-5 Min.
“2 min without milk, 5+ min with milk”

“Using a GBOP grade of black tea for this earl grey, and blending it with extra bergamot essence makes creates an infusion especially well suited for london fogs or for those seeking a strong bergamot flavor in their tea. Much stronger than the classic, malty notes, and a lively cup.”

“Ingredients: Tea (Camelia Sinensis), safflower, orange peel, bergamot”
Canada Organic – Biologique Canada: http://www.organicbiologique.ca/en/

Technique: Tea mug with Finum brew basket. 8-oz water with total dissolved solids (TDS) of 26 ppm, heated to 212*F. 2.8 grams – verified by My Weigh Durascale D2 660. No sweeteners, milk or cream were added.

Introduction: The typical Earl Grey tea has a 100% Ceylon base. Some Ceylon teas used in E.G. can be quite astringent. This E.G. is exceptional in that it has an Indian tea base.

Also, most Earl Grey teas are light- to medium-bodied. While my wife loves the aroma and flavor of a well-balanced EG, she typically does not find them to be strong enough. To compensate, she will increase the amount of tea leaves and/or the brewing time. However, you can only increase those two parameters so much. Thus, we were very interested to taste Shanti’s Strong Earl Grey.

Fragrance: This black tea has a strong floral-type bergamot and fresh orange fragrance.
Dry leaf – Dark brown leaves with obvious bits of orange peel.
Liquor – red / brown hue

2-min.: The Aroma follows the strong dry leaf fragrance. The flavor definitely follows both the fragrance and aroma. The strong floral-like bergamot and fresh orange ingredients somewhat overshadows the malty Indian base tea. There was zero hint of tartness, bitterness or astringency – quite an accomplishment!

Impression: This is a very unique, refreshing, full-bodied Earl Grey with a very strong floral-like bergamot and a fresh orange fragrance & aroma that somewhat overshadows the extremely smooth Indian base tea.

My wife, who has a very keen sense of smell, didn’t find this tea to be “The EG” she’s been seeking. While she enjoyed the full-bodied stimulating breakfast base tea, she’d prefer it to have an equally strong Classic EG aroma and flavor.

Suggestion: We’d like to suggest a second version – a “Classic Strong Earl Grey.” This extremely smooth malty Strong Earl Grey would be an excellent match with Southern Italian natural Bergamot citrus.

Thanks to Safiya Motala and Shanti Teas for kindly providing this generous free sample.