Orange Chiffon

I liked this scent/flavor profile some years ago, but the product was discontinued. It is therefore on my list to eventually try some sort of black tea or pu aged in chenpi.

This one was surprising. I picked up a tin of this tea from the dented can store for $.99, since the tin was slightly (although not badly) dented, and I definitely scored.

I would not have expected this from a mass market consumer brand like Tazo, but this take on an earl grey was actually actually quite pleasing. The overall notes of orange, vanilla and cream create an almost dreamsicle like flavor without the sweetness. It is quite delicious. Admittedly, the flavors are somewhat unbalanced, the bergamot is a touch too strong and I was missing some of the boldness I would have expected from a brew with black tea as its base, but overall I was pleased.

This would probably make a nice tea latte, if I try it, you will be the first to know.

Yay for impulse purchases! My sweetie and I made a trip to Target this morning (mostly to pick up a new game for the Wii U that they ended up not having) and there was a lovely endcap display of Tazo teas. After giving it a quick once-over, I chose this tea to take home with me. They also had a holiday tea called “Joy” that sounded interesting, but I figured one impulse tea was enough for today! This is an earl grey with orange, vanilla, and buttercream flavors. Sounds amazing, right? The sachets were sealed in a plastic bag inside the tin, so the bergamot scent was, of course, super overpowering when I opened it. Inside the sachets is a mixture of small black tea leaves and citrus peel.

Hmm, this is actually quite good! Having no experience with Tazo, I was unsure what to expect in terms of quality, but this seems right on par with Harney & Sons and similar companies. The bergamot is actually a tad stronger than I would like, and I find that it slightly overpowers the more delicate vanilla and buttercream. I added a touch of sugar to take the edge off of it, because I find strong bergamot to be somewhat hard to drink – it becomes almost bitter and perfumey. Perhaps next time I will try a 3-minute steep and see if this helps the flavors to be more balanced. I could taste the orange, thankfully, and I could see this being an amazing creamsicle earl grey tea if the bergamot could be reigned in a touch. Will experiment! For now, I’m quite satisfied with my $6 purchase. :)