Earl Gold Reserve

There are a lot of Earl Greys out there that schlop bergamot on top of a so-so base, which is likely why it took me so long to warm up to Earl Grey as a genre. Had I tried this one first (hugs to derk), my opinion would be oh, so different! Big, beautiful curly leaves—ashmanra mentioned sweet potato as a flavor profile in her review, and I think that’s spot on; I also get a little fresh wheat bread there, too. Spritz those leaves lightly with fine, fresh bergamot; just enough to scent and garnish it, not soak it in cologne. So good I’m postponing my afternoon housekeeping plans (didn’t take much coaxing) to rock in the glider and sniff the cup.

I roughly "gongu"d this so that I could use a smaller amount in my 100mL gaiwan. Three minutes.

Smell: Bergamot first, very well balanced. Light sweet trichome smell. Brewed, stronger trichome and malty sweetness. I’ve worked around very dusty, trichome-heavy teas for so long that I associate a smell with them now, a sort of thick, sweet dust.

Taste: malt, burnt sugar. Not getting any bergamot! As it cools, I get a bit of bitterness at the back of the throat, bergamot-adjacent. From there, the bergamot builds a bit with sips, but doesn’t get very strong. A little light, but the bonus is it doesn’t hide the notes of the tea at all. Citrus, grapefruit, molasses, honey.

Second steep at 7 minutes—smell the bergamot on the liquor now. Taste is light, citrus/grapefruit, honey. Most of the stronger notes from the previous steep are gone.

I feel like the pairing is well-done, sweet, light, balanced. It would be interesting to compare this tea fresh, as I’m sure the bergamot’s dissipated a lot.

As much as I was looking forward to trying this little sample from beerandbeancurd, AJ seems to have an understanding of Earl Greys that necessitates getting to try this tea. That, and Whispering Pines is easily accessible for me in the States, so I gave this packet a good long sniff and taped it up with the ITCC Teas of Nepal box. Safe journeys, little golden Earl. May you enjoy, AJ :)

I’ve tried the ‘regular’ Earl Gold in the distant past and it was lovely. But this smelled divine. Just that whiff absolutely brightened my mood.

From beerandbeancurd – many thanks!

I had this for breakfast thinking it would be heavier on the bergamot than Ashman goes for, but I think this is one he would have liked. Too bad, I drank it all.

Sam and I had hard-boiled egg, toast with jam, and bacon. I actually had rhubarb and raspberry from Fortnum out, sniffed the dry tea leaves, and put it away and took out Burlington Breakfast fine cut marmalade. That’s how special this tea smelled…it had to have just the right pairings.

I expected strong bergamot but instead I got a face-full of the richest, silkiest golden tip tea with strong sweet potato and honey aromas, like a cashmere scarf came out of the pouch a la Bugs Bunny and caressed my cheek. Thus the move to a marmalade that would complement it. The rhubarb and raspberry would have been far too sweet to pair well.

This is a very full bodied tea with what Graham Kerr referred to as “mouth-roundness.” I made two steeps Western. The bergamot was subtle, refined, and elegant.

I went to the website and hit that NOTIFY ME button so fast…

Jeezo.

I sniffed the open bag and started laughing, as I haven’t been this overwhelmed by bergamot oil since I was a kid and every sip of Earl Grey tasted like an exotic perfume.

This feels like travel — waking up and teetering down creaky steps to breakfast in the UK. The proprietor’s homemade marmalade and fresh brown bread, hoofed back from the bakery before sunrise; a barely-sweet mug of cocoa on the generations-old oak table; that cozy buzz before heading out into an overcast day of wood beams and lichen-stone and drizzle and history.