Victoria Wheeler Send Message

I brewed up a pot of this to have with a friend over breakfast yesterday. I first had this tea when living in Strasbourg, France, and still had an unopened package that I brought back then. I love the wonderful cherry blossom flavor of this tea, and get cravings for it now and again. I agree with others that it is better slightly cooled, as the cherry blossom flavor comes out more. The real key, however, is to carefully observe that you’re making it at proper green tea temperature (i.e. not boiling) and the flavor should still be prominent to taste. Otherwise, the green tea becomes too bitter and overpowers the cherry blossom taste. This tea is so sweet all on its own that I rarely add sweetener.

I purchased this tea for myself earlier this year because I wanted the tin to house my regular Earl Grey. To be clear, this is not the one depicted in the picture (although the tea inside is the same), but the one that came in the licensed tin. (See here: https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/f07b/)

Having drunk some this morning, this is not my favorite Earl Grey. I enjoy Earl Grey in general, so it’s certainly not a loss, but this tastes very weak to me. After steeping it for three and a half minutes, there was a bit of bergamot and only a very weak tea flavor. I will attempt to steep it longer next time in the hopes it will bring out more flavor, but ultimately I am unimpressed. Luckily, it’s the tin that I was really excited for!

I had this this morning, which just happens to be Christmas Eve! I used the bagged variety. I really like the strong note of clove and cinnamon. It’s perfect for a relaxing tea that still has a strong kick of Christmas flavor. Let this one steep a long while and the notes come out stronger. The only problem is that the mint starts to turn a bit bitter, a sacrifice I’m willing to make for a stronger taste of clove. I added a bit of sweetener as well.

I have drunk this only from the bags. I think this tea is a delightful but delicate blend for the holidays. Although it’s not too different from many other varieties of Christmas tea, the subtle ginger note adds a great deal. This tea is a great one to let steep for a long while as you drink it; the subtle notes only become more pronounced. Stash is correct when they add that a bit of sweetener goes a long way, also.

This is my go-to Earl Grey tea for daily use. I like it not only because the company is based in my native Kentucky, but because the tea is very well-balanced between the bergamot and the black tea. As much as I love bergamot, I was drinking Earl Greys with too much such that it was ruining other types of Earl Grey for me. This was a good compromise. I enjoy with a bit of German rock sugar from Teavana.