Another one from the box from Shae! Thanks so much!

Anyway, I just woke up. It’s 5:45 AM here and I fell asleep last night around 7 pm. I’m pretty groggy so I figured I’d have a cup of tea. I reached into the box, this is what my hand fell on. So this is what got made! (Such a scientific process lol!)

I did my best to measure out 3 grams, but I’m using 12 oz of water which is why this is likely a bit weak. I did try it before adding my usual Splenda and it’s pretty bitter without sweetener. So I’m reviewing this with these factors in mind.

This is a smooth tea. There are no harsh edges present (again, with the Splenda) and it goes down easy. The bergamot is present, but not overpowering and is well balanced with the black tea. I’m sitting here trying to pull additional flavors or notes from this and can’t. It’s just what it says on the tin. Earl Grey Cream. It’s creamy, it’s black tea, it’s bergamot. It does exactly what it says it will and nothing more nothing less.

That said, for an EGC, this is pretty good. Hella smooth and well rounded and as promised. And sometimes, that’s what you’re looking for. Not every tea session needs to be a globe-trotting adventure. Sometimes you just want to sit down with a nice, simple cuppa and not have to worry about overloading your taste buds with an entire bouquet of flavors.

This tea is for those days.
Recommended.

Flavors: Bergamot, Cream

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Martin Bednář

I feel you in that, there are teas for simple drinking sessions. Of course there are adventure teas, but not always you have even a mood for that.

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Martin Bednář

I feel you in that, there are teas for simple drinking sessions. Of course there are adventure teas, but not always you have even a mood for that.

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HELLO! My name is Shanie and I love tea!

While I have always loved various types of tea, for a very long time it came exclusively from a grocery store. It’s only been a year or so now that I’ve gotten into loose leaf. As such, there will likely be tasting notes I do for bagged tea as well as good quality (and not so good quality) loose leaf teas. I’m still learning as I go so have patience please!

Right now, I am on a massive Earl Grey kick. So if a ton of my notes are just various varieties of EG, that’s why!

Some of my favorite flavors include: Cocoa, Malt, Bread, Honey, Earthy, Sweet Citrus, Caramel, Apple, Spices, and Cinnamon.

Some flavors I don’t like: Licorice, Coconut, Bitey Citrus (like Citric Acid), Licorice, Sour, Smoke, Overpowering Fake Vanilla, Stevia, and did I mention Licorice?

NOTE: I am Type 2 Diabetic. As such, I can really not have sugar added to tea without suffering problems. This prohibits me from using either plain sugar or honey. Instead, I use Splenda as I found my system can handle it well and I like the flavor. I try to avoid stevia as I’ve found it often ruins the flavor of tea. However, not all teas require sweetener, and some are better without. Because of this, if I add sweetener to a tea, I will mention it in the tasting note and say what kind and how much. Usually, I sweeten flavored and herbal teas but leave true teas unsweetened. There are exceptions, but this is a general rule of thumb to go by.

Almost all of the tea I brew is western style. I occasionally do grandpa, but pretty much never Gong-fu. I do own a Gaiwan, but it never gets used. Considering I don’t have a “sip setting” when it comes to beverages, it’s really hard for me to get into any sized amount less than 8oz at a time. I know that probably makes me a tea-heathen, but so be it. I like my mugs.

I have decided to try and make a scale for my ratings. So here goes.

As of January 2020.

100-91: These are my go-to favorites. I will likely go out of my way to always keep these on hand, including going on third party websites to obtain out of season.
90-81: This is a tea I really did enjoy, and I will likely purchase again. However, I wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth for it, and it isn’t my all-time favorite.
80-71 This is a tea that, while I may have somewhat enjoyed, something is holding me back from making it a mainstay. Maybe the flavor profile isn’t the best. Maybe there is an offputting aftertaste. It varies. But while I did like it and will continue to drink it, I don’t absolutely need it in my life, and while I will likely finish what I have, I may or may not get more.
70-61: This is a tea which I drank, but I didn’t like it. However, I didn’t hate it either. It wasn’t bad enough to dump, and if it is the only thing available to drink, I would likely drink it instead of plain water. But in the end, this is just not my literal cup of tea and I will likely not get this again.
60-51: This is something that I didn’t like much at all, but for one reason or another, refused to dump. If I squint hard enough and use my imagination, I can almost BS myself into thinking they are decent, and I suppose I can choke it down and not waste it. These are teas that I will not be buying again, and may not even finish what I have.
50-41: Yeah, whatever this is, I there’s a good chance I dumped it. At this level, it’s pretty bad stuff with either weak flavor, nasty flavor, or all the wrong flavors, It has few redeeming qualities, and I likely won’t reach for this one again. On the bright side, it isn’t sewage water, so there’s that.
40-31. On it’s best day this tea has no redeeming qualities. This not only got dumped but the package it came in either got thrown away, traded, or shoved to the back of the cupboard to never be touched again. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but darn sure close.
30-Under: The worst thing I’ve ever tasted. This not only has no redeeming qualities, but it is gag-inducing. “Teas” in this range are so bad I not only will never drink them again, I really don’t feel like offloading them onto anyone else because they are just that bad. Actual sewage water.

Location

Pennsylvania, US

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