Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Twinings of London
Tea Description:
Twinings has been blending my family tea for years. Today, I am proud to continue this tradition with the tea celebrated throughout the world known as Twinings Earl Grey. Legend has it that my ancestor, the second Earl Grey, was presented with this exquisite recipe by an envoy on his return from China.
Fine black tea perfectly balanced with the distinctive flavour of bergamot, a citrus fruit.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I can’t believe I haven’t yet tried this Earl Grey tea from Twinings of London! I’ve tried so many! This being a more ‘common’ brand that is more readily available, I am surprised that I’ve not tried it. But there you have it!
And to be honest, I really wasn’t missing out on much. Sadly, if this is one of the Earl Grey teas that people are exposed to early in their tea drinking experience, I can see why there are so many people who don’t really care for Earl Grey tea.
That’s not to say that this is bad, exactly. But it’s certainly not great. If this was one of the first Earl Grey teas that I had tried, I probably wouldn’t be as enthusiastic an Earl Grey drinker that I am today, so I guess it’s a good thing that I haven’t tried this Earl Grey until now.
The aroma is kind of dull – both the dry leaf and the brewed tea. The brewed tea is a little more lively than the dry leaf, but it doesn’t have that bright, invigorating bergamot aroma that I’ve come to love when it comes to Earl Grey.
And that dull flavor translates to the cup too. This just … isn’t all that exciting. It’s one of the most boring Earl Grey teas I’ve tasted. And as I mentioned earlier, I’ve tasted a lot of Earl Grey tea.
The black tea is kind of boring. It’s just kind of … blah. So much so that I find myself struggling to come up with some descriptive words to describe what I’m tasting but I can’t seem to do it because it’s just so uninspired.
Generally, when I drink an Earl Grey tea, I’m excited and roused with joy over drinking one of my very favorite tea flavors – but that’s not happening right now because this tea lacks excitement in general. It’s just really quite ordinary. In a world full of exciting teas, why would anyone limit themselves to something so average?
Cream of Earl Grey Tea from Tealated
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealated
Tea Description:
Organic and high grown black tea is hand blended with fragrant oil of bergamot and French Vanilla. Our product testers all agree that this is the BEST black tea fusion you will ever taste to make your morning tea a delight.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited to taste a new Earl Grey from a new-to-me tea company! And this is a really tasty Cream of Earl Grey! There is a nice balance between bergamot and creamy vanilla.
The dry leaf aroma is strong and bergamot-y with lovely notes of vanilla. The brewed tea fragrance is softer than the dry leaf, and I am smelling more vanilla now than bergamot.
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch and measured 2 bamboo scoops into the basket of the tea maker and poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug. I set the parameters: 205°F and 2 1/2 minutes.
This produced a really flavorful cup! The black tea base is smooth and medium to full bodied. There is a dry astringency to the finish. It’s a fairly even-tempered type of black tea, I suspect this is a Ceylon.
This tea has been really carefully blended, with a bright bergamot flavor with the right amount of vanilla. The smooth vanilla notes soften the edge of the bergamot, creating a really decadent type flavor. It’s silky and creamy and sweet with a nice contrast of tangy from the bergamot.
A really good Earl Grey creme tea.
Classic Earl Grey Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
That classic Earl Grey taste. Our classic version uses just two ingredients: tea and bergamot extract. The kind folks over at the Uva Halpewatte tea estate grow an extra smooth, light, and sweet black tea, perfect for complimenting the sweetness of the bergamot orange!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm. When I opened the pouch, I have to say that I was a little disappointed. Where’s my bergamot? I want bergamot and I want the bergamot to be evident when I open the package of tea. I want that big gust of BERGAMOT essence to blow me away. Didn’t get that when I opened this package. I’m hoping that the bergamot will show up after the tea is brewed.
To brew it, I used my trusty Kati tumbler. I measured 1 bamboo scoop of loose leaf tea into the basket, and then I added 12 ounces of boiling water. I let the tea steep for 3 minutes.
The aroma smells more like Ceylon tea than it does bergamot. Again, I have to ask: Where’s my bergamot?
Then I taste it.
Hmm.
Well, I’m bummed out.
I taste very little bergamot. As in next to no bergamot. This is the Earl Grey tea for those of you out there who don’t like bergamot. Then again, why are you looking for an Earl Grey tea if you don’t like bergamot?
But for this bergamot lover, I’m left feeling a little let down. Maybe more than a little. I love me some bergamot, and there really isn’t much bergamot to speak of in this tea.
I can taste hints of orange in the background, and it’s difficult to say if that orange note that I’m tasting is from the UVA Halpewatte Ceylon tea (because quite a few Ceylon teas have a natural ‘citrus-y’ note to them), or if that’s supposed to be the bergamot.
In the aftertaste, I am getting notes of bergamot.
As for the Ceylon tea, it’s a pleasant tasting tea. It starts out smooth and finishes with a moderate astringency. A medium-bodied tea with that brisk flavor that I generally associate with a Ceylon. Notes of citrus in the background (again, not sure if that’s the tea or if it’s supposed to be the bergamot) and a subtle floral note. The aftertaste of the Ceylon is clean which allows me to notice the faint presence of the bergamot.
The bergamot does come forward just a little as the tea cools off a little bit. To be honest, it tastes more like orange than it does bergamot and its still not punching me in the mouth. I expect a strong PUNCH of bergamot when I drink an Earl Grey tea and I’m just not getting that, even after some cooling time.
Sorry M&K’s … I’ve enjoyed most of the teas that I’ve tried thus far but this one just isn’t doing it for me. They can’t all be winners, I suppose, it saddens me that the one that fails me is one of my favorite of three tea flavors (the others being chocolate and a tie between caramel and vanilla. And jasmine.) OK, so I have more than 3 favorite tea flavors.
This is the ideal Earl Grey tea for those of you who like your bergamot on the subtle side. But if you’re like me and want the tea to be unmistakably bergamot-ish, then this one might be a bit of a disappointment for you.
Please don’t let that stop you from trying other teas from this company though, they have a nice selection of teas and I’ve enjoyed many of the others that I’ve tried. Plus … they have fantastic customer service!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 22 from Teanzo 1856
The big day is almost here. Just two days left to shop for it!
Today’s artistic inspiration comes from another 12 Days of Christmas swap. This ornament was created by Autumn. (Sorry, Autumn, I didn’t take note of your last name!) This is really a cool ornament. It’s difficult to tell from the photo (and the photo isn’t the greatest anyway!) but the base of the ornament is a juice concentrate lid. You know, the stuff you get in the freezer section of the grocery store in the cardboard cylinders with metal ends? Autumn took the metal ends and made ornaments! Really cool!
It’s not only a beautiful ornament that adds a lot of sparkle to my tree, but I love that it was made out of something upcycled – something that was otherwise destined for the landfill! 
Here is an up close view of the ornament…
Like I said, very cool.
I love doing the 12 days of Christmas mail art swaps for things like this – I find it very inspiring to see what other artists are doing with everyday “throwaway” items like juice can lids! Pieces like this really get the creative juices flowing!
Today’s teas is one of my favorites thus far. This is one tea I’m likely to buy again from Teanzo, because I suspect I’ll be wanting more of it soon!
Earl Grey Green Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
If you love Earl Grey Tea, then try our Earl Grey Green Tea. You get all the health benefits of green tea, with that familiar Earl Grey flavor that you already love. A perfect gift for Earl Grey lovers!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve reviewed quite a few Earl Grey black teas (an understatement!) but significantly less Earl Grey green teas. There are a couple of reasons for this: the first is that there are far fewer Earl Grey green teas available out there. With just about any tea company out there, you’re likely to find an Earl Grey black. Most tea companies has at least one black variety of Earl Grey. But, only a fraction of those actually carry an Earl Grey green tea.
The second reason is that as much as I love an Earl Grey black tea, I’ve not found a lot of Earl Grey green teas that I’ve enjoyed as much. I’ve enjoyed a few, but if it came down to a choice between an Earl Grey black and an Earl Grey green, I’d choose the black version every time. Bergamot just seems to meld better with the flavor of black tea better than the green tea.
BUT!
I think I may have found an Earl Grey green tea that I enjoy as much as I enjoy some of my favorite Earl Grey blacks. Maybe not as much as those Earl Grey black teas that are at the very top of my list, but, this Earl Grey green even when placed among the black teas would be somewhere in the top ten. Yep. I said it. This is a GOOD Earl Grey green. Really good!
I’m not sure what makes this one so much better than the other Earl Grey green teas that I’ve tried. The bergamot? Perhaps. This is a flavorful bergamot, tangy with just a little contrasting sweetness, it’s bright and invigorating. A nice, sunny citrus note that isn’t overly floral or perfume-y, but still very distinctly bergamot.
Perhaps it’s the tea itself? The green tea here looks like large gunpowder pellets and it has a pleasantly sweet flavor. It’s not overly vegetative. It’s a little earthy, it has hints of buttery notes. It’s a mild tasting green tea and it blends in a very agreeable way with the notes of bergamot. It has a slight creaminess to it that softens some of the sharper notes of the bergamot.
Together, this is a delightful match. The tea resteeps nicely too, I find that the bergamot notes soften somewhat in the second infusion but the softer notes are quite pleasant too.
This tea was one of the most pleasant of surprises discovered in this Advent Calender from Teanzo!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 12 from Teanzo 1856
It’s day 12! We’re half way through this Advent Calendar! Wow!
How goes the holiday rush? Have you finished your holiday shopping? We haven’t. Then again, we have been a little under the weather! Both hubby and I came down with a horrible cold. I’m glad that neither of our daughters caught it. Hubby had to take a few sick days, neither of us were feeling well enough to get up and go anywhere – much less face the crowds of a store filled with frenzied Christmas shoppers!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I’m going to show another piece that I created a few years ago. This is my holiday wreath. It was very easy to make. It almost feels a little “wrong” for me to say that I made it when I think that most of the work came from an artist who calls herself “Confections” on Etsy. She made this gorgeous “ragamuffin” style “yarn” that I used to wrap around a foam wreath shape that I bought from my local craft store. I’d wrap and wrap and then, every once in a while, I’d tie it off to enhance that ragamuffin look. Then I attached some glitter adorned holly leaves and big red buttons for holly berries, and added a big red bow to finish it off.
It was a fun project and really simple. I managed to finish it in a few hours and it’s a wreath that I proudly hang up every year. The colors in the ragamuffin yarn are so beautiful and were exactly what I was looking for for this type of project. I love it!
Speaking of love, today Teanzo sent me a tea I adore!
Organic Bergamot Earl Grey
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Our highly aromatic version of this legendary American favorite Earl Grey tea is blended using organic tea giving this Bergamot Earl Grey Tea its depth of flavor. Bergamot Earl Grey tea is also delicious served over ice.
Taster’s Review:
I was greeted with a bright, beautiful fragrance when I tore open the sampler pouch today! That amazing aroma of bergamot! It’s a little sweet, citrusy and there are notes of flower in the fragrance.
To brew this, I grabbed my Kati Tumbler (boy, my Kati is getting a work out with this advent calendar!) and poured the contents of the packet into the basket. Then I heated 12 ounces of water to boiling and let the tea steep for 3 minutes.
This is a good Earl Grey. I like that it’s an organic selection!
The flavor is bright and tangy. The bergamot flavor is strong but doesn’t overwhelm the black tea base which is bold. There are notes of malt and notes of caramel that mingle nicely with the energetic flavor of the Italian fruit.
I taste hints of flower in the distance, but don’t mistake this as my saying it tastes “perfume-y” because this doesn’t taste like that at all! It’s a strong, forward flavor but it hasn’t been overdone. A good quality bergamot oil was used to craft this blend because it doesn’t come off as soapy. It just tastes like a really smartly blended Earl Grey tea!
This is an Earl Grey tea I’d be happy to drink any day! I’m so glad that Teanzo included this in their advent calendar!