My ennui has fortunately lifted, though the second half of the month has been quite busy. I got a visit from one of my Austin friends, the chance to do a lot of dancing, and unfortunately, I came down with some sort of nasty bug. (But no positive COVID tests yet!) For this entry, I finally get a chance to review some floral blends for the first time in a while, and the look at two classic blends from the same tea company.

Floral Greys

The last time I blogged about any floral blends was back in Part 9! That was before I was even at the halfway point of tea tastings. It’s definitely been a while. I’m glad to have some more of these to write about. With only 17 teas left to purchase, I wonder how many more will show up, especially because it’s the end of the year and people aren’t blending with flowers as much. 

Vintage Earl Grey, The Tea Girl

I’m glad I keep detailed tasting notes, because though I tasted the Vintage Earl Grey from The Tea Girl back in June, I’m somehow just getting around to writing about it! Though this is an unforgettable blend and I didn’t really need help from my notes for this entry. The Vintage Earl Grey blend includes Sri Lankan tea (from the Kenilworth Estate), plus French lavender and Italian rose petals to complement the bergamot. It’s truly an international blend!

The dry aroma is, as you might imagine, potent! I noticed the rose first, followed by lavender, bergamot, and tea. One of the things that puts me off from rose-infused teas is that I associate rose petals with potpourri, but there’s no risk of that here. Think of a high-end aromatherapy candle rather than a dusty antique store. (No shade to antique stores. I love them! Some just . . . smell nicer than others.)

The steeped liquor has a medium body, and when I smell the infused aroma, everything is well-balanced. That melding comes across when I sip the tea, as well. The lavender and the rose complement each other perfectly. They come across in equal measure, bolstered by the bergamot and the black tea. The recommended three-minute steep time was perfect, so I recommend you follow the directions for this one!

Lavender Earl Grey, The London Tea Merchant

When the London Tea Room – St. Louis closed down in early September, I went in and bought up every single Earl Grey tea they had for sale. This was a chance to fill up my tasting queue at a discount, after all. I walked away with five blends in all, but they only had one-pound bags of the Lavender Earl Grey left. That equates to roughly 100 cups of tea. So it’s a good thing I loved this blend! (By the way, while the tea room is closed, The London Tea Merchant still conducts online sales!)

This blend has an amazing dry aroma: the bergamot shines first, followed by the lavender, and then the tea. The steeped liquor smells faintly of honey beneath the flowers, which I think comes from the tea leaves themselves.

This is a tea blend that is going on my best-of long list. The lavender dominates the taste, but it isn’t overpowering, and it doesn’t taste soapy. The tea and bergamot work together to complement the lavender. I might have bought an excessive amount of this tea, but it was worth it. No regrets!

Classics

I ended up buying two classic blends from the Ohio Tea Company: Earl Grey and Classic Earl Grey. As the owners explain on the website:

The Earl Grey uses an Orange Pekoe Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka, has cornflower petals, and is flavored with natural flavoring derived from the bergamot fruit, the Classic Earl Grey uses an Assam tea as its base and is naturally flavored with bergamot oil.

While these are both classic Earl Grey blends, they are quite different, so I decided to stack them against each other. You might be wondering why I didn’t classify the Earl Grey as a floral blend, since it contains cornflower petals. I admit, I struggled with that decision a bit myself. If I set clear guidelines, I need to follow them, after all. However, cornflower has a negligible impact on flavor. Since it’s often incorporated for aesthetic purposes more than flavoring properties, I decided it was not really a Floral Grey, as those typically use much more fragrant/flavorful flowers. 

Earl Grey, Ohio Tea Company

This blend has a gorgeous-looking dry cup; the cornflowers really pop against the tea leaves. It also smells well-balanced; the bergamot and the tea both shine in equal measure. The steeped liquid smells more strongly of tea than bergamot, but both are present; the finished cup also smells a touch smoky. 

When I drink this tea, especially in comparison to the Classic Earl Grey (described below), I become truly aware of how different natural and synthetic bergamot can be. I’ve written about this before on the blog, but it really hits home when tasting these two teas side-by side.

This Earl Grey is quite delicious. However, the synthetic bergamot just doesn’t meld with the tea quite as well. It’s sharper. While I do like a strong bergamot taste, this one is drawing attention away from the tea. It’s not a bad blend, but it does make me aware that synthetic bergamot doesn’t work with the tea leaves the exact same way as natural bergamot.

Classic Earl Grey, Ohio Tea Company

The dry leaves of this blend smell incredible, with a hearty dose of bergamot at the top of the aroma. When I steeped the tea, I made sure it was covered. Lifting the lid off of my infuser mug, the scent of bergamot wafted up immediately to greet me. The scent of the tea is in the aroma as well; you can tell the balance is there. But I appreciated the way the bright citrus steam shone through. 

When drinking this tea, the bergamot unsurprisingly hits first. The tea flavor then follows in short order. And the taste progression is absolutely perfect. I think the Assam tea they used was just right to complement the bergamot. Assam brings just a touch of sweetness that I think complements the other flavors well.

This is an all-day drinkable Earl Grey blend that is getting a spot on my best-of long list. I did try a few steeping times with this blend, and I liked the 4-minute steep the best. However, experiment and adjust to your liking! 

By the Numbers

I’m ending September one tasting behind schedule because I got quite sick at the end of the month, and my senses of taste and smell are compromised. Each of these tastings deserves the full power of my tastebuds, so I decided it was worth getting behind in order to have a healthy palate. Besides, one tea tasting behind schedule isn’t a big deal; I’m confident I can get back on track quickly.

There isn’t much new to say in the tea proportions department. I am amused by how generally steady proportions have stayed over time, even though I have deliberately made an effort to seek out teas across every category. 

Thanks to stocking up at the LTR – St. Louis closing sale, I only have to add seven teas to my queue for October. Ideally I’d have purchased them by now, but the month was busy, and getting sick really threw a wrench in my plans. I’m not sure what I’m going to order yet, but I look forward to whatever comes next!

Support the Project

Read previous installments here:

The Earl Grey Year Part 1: Four Classics

The Earl Grey Year Part 2: Four Florals

The Earl Grey Year Part 3: Four More Classics

The Earl Grey Year Part 4: Greens and Tisanes

The Earl Grey Year Part 5: Cremes and Special Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 6: Classics and Florals

The Earl Grey Year Part 7: Classics and Special Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 8: Cremes and Variations Part 2

The Earl Grey Year Part 9 : Four More Florals

The Earl Grey Year Part 10: Halfway Point

The Earl Grey Year Part 11: Kusmi Tea

The Earl Grey Year Part 12: Cremes and Classics

The Earl Grey Year Part 13: Four More Special Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 14: Tisanes and Classics

The Earl Grey Year Part 15: European Classics

The Earl Grey Year Part 16: Even More Classics and Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 17: Creams and Greens

Enjoying this series? You can support my tea wishlist here, or contact me if you have samples you want to share!

Project References

Note: This is an ongoing list of all the reading I have done so far for this project. The bibliographic entries here are not necessarily cited in this specific post.

American Chemical Society. (1965). “Bergamot Joins Lineup Of Synthetic Oils: Glidden process breaks down ß-pinene, back-blends components.” Chemical & Engineering News Archive 43 (33), 24-25. DOI: 10.1021/cen-v043n033.p024a 

Avila-Sosa, Raúl et. al.  “Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) Oils.” Essential Oils in Food Preservation, Flavor and Safety. Ed. Preedy, V.R. (2015). Elsevier Science & Technology. pp. 247-252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-416641-7.00027-4

Di Giacomi, Angelo and Giovanni Dugo. “Origin, History, and Diffusion.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. “Composition of Leaf Oils.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 227-236. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

Galper, Amy. (December 14, 2022.) “Shelf Life of Essential Oils.” Cliganic. https://www.cliganic.com/blogs/the-essentials/essential-oils-shelf-life 

Heale, Christopher. (n.d.) “A Guide to the Tea Grading System.” Herbs & Kettles. https://www.herbsandkettles.com/blogs/blog/a-guide-to-the-tea-grading-system 

Lo Curto, Rosario. “Uses of Juice and By-Products.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 531-542. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

Nishida, Kei.  “What Does Astringency Mean for Tea Drinking?” (n.d.) Japanese GreenTea Co. https://www.japanesegreentea.in/blogs/japanese-green-tea-lovers-in-india/what-does-astringency-mean-for-tea-drinking 

Petite Histoire. (July 7, 2023).  “The [Complete & Complex] Guide to Natural vs. Synthetic Fragrance: What’s the Difference?” https://nyc.ph/blogs/inspiration/the-complete-guide-to-natural-vs-synthetic-fragrance

Rosen, Diana. (November 3, 2020). “New – Coffee Leaf Arabica tea.” TeaSmart. https://www.teasmart.com/article_201106.html 

Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot