Before diving into Part 4 of this series, I want to take a moment to thank Mark of seasonwords.com for making a contribution to my project wish list! The Winter White Earl Grey he funded has been ordered and should arrive by the end of the week!
While I had initially planned to only write a blog post when I had consumed four teas in each category, last month taught me how things like shipping issues could throw a wrench in those plans. In addition, looking at my current queue, it’s clear that certain types of Earl Grey are simply far more prevalent than others. In order to prevent the tasting rate and the blogging rate somewhat proportional, I decided to feature two smaller categories in this week’s update.
Two Green Earls
I classify a Green Earl Grey as any blend that consists of green tea and bergamot. (While there are some blends that combine green and black tea, I have placed those in a separate category.) Since green tea ranges from grassy to smoky, and has a flavor quite distinct from black tea, I think that Green Earl blends are worth exploring, even if you haven’t enjoyed standard Earl Grey in the past. Hopefully you’re inspired to try one of these!
Earl Grey Green, Adagio
This Adagio Teas blend contains green tea (variety unspecified, though I’m guessing sencha), orange peels, natural bergamot flavor,and cornflowers. The leaves, citrus, and flower petals look lovely in the infuser basket. The dry leaves and the wet leaves both have a nice scent, with the citrus coming forward.
The stepped tea itself is very bergamot- and citrus-forward. I actually don’t get much green tea flavor at all. However, the bergamot/citrus is not overwhelming, which suggests to me that the tea is doing some subtle work to keep everything in balance. This would probably be lovely as a cold-brew iced tea.
Since green teas can usually be resteeped 2-3 times, I factored that into my analysis of this category as well. Unfortunately, most of the bergamot and citrus did not come through on a second infusion. The green tea is still nice, but if you’re looking for sustained bergamot across multiple infusions, you’re not likely to find that here.
Duke of Earl, Cove Tea Company
At last, the chance to sample my long-delayed Cove Tea Company package. I’m happy to say it was worth the wait. This blend contains green tea and specifies that it uses Italian bergamot. It’s a truly straightforward, no-fuss variation on this classic tea.
The dry leaves smell lovely; the bergamot comes through quite well. The taste has a nice progression: a hit of green tea at the front, with the bergamot blossoming at the back. It’s a light blend, but also complex. In my reading this week, I learned that “Bergamot essential oil produced in Italy is ranked as of the highest quality at the international trading market” (Avila-Sosa et. al, 2015, p. 247). In the course of this project, I had already started to notice that bergamot marked with its country of origin tends to contribute to a better-tasting tea. While I’m finding things to like about bergamot from all regions, the biggest takeaway so far is that when a blender uses bergamot with a named location, I am probably going to have a more pleasurable tasting experience.
In terms of resteeping the tea, the bergamot is still present on a second infusion, but considerably weaker, but still quite enjoyable. The bergamot doesn’t really survive a third infusion, but you’re still getting a nice cup of green with a whisper of citrus. This is a lovely blend perfect for the onset of spring.
Two Tisane Earls
A Tisane Earl is any blend that does not use actual tea, but rather an herb such as rooibos or honeybush as the base. Of course, bergamot is a nonnegotiable part of the mixture. Tisane Earls are generally a good option for people who love the taste of bergamot but can’t have caffeine. (However, be sure to check with your doctor to ensure that the herbs in question don’t interfere with any medications you may be on or worsen any medical conditions you might have.) So far, rooibos is the most common herb I’ve found as the base of an Earl Grey tisane.
Earl Grey Rooibos, Artful Tea
Rooibos seems to be the kind of herb that people either love or hate, with little in-between. For me, it was love at first sip, but even with my general enthusiasm, I know that some types of herbs, oils, and flowers work better with rooibos than others. While I’ve been a fan of rooibos as an Earl Grey base for most of my adult life, I also know it can be difficult to pull off well. Rooibos is assertive and strong; bergamot is much lighter.
Fortunately, the blenders at Artful Tea understand how to balance out bergamot oil with the rooibos to ensure a pleasurable drinking experience. What’s especially impressive is that they make this work while sticking to the basics. The blend consists only of rooibos and bergamot oil. There is no extra citrus, no flowers, no other herbs to balance things out. When you stick to just the two ingredients, they have to be just right. There’s no room to hide, and the team at Artful Tea pulls this off masterfully. A common refrain on internet memes is, “10/10, no notes,” and really, I can’t think of a better way to describe this tisane.
If you don’t like rooibos at all, you probably want to skip this one. I think bergamot is a delightful addition, but it certainly doesn’t make the rooibos disappear. But rooibos fans should give this a try, especially if you haven’t had any sort of rooibos-based Earl Grey yet.
Rooibos Earl Grey, Adagio
For many years, the only Earl Grey blend I would drink was the Rooibos Earl Grey. Adagio was the first brand I tried, but I’ve enjoyed plenty of others as well. Based on my earlier bad experience with regular Earl Grey (discussed in Part 3 of this series), I refused for the better part of a decade to drink any sort of real tea with bergamot.
For their Rooibos Earl Grey, Adagio combines rooibos orange, blue cornflowers, and natural bergamot flavor. Although I haven’t had this particular blend in quite some time, I’m happy to report that it’s as enjoyable as I remember.
Like most Adagio teas and tisanes, the dry blend is quite pretty. The rooibos smell dominates, but once the hot water is added, the bergamot and orange peel come through. Drinking the infused tea, I find a well-balanced cup where the rooibos and bergamot both come through. I think that’s impressive, because rooibos can be heavy-handed. I think the orange peel helps to keep things well-balanced and keep the rooibos from overpowering everything else.
If you don’t like rooibos, you should avoid this blend, because the bergamot and orange peel don’t make it go away. However, if you’re a rooibos fan, give this a try. It certainly has a special place on my tea shelf.
By the Numbers
As of this writing, I’ve tasted 23 different Earl Grey blends. It’s hard to believe that at the end of the month, I’ll be more than 25% of the way through the tasting portion of this challenge! I’m pretty sure I’ve already had more Earl Grey this year than I have in the rest of my adult life, which I find amusing. The good thing is that I’m not tired of it yet!
While classic versions of Earl Grey are still the best represented, other categories are beginning to stand out. I’m close to having enough of both Creme Earl Grey and Special Variations to give each of those a post of their own, though honestly, based on this post, maybe I should do another half and half in order to keep the blogging momentum going.
I have close to 50 teas in my tasting queue, which is exciting. It’s a good feeling to not feel like I have to hurry up and buy more tea. That being said, there are still 50 teas to add. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment! If it already happens to be on my list, I’ll consider that a sign to make it a priority tea.
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
Enjoying this series? You can support my tea wishlist here, or contact me if you have samples you want to share!
For more tea content, check out my tea pairings playlist on YouTube.
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.
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
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
Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot