Although it was difficult for me to narrow down the best of all 100 Earl Grey blends I’ve tasted in 2024, I did want to highlight my favorites. My initial long list had 20 teas on it; I narrowed it down to 15 for the final best-of list. I tried to take it down to 10, which is why this post took so long to write. It was tough to cut five teas out of the initial list, and the more I thought it over, I couldn’t cut five more. All 15 blends on this list are memorable, and represent the qualities I value most in an Earl Grey.
There are certainly some more famous blends or companies that got left off the list. That is not to say they weren’t excellent. So much of tea tasting is subjective. These are both high-quality tea blends and they’re the ones that resonated most strongly with my personal palate.
This list is organized by each category. Some of the companies appeared multiple times in the same category, but I decided to cut that down to once per category in order to ensure other great teas were noticed. When a company appeared twice, I simply had to choose which blend I felt best represented the talents of the tea blender.
Each of these best-of entries includes an excerpt from the original review, a link to the full review, and a link to purchase the tea if you’re interested. These are not sponsored links.
(And yes, I am still working on doing a giveaway, but honestly, I probably won’t get it together until after Christmas. The last quarter of the year has thrown some unexpected challenges my way.)
Classic Earl Greys
Eastside Earl Grey, The Steeping Room
The Eastside Earl Grey uses real Italian bergamot, and I think both the real and the Italian make a difference. I understand why some tea companies make the decision to use artificial bergamot. But the way mashed potatoes from scratch are more satisfying than mashed potatoes from a box, real bergamot makes a better impression than artificial. Sure, there is a time and place for boxed mashed potatoes; in fact, they might scratch a sentimental itch. And there is a time and place to use artificial bergamot. But tasting an Earl Grey that uses a real bergamot was a game–changer.
Full review appears in Part 1.
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Earl Grey Français, Artful Tea
Although the name might suggest otherwise, this blend from Artful Tea is a straight-up classic. The tea base is a blend of Ceylon and Yunnan teas, and the Français in the name refers to the French bergamot that is used for flavoring.
This is an absolutely beautiful blend, and is my favorite of the teas I tried for this post. I think there’s something about French bergamot that really resonates with my palate, because I tried this tea on January 26th (over a month before I was able to write this post), and I am still thinking about what an excellent tea it is. This blend uses Yunnan tea as the base, and something about that particular tea with the right amount of French bergamot is magical.
Full review appears in Part 3
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
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.
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.
Full review appears in Part 18
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Special Variations
Mint Earl Grey, The Cove Tea Company
Blenders at The Cove Tea Company combine black tea, peppermint, spearmint, bergamot oil, and French vanilla extract to create a rich and complex tea. It is smooth, sippable, and is definitely the kind of thing you could drink all day.
When I taste this tea, the vanilla hits my palate first, then the mint, then bergamot, then black tea. There’s a great deal of depth, and these strong flavors are combined in a way that allows them to harmonize rather than dominate each other.
Full review appears in Part 7
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Anastasia, Kusmi Tea
The steeped liquor has a medium body, and when I smell it, I get the scent of tea first, followed by citrus. That order was consistent when tasting the tea as well. I think the inclusion of orange blossom was what made this taste extra-refreshing. It’s perfect for spring and summer, and like the Earl Grey Intense, this would be lovely as a cold-brew iced tea. I also don’t think it requires any sweetener, though if you like your tea sweet, I think honey would complement the orange blossom oil quite well.
When I finished my sample of the Anastasia blend, I immediately wished that I had more. This is the kind of tea that I could definitely drink all day long. It’s extremely sippable, with mellow black tea and bright citrus. This one is going on my best-of list, and definitely will have a regular place in my tea cabinet.
Full review appears in Part 11
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Earl Grey de la Crème, Tea Market
The dry aroma is vanilla-forward, and the raspberry leaf is strong as well, followed by bergamot and lavender. I struggled to detect the scent of tea. This is a medium-body tea, and the steeped aroma has the progression of lavender, vanilla, bergamot, raspberry, and tea. The flavor, meanwhile, is lavender-forward, followed by raspberry, bergamot, vanilla, and tea.
Given the sheer number of additions to this blend, plus the fact that I don’t love raspberry leaf, I did not expect to enjoy this tea. However, it wound up earning a place on my best-of long list. I realized that the raspberry leaf tempers the vanilla and lavender, which can both get overwhelming. All of the ingredients are perfectly balanced and work together rather than fighting. What this blend teaches me is that a disliked ingredient doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker when used in the right context.
Full review appears in Part 19
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Floral Earl Greys
Earl Grey Lavender, Artful Tea
While the aesthetics of the dry leaf aren’t everything, the addition of cornflower petals alongside the lavender creates a blend that is gorgeous to look at both before and after steeping.
While the lavender is the star of the show, it manages to shine without overwhelming the bergamot. I think that the addition of the cornflower petals helps balance things out. While cornflowers are often considered to have a neutral flavor, I know many people (myself included) detect a faint sweetness from them. I’m not a supertaster, but whenever I taste cornflower in a blend, it brings with it a sort of light, creamy sweetness.
Full review appears in Part 2
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Provence, The Cove Tea Company
The Provence blend from The Cove Tea Company contains black tea, bergamot, and French lavender. I was impressed with the balance of lavender to bergamot. I get a well-rounded cup of black tea, lavender, and bergamot flavors.
My major takeaway with this blend is that the folks at The Cove Tea Company have a good sense of the different levels and types of astringency in each component of this tea. This is an excellent blend that I would add to my regular tea rotation.
Full review appears in Part 6
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Vintage Earl Grey, The Tea Girl
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.
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!
Full review appears in Part 18
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link (Currently available only in Canada)
Cream Earl Greys
Creme de la Earl Grey, New Orleans Tea Company
The steeped tea has a medium body. When I smell the finished brew, I get cream, tea, and then bergamot in that order. The tasting experience mirrors the scent, with the three flavors emerging as a progression. You start with the savoriness of the cream flavor, then the bitterness of the tea, followed by the brightness of the bergamot. It’s well-balanced and exceptionally crafted.
This blend really tastes as though cream has been added to the tea, even though there’s none here. If you normally prefer to add dairy to your black tea, I recommend you try this one without at first; I think added dairy could overwhelm the delightful flavors of the tea.
Full review appears in Part 12
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Cream Earl Grey, The Tea Girl
This blend incorporates a combination of Sri Lankan and Assam teas along with natural bergamot and vanilla. The tea leaves are accented by jasmine blossoms and cornflowers, creating a dry cup that looks as good as the steeped liquor tastes. The body is rich yet light. The level of cream flavor in this blend is perfect. When I taste the tea, I pick up traces of marshmallow. To be clear, that is a compliment. I love marshmallow flavor, and the interaction of vanilla and cornflower produces that effect. Don’t worry, the bergamot is still there even with the creaminess.
Full review appears in Part 12
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link (Currently available only in Canada)
Green Earl Greys
Duke of Earl, Cove Tea Company
This blend contains green tea and specifies that it uses Italian bergamot. It’s a truly straightforward, no-fuss variation on this classic tea. 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.
Full review appears in Part 4
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Earl Green, Tea Market
Tea Market’s Earl Green blend contains Pouchong green tea from Taiwan; the leaves are big, bright, and gorgeous. Combined with triple bergamot, the dry scent is citrus-forward, but the floral tea aroma is still there. That scent profile repeats with the steeped liquor.
Given how light the bergamot was on the first tasting, I assumed it would be entirely absent on a second infusion. Still, I always like to do at least one additional steeping round, so I gave it a try. I was surprised to find that this tea actually had a stronger bergamot flavor on the second infusion! Yes, it was better the second time around. So if this tea doesn’t suit your palate the first time around, give it another infusion. This is a complex tea that definitely unfolds on subsequent steepings!
Full review appears in Part 17
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
Bergamot Queen, The Tea Girl
The dry cup is visually stunning, with a mix of purple, blue, and white cornflower petals. The aroma of the green tea base has a lovely complexity, both sweet and floral. The steeped aroma is bergamot-forward, and the sweeter aspect of the tea comes through as well. The taste of the tea is incredibly refreshing. This tea lives up to its name, with the bright flavor of the bergamot shining through. The green tea is still there, and it works well with the citrus. If you generally avoid green tea due to grassiness or bitterness, you should give this blend a try, because the bergamot mitigates those flavors.
Full review appears in Part 24
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link (Currently available only in Canada)
Tisane Earl Greys
Earl Grey Rooibos, Artful Tea
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.
Full review appears in Part 4
Buy the tea here: Purchase Link
