During this challenge, I’ve tasted a few incredible blends. Most of what I’ve tasted are teas that are enjoyable but not mind-blowing. Even if I didn’t love a particular tea, I wouldn’t be opposed to sampling it again, or enjoying a cup if someone offered it to me. I’ve been lucky that there are few teas I’ve tasted that I would never want to drink again.
I think this installment of the project features the first tea that I would not want to drink again under any circumstances. (Okay, I would drink it if I was dehydrated and it was the only liquid available.) Unfortunately, this tea is from a company I’ve been buying from for years! But it goes to show that not every company can get every blend right. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Just because a company on the whole does a good job doesn’t mean they master every blend every time.
But while one of the floral blends this week was unpleasant, the other three were exceptional, with one becoming a new favorite. As we move from late spring into early summer, it feels like a good week to celebrate the Floral Greys out there.
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, Adagio Teas was the first company from which I ever purchased loose-leaf tea. I’ve been buying from them since 2006. So I’m clearly a fan. But this tea did not work for me at all.
I was put off just from the smell of the dry leaf. The scent was shockingly sweet, and the lavender smelled artificial. While there are clearly lavender flowers in the blend, they didn’t smell like the lavender currently growing on my patio. Things didn’t improve when I smelled the steeped liquid. The artificial lavender smell was overpowering, and I actually didn’t want to drink the tea at all.
When I did start sipping, all I could taste was a strong, artificial lavender, followed by intense sweetness. (I did not add any sweetener to this tea.) I got through one cup, and that was all I could handle. The sample size makes about 10 cups, meaning I have a fair amount left. I might try a cold brew version to see if that improves anything, but honestly, I’m not optimistic.
Fear not! While this tea wasn’t a winner, Adagio has a number of other Earl Grey blends. I haven’t tried them all yet, but their Rooibos Earl Grey and Earl Grey Green both make enjoyable cups of tea.
My friend @royal_teacups sent me the Dronning Louise (Queen Louise) blend made by Chaya, a Danish tea company. I’m fortunate to have included this tea in my roster, as I would not likely be able to get it here!
The Dronning Louise blend consists of Keemun tea, rose petals, and natural bergamot. Their website also refers to it as Chinese Spring Tea, and it definitely evokes the spring weather! In my neighborhood, roses are blooming, and this tea has a floral brightness that I see reflected outside (at least on days when it’s not pouring rain).
This is a remarkably complex blend. The rose and the bergamot harmonize well, and stand out on the palate. The Keemun tea is quite subtle by comparison. This is a tea that demands you stop and pay attention. You can’t just gulp it mindlessly while going about your day. If you want to appreciate the full nuance, you have to make time to savor your cup.
Given that I don’t generally care for rose-scented tea, I was honestly surprised to enjoy the Dronning Louise blend as much as I did. However, the flavors are balanced quite skillfully, and I think that’s why it works. It manages to be floral without tasting like perfume, and that’s not always easy to manage.
I started following The Tea Girl, a Canadian tea blender, on Instagram a while back. I was excited back in March when she posted about her spring tea offerings, including a few Earl Grey blends. So I was quite disappointed when payday rolled around and I went to her online shop, only to discover that she is currently only able to ship within Canada! Yet a few weeks later, I came home to discover a packet of samples from The Tea Girl in my mailbox, including an assortment of Earl Greys, plus two others. I’m thrilled I got the opportunity to try them.
The first blend I tried was the LalalaLavender Cream Earl Grey. Although I’m partial to a longer infusion time, I followed the recommendation to steep for only three minutes for my first cup. I like to make sure I’m experiencing the brew the way the tea maker thinks is best, and then adjust for my own preference on subsequent tastings.
While the lavender taste was admittedly a little strong for my taste, I commend Sarah (the actual Tea Girl) for her ability to avoid that overwhelming astringency that can occur when lavender, citrus, and black tea combine. (While I enjoy an astringent cup, there are times when it can just be too much.) I’m guessing that balance is due to the lavandin varietals of lavender that she uses.
There was enough tea in the sample for another two tastings; I did a second with a four-minute steep, and one that steeped for five minutes. Unsurprisingly, I liked the five-minute steep the best; I felt the tea had more time to develop, and balance out the floral elements. That, though, is strictly personal preference; your mileage may vary.
The Rose Hill Earl Grey blend was the item in The Tea Girl’s spring lineup that I was most excited to try, and most disappointed when I thought I wouldn’t be able to obtain any. And this is coming from someone who, just about 300 words ago, said she didn’t like rose very much. But I was swayed by the Instagram photos. The dry blend is particularly gorgeous, and yes, it was so pretty I just had to drink it.
Fortunately, I was not disappointed. The tea managed to exceed my already high expectations. This blend is definitely getting named in my best-of long list, and if you live in Canada, you need to order some while it’s still available. There was a nice balance to the scent of both the dry leaf and the steeped liquor. I perceived the scent of rose first, followed by black tea, and then bergamot, but they all flowed naturally. I didn’t have to search hard for them. That flavor progression is reflected in the steeped liquor as well. The experience is much like the way a fine wine gradually unfolds on your palate.
I wrote in my tasting journal, “This is the only rose tea I would stock on a regular basis.” I will be keeping an eye out for the day that The Tea Girl is able to ship outside of Canada, and once I can, I will be ordering a large quantity of the Rose Hill Earl Grey.
As of this writing, I’m one tea tasting ahead of schedule for the month. It’s possible that I’ll reach the halfway point by the end of May! I currently have just 15 untasted teas left in my queue, but I think I’ll wait until June before ordering more. Last week I did a full inventory of all the tea at my house (not just Earl Grey), and the number was embarrassingly high. So in addition to this project, I’m focusing on drinking up some of the older teas in my collection before I buy anything new. (Because let’s be honest, what are the odds that I go to a site to get Earl Grey and I only get Earl Grey? Pretty low.)
One of the things I’m surprised to discover is how few Earl Grey blends there are based on green tea. I haven’t added one to my queue in a while! There are a few on my wishlist, but even if I added those, I can see that Green Earl Grey blends are likely to be the smallest proportion of blends I taste. I assumed I would come across them regularly, because citrus and green tea go well together, but I was way off!
I was tempted to do a side-by-side comparison of my original pie chart to this one, but I think I’ll wait until I hit the 50% mark. That, I think, will be a more interesting point of comparison. Do you have any predictions for either the 50% comparison or the 100% comparison? Let me know in the comments!
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
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.
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
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
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
Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot
