Here we are at the end of the Earl Grey Year. I’ve tasted all 100 teas, and this is the final blog post of reviews. I end as I began, reviewing four classic blends. These were all enjoyable teas, and the final tea was especially unique. 

I feel like I need to say something profound, as this is the final post. But I suppose I should simply take the pressure off of myself, and simply go into the reviews. I do plan to do a wrap-up post in early December, so maybe I will find an opportunity for profundity there.

Organic Earl Grey, Brw Society

I received this Brw Society blend from my friend thattealover, and at first I struggled with how to classify it, because it’s not strictly tea and bergamot; there are also cornflower petals. This was my 94th tea, and for all 93 teas before it, I’d stuck to my guns that a classic blend was just tea and bergamot. However, cornflower petals have minimal impact on flavor; they mostly serve an aesthetic purpose. After thinking it over through the tasting process, I decided to put this on the Classic list, because the cornflowers didn’t do enough flavor-wise to make this a true Floral Grey.

This tea came in a lovely sachet, but the opaque fabric meant I didn’t get a great look at the dry cup. However, it had a good balance of both tea and bergamo in the dry and steeped aromas equally. The tea itself smells slightly spicy. 

I found the taste to be slightly tea-forward, and overall enjoyable. While the bergamot is less predominant, it still holds its own. It truly has a classic vibe in every sip, and for people who prefer a moderate amount of bergamot flavor, this tea is an excellent choice.

Blue Earl Grey, Finest Organic Tea Co.

This was my 95th tea, and also one that I received from thattealover. Like the tea before it, this one threw me into a categorical conundrum. Like the tea before it, this blend contains black tea, bergamot, and cornflower petals. Not only that, but the word “Blue” appears in the name, suggesting it’s something other than a classic blend. However, since I considered blend 94 a classic blend, it only made sense to be consistent. 

The aroma of this blend is tea-forward for both the dry and steeped cups. The bergamot is there, but it’s faint. On taste, though, the bergamot is much stronger. While it’s not bergamot-forward, there’s a nice sense of balance between the two flavors. 

As I tasted this nearly at the end of the challenge, it came at a point when it was especially difficult for a classic blend to blow my mind. While this wasn’t a game-changing tea for me, I did enjoy it, and while I wouldn’t go out of my way to ship this all the way from the UK, I wouldn’t turn it down if someone brewed me a cup!

Ceylon Earl Grey, Jacksons of Picadilly

Here’s one more tea that I received from thattealover. Unlike the previous two teas, there was no question about how to classify this one: it only contains Sri Lankan tea and bergamot. This one came in a bag, so I couldn’t really look at the leaves, but the bergamot aroma shines through. 

The steeped aroma smells more complex than the dry cup. There’s a nice balance of bergamot and tea, and I’m getting a hint of stone fruit as well. The taste is light and refreshing, with the bergamot and tea once again well-balanced. 

In this tea, I would describe the bergamot as gentle yet bright. The taste has a light finish and a nice astringency. It has a floral undertone as well. Doing some research, I found that while Jacksons of Picadilly was once a company unto itself, it’s now a sub-brand of Twinings. It doesn’t appear to be readily available in the United States, and while it’s not something I want to invest shipping across the Atlantic, I would certainly enjoy some the next time I’m in the UK!

Earl Grey Nouvelle, Tea for All Tea Shoppe

Tea for All Tea Shoppe sent me a generous portion of this blend to review. And although it’s a classic blend, it’s truly the most unique tea I’ve tasted as part of this challenge, which is why I saved it for the final spot. What makes this tea so special is that it’s the only blend that doesn’t contain bergamot oil. Instead, it has black tea and bergamot peel. Of 100 teas, this was truly the only one that took a different approach to bergamot, and I was grateful to get to try it. 

I was actually so excited by the prospect of this blend that I recorded the only tasting video of this project. I only posted it to Instagram and TikTok, and it’s difficult to pull individual videos up on both of those sites. But as of this writing, the tasting video is the first one on my Reels page. And of course, I will write about my tasting experience here.

This tea has one of the most incredible aromas of any of the blends on my tasting list. The citrus aroma is intense, but the tea is there as well. The steeped cup aroma, however, is more tea-forward. The taste is also tea-forward, with the bergamot less prominent than it was in the dry cup. And yes, I prefer more aggressive bergamot, but this is still an excellent blend. The tea is clearly high quality, with a slightly spicy undertone to it. I would absolutely love to order more tea from this company again. 

(I also broke with tradition and added a bit of honey to this tea after the initial tasting. It was lovely, and made the bergamot shine a little more.)

By the Numbers

As promised, I’m revisiting the very first bar chart I created. I had tasted only eight teas when I wrote my first post. At the time, I only had four categories, and one of them wasn’t even accurate!

It wasn’t long before the Lady Grey category became Floral Grey; in fact, I’d resolved that by the second blog post. It also wasn’t long before some green teas and tisanes made their way into the mix, though they remained a small proportion throughout the entire project. Below is the pie chart at the halfway point, with all categories represented. 

Below is the pie chart breaking down the categories of all 100 tastings. Classic blends still made up the majority of teas, but still only made up about ⅔ of my tasting queue. Special Variations were just over ¼ of the blends I tried. The one thing that surprised me was how much the proportion of green-based blends increased by the end of the challenge. Long the smallest category, during the last quarter of the project, it increased to becoming the second-smallest. The green tea increase is probably why the Floral Grey category fell below 20%, another thing that surprised me. Ultimately, the final proportions looked a little different from what I’d predicted, but not much. 

I genuinely can’t believe that the project is not just complete, but done a little early. While there were times when it felt like a slog, I’m glad I followed through. I learned a great deal about what I like, discovered some new favorite blends, and connected with fellow tea lovers across the internet. While I don’t plan on taking on another big tea challenge for 2025, I would like to do another version of this project in the future. (Assuming potential tariffs don’t make tea cost-prohibitive in the future.) I would love to do a Chai Year. And who knows? Maybe someday there will be a Matcha Year in which I really learn to be a matcha person . . .

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

The Earl Grey Year Part 18: Florals and a Classics Challenge

The Earl Grey Year Part 19: Even More Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 20: Classics and Greens

The Earl Grey Year Part 21: Four by the London Tea Merchant

The Earl Grey Year Part 22: Four by Simpson & Vail

The Earl Grey Year Part 23: Final Florals and Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 24: Greens and Classics

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

My Earl Grey. (n.d.) “What is Russian Earl Grey?” https://www.myearlgrey.com/articles/what-is-russian-earl-grey-tea/ 

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 

Sorokina, Anna. (April 25, 2020). “‘Russian Teas’ that Russians Know Nothing About.” Russia Beyond. https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/332070-rusian-tea-abroad 
Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot

Here I am at the penultimate post of this project. Going through my spreadsheet, I had two green blends and six classic blends left in the queue. I decided to wrap up the green teas this week, plus two classic blends to balance the post out. The final post (tentatively scheduled for next week) will end as it began, with four classic blends.

I’m still deciding how I want to share my best-of list. It feels redundant to create a post or a series of posts, since I would just be repeating content. On the other hand, perhaps having my favorites in a one- or two-post digest would help people synthesize this year of work. (I’m leaning toward two posts, as these get long enough!) If anyone reading is interested in that, please let me know. I’m also considering doing a series of Instagram posts or a Youtube/IG/TikTok video instead of another blog post. Let me know what you’d like to see!

I also need to finalize plans for the Earl Grey giveaway I plan to run as a thank-you to those who supported this project. I got things going a few weeks ago, and then work got super hectic. I need to get back on track because I want this taken care of by the end of the year! That will probably only be at my Instagram, so if you don’t know where to find me there, just let me know.  

Green Earls

Cream of Earl Grey Matcha, David’s Tea

In my previous post, I wrote about some disappointing experiences with two David’s Tea blends. Given my experience with those two teas, and given that I don’t particularly like matcha, I expected that this tasting would also not go well. You might wonder why I even ordered this blend, considering I don’t like the base tea. Two reasons: first, I had yet to taste a matcha-based Earl Grey (there aren’t many out there), so I was swayed primarily by novelty. But also, it was one of the David’s Tea daily specials back in October. So yes, I was easily swayed by reduced price tea. 

The ingredient list for this blend includes cane sugar, organic matcha, and organic cream and Earl Grey flavors. The dry matcha powder has a sweet aroma; I noted in my journal that it smelled like a fancy truffle. That sweetness repeats in the prepared cup. And I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn’t hate the taste!

This particular matcha had a creamier mouthfeel than I’m used to, and I wonder if that had something to do with the built-in sweetener or the flavoring. I did have to prepare this twice, because the first time, I got my ratios of tea to water incorrect, but honestly, I actually preferred the version I accidentally made too strong. While I don’t enjoy matcha enough to buy this again, it’s a tasty beverage, and doesn’t taste nearly as sweet as it smells. I’d recommend any matcha lover give this a try. 

Bergamot Queen, The Tea Girl

I’m so thankful to The Tea Girl for sending me a sample of her Bergamot Queen blend. 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. 

I enjoyed this tea hot, as iced tea season has long passed in the Midwest. (I know some people say iced tea season is all year, even in cold climates, but that’s just not me.) And while it was an incredible hot tea, if you’re a cold brew aficionado, you should give this blend a try. I think it would be excellent as a cold beverage. (The caveat is you have to reside in Canada for the time being.)

Classic Earls

Tea of Lords, Palais des Thés

This is my final tasting from Palais des Thés. While I disliked the Sencha Earl Grey and adored the Green of London, this blend falls squarely in the middle. This was my 84th tasting, and it was a point where I was struggling to be impressed by classic blends. I might have enjoyed this more if I’d tasted it earlier in the project, but that’s ultimately unknowable. 

Both the dry and steeped aroma have an excellent balance of tea and bergamot. It’s the kind of fragrance I wish I could capture in a scented candle. (Yes, I know Earl Grey candles exist, but in my opinion, they never quite get the aroma right.) 

The taste of this tea is bergamot-forward, with the tea in the background. However, it doesn’t feel imbalanced; I’m not really looking for a 50-50 flavor ratio of tea and bergamot. I like something bergamot-forward, so this is a perfect blend for me. That’s why I was surprised that I didn’t love it more. I can tell there are quality ingredients and that the tea has impeccable blending. Yet while I could taste the quality, something about it just didn’t truly resonate on my palate.  

Earl Grey, Ci Tea

This is another tea that I received after winning thatttealover’s July challenge. Citea is a Montreal-based business run by a Ukranian family. According to their website, this blend has a Sri Lankan tea base in addition to bergamot flavor. The leaves appear to have been processed using the CTC method. 

The dry cup has a heavenly aroma; the bergamot is strong, and the tea smells slightly spicy. While the tea aroma is slightly stronger in the steeped cup, the bergamot scent is able to hold its own. 

This was tea number 98 for me, and let me tell you, after I passed 75, it was getting more and more difficult to be impressed by a basic Earl Grey. Yet impressed I was when I tasted this one. The tea itself is fantastic: it has a strong, complex body that’s a bit spicy and a bit flowery at the same time. The underlying floral tone complements the bergamot quite well. I didn’t think I’d be adding another classic blend to the best-of long list, but I’m adding the Citea blend as soon as I finish writing this post.  

By the Numbers

Although I’ve tasted all 100 teas, I have one more post to write after this one. With that in mind, I’m going to hold off on sharing the final percentage breakdown until the final write-up. 

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

The Earl Grey Year Part 18: Florals and a Classics Challenge

The Earl Grey Year Part 19: Even More Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 20: Classics and Greens

The Earl Grey Year Part 21: Four by the London Tea Merchant

The Earl Grey Year Part 22: Four by Simpson & Vail

The Earl Grey Year Part 23: Final Florals and Variations

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

My Earl Grey. (n.d.) “What is Russian Earl Grey?” https://www.myearlgrey.com/articles/what-is-russian-earl-grey-tea/ 

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 

Sorokina, Anna. (April 25, 2020). “‘Russian Teas’ that Russians Know Nothing About.” Russia Beyond. https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/332070-rusian-tea-abroad 
Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot

This afternoon, I tasted my 100th cup of Earl Grey for 2024. I actually completed the tasting portion of the challenge well ahead of schedule. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. I got behind in September, but then somehow finished early.

When looking at my spreadsheet, I only had two floral blends and two special variations left to review, so I grouped them here. Unfortunately these are overall not the best reviews, even though most of them come from major tea brands. Honestly, the strongest tea this time around was a private label blend from a grocery chain. It just goes to show that not all fancy brands are winners 100% of the time, and the less reputable teas can pleasantly surprise you.

Floral Blends

Lavender Earl Grey, David’s Tea

I’ve been a huge fan of David’s Tea for a few years now, and I had high hopes for the final floral blend of this challenge. Unfortunately, there is one ingredient in here that I really don’t care for, and while I went in with the best of intentions, I couldn’t bring myself to love this one. 

The dry aroma is lovely; the lavender and the bergamot sing. It wasn’t until the tea was steeping that I actually read the ingredients. In addition to black tea, bergamot, and lavender, this blend contains lemon peel, calendula, and ashwagandha. It’s that final ingredient that ruins it for me. I honestly wish I’d paid attention / bothered to read the ingredient list before ordering, because I would have skipped this one. On the other hand, it’s not an ingredient someone would expect to see in an Earl Grey, so it’s not as though I should have thought to look.

While the ashwagandha aroma didn’t come through in the dry cup, I could smell it in the steeped liquid. However, I didn’t want to give up on this tea. I figured there was a good chance that all the other ingredients in this blend might cancel it out. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me. As much as I tried to ignore it, I couldn’t escape the bitterness of ashwagandha. It also seemed to clash with the lavender and bergamot. Ultimately, I just couldn’t quite understand the purpose of including it.

Victorian Earl Grey, Simpson & Vail

This is the final Simpson & Vail review of this challenge! Their Victorian Earl Grey is an elaborate blend. They use their rose congou black tea as the base, and then add rose petals, lavender, rosemary, and bergamot flavor. 

The dry aroma is intensely floral, verging on the scent of potpourri, which I admittedly found worrisome. The rose and rosemary were the strongest scents, followed by lavender and bergamot, with tea in the background. The steeped aroma is rosemary-forward, with the potpourri scent diminishing. While the steeped liquid had an overall similar aroma profile to the dry cup, everything seemed better melded together. 

I believe this is the only Earl Grey I’ve tasted which contained rosemary. I did enjoy this blend, but I admit that as I was drinking it, I struggled to think of this as an Earl Grey. The rosemary taste is so strong that it comes across more as an herbal tea than a black tea. The flavors all play well together, but the rosemary and flowers overpower the bergamot and the tea. I would consider ordering this again, but while it’s delicious, I wouldn’t really think of it as an Earl Grey. It’s truly a special variation, but there’s been too much emphasis placed on the variation rather than the classic flavor profile.

Special Variations

Pumpkin Earl Grey, David’s Tea

I was so excited to try this tea. First, I love novelty blends in general. Even if they aren’t as good as I hoped they’d be, I’m always excited to give them a shot. And I love pumpkin-based flavors. I don’t even mean just pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin muffins, cookies, fudge, anything. So a novelty Pumpkin Earl Grey seemed right up my alley. Alas, things did not work out. 

This blend contains black tea, pumpkin,carrot, cinnamon, cardamom pods, clove, marigold petals, bergamot oil, and natural flavoring. And from the first whiff of the dry blend, I had a feeling that things were not going to go well. I wrote in my notebook, “This smells like Earl Grey Chai. Except there’s a reason you don’t usually see Earl Grey Chai.” The bergamot was completely overwhelmed by everything else. One of my notes indicates that this smells like bourbon that had gone rancid.

Nonetheless, I brewed the tea according to the suggested instructions. I wanted the opportunity to be surprised. Maybe the dry aroma wasn’t great, but when infused, everything would be fine. The steeped aroma smelled slightly better, but not great. I wrote in my journal, “I really do not want to drink this.”

However, I’d paid good money for this tea, and I wasn’t about to just give up on it. So I did my best to get through a full cup. Unfortunately, the bergamot was completely overpowered and the various pumpkin components were overwhelming. I wrote in my notes, “Actually, this tastes like bad Fireball.” I did not manage to get through a full cup. It’s a shame, because I’ve been a fan of David’s Tea for years; I’ve had one of their advent calendars every year since 2020. But unless I get comments from genuinely curious people who want to take this off my hands and give it a try, this is sadly going the way of the Arabica Earl Grey from Adagio: into the compost bin for my garden.  

Earl Grey Russian Style, Lord Nelson

I received a sample of this Lord Nelson blend from my Instagram friend thattealover, after I won a prize in her July challenge. The Lord Nelson label is owned by the Lidl chain of supermarkets, and shows that store brand tea can still be quality tea! I had never heard of Russian Style Earl Grey before receiving this sample, which is why I immediately put it on the tasting list. I did some digging, and apparently Russian Earl Grey contains added lemon, though it may also contain lemongrass, cornflowers, and orange peel. Ironically, this blend is apparently not actually Russian. 

This Earl Grey blend has a dry aroma that is both flowery and citrusy. The tea aroma is faint. That scent profile is the same for the steeped liquid as well. A remarkably consistent formulation, the bergamot and lemon were also the most prominent in the actual taste, with tea definitely playing second fiddle.

I enjoyed this blend; it’s one that I think would do quiet well when served as an iced tea. While the citrus is bright, on the whole it’s fairly mild and smooth. This is an all-day sipper. 

By the Numbers

Although I’ve tasted all 100 teas, I have two more posts to write after this one. With that in mind, I’m going to hold off on sharing the final percentage breakdown until the final post. 

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

The Earl Grey Year Part 18: Florals and a Classics Challenge

The Earl Grey Year Part 19: Even More Variations

The Earl Grey Year Part 20: Classics and Greens

The Earl Grey Year Part 21: Four by the London Tea Merchant

The Earl Grey Year Part 22: Four by Simpson & Vail

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

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