- The neighborhood chili cook-off
- Soulard Oktoberfest
- Family birthdays
- Cheddar and chive scones from Protagonist Cafe
- Candy corn mixed with peanuts
Tag: october
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The Best of It: Mid-October Edition
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The Earl Grey Year Part 21: Four by the London Tea Merchant
Since I bought so much tea from the London Tea Merchant when their St. Louis tea room was closing, I’ve written about a few of the teas already. When preparing to write this week’s Earl Grey installment, I noticed I had exactly four LTM teas left to review. So I thought it would be fun to create a single post devoted to these final four blends. Two I loved, one I liked well enough, and one didn’t land so well. However, remember that palates are personal; something I didn’t enjoy might actually be your favorite! The London Tea Merchant is still selling tea online via their website, so you should check out any of these blends that pique your interest.
Earl Grey
This classic Earl Grey blend has a bergamot-forward dry cup, but at first whiff doesn’t seem like anything special. The steeped liquor, on the other hand, has a more compelling aroma. The bergamot and tea are well-balanced, and I detect some spicy undertones. The LTM blenders use Yunnan tea as their base, which is one of my favorites.
On taste, this Earl Grey is exceptionally well-balanced. The tea is bright and refreshing, and is smooth enough to drink all day long. (Assuming you’re willing to consume caffeine later in the day, which I definitely am.) The bergamot shines, but the Yunnan tea comes through. I wrote in my notes, “This is the platonic ideal of Earl Grey tea.”
Though it’s getting more and more difficult to be impressed by a standard Earl Grey, this is a magnificent tea that is getting a spot on my best-of long list. I’m thrilled that although the London Tea Room has closed, the Merchant is still selling tea online, because I want to be able to buy it again.
Cream Earl Grey
From dry aroma to steeped aroma to taste, this is a remarkably consistent blend. On the one hand, that’s not an inherent indicator of quality. Like wine (or even potato chips), variation between aroma and taste is normal, and doesn’t indicate anything about the skill of the tea maker. However, a tea that has the same profile all the way through is a rare find, and I enjoy celebrating that when it comes up.
The London Tea Room approach to Creme Earl Grey includes black tea, cornflower petals, vanilla flavor, and bergamot flavor. I found the balance of tea and vanilla to be well-matched, but the bergamot was lighter than I prefer.
While Creme Earl Grey does not represent the biggest proportion of teas that I’ve tasted, I’ve tasted enough that, as with the classic version, it’s getting difficult to impress me. While special variations make up a larger proportion than cremes, there’s enough novelty in that category to keep me guessing. Creme Earl Greys, on the other hand, have a standard range of ingredients, so it’s now taking more effort for me to really love one of these blends. I recognize the London Tea Room’s Creme Earl Grey as expertly blended and of high quality, but it’s simply not something that changes my life.
Churchill
I was genuinely conflicted about how to categorize this tea. On the one hand, the only ingredients are black tea and bergamot, suggesting this is a classic blend. In addition, London Tea Merchant doesn’t specify which types of teas are in this blend. However, it’s so smoky that lapsang souchong has to be in here, and since that’s not a common Earl Grey base, I ended up calling this a special variation, just as I did for the Forntum & Mason Smoky Earl Grey.
The aroma of the dry cup is bright with bergamot; the smoky tea is there, but it takes a back seat. The steeped tea, however, has a heavily smoky aroma; it’s difficult to detect the bergamot. I found the taste to be overwhelmingly smoky, with the bergamot largely hidden. Even though I followed the steeping instructions, the tea also seemed excessively bitter.
Since I was sick for a chunk of September and October, I gave this blend a second chance. Although I tasted it after I’d recovered, I thought my palate might still have been compromised. So I felt this blend deserved another shot. And while it was less bitter the second time around, I felt the smoke to bergamot balance was off. I just didn’t love this one the way I loved its Fortnum’s counterpart.
Queen of Hearts
This summery blend contains black tea, wild strawberry leaves, and bergamot oil. The additions shine through in the dry leaves, with strawberry and bergamot having a well-balanced aroma. The tea aroma is in the background. This same aroma profile comes through in the steeped liquor as well.
The tea, on the other hand, is strawberry-forward, followed by tea. The bergamot flavor is on the weaker side. However, in this blend, I’m not complaining. The bergamot serving as an accent note works well. I think sometimes bergamot can clash with certain fruit flavors, so keeping it minimal here was probably the ideal choice.
While I’m not a huge fan of strawberry flavor in my tea, I did enjoy this blend, and I’m glad I have a big tin of it. I’d buy this again, and once the warmer months come back, I would make this as a cold-brew blend to serve at a summer picnic.
By the Numbers
I’m 90% of the way through the tasting portion of this project! It’s funny that just a few weeks ago, I was feeling over it and ready to call it quits early. I’m glad I didn’t, because I’ve enjoyed some absolutely marvelous teas since then.
Once again, my percentages remain largely the same. While the specific numbers have changed somewhat, the proportions aren’t all that different. With so few tastings left, I doubt there will be any surprises with the final pie chart.
Since reaching my 90th tea, I’ve added five new samples to my roster. That means I only have to acquire five more. I’m trying to choose carefully because there are many options out there. I’m excited for the new teas that will arrive in my mailbox in the next few days, and I look forward to seeing whatever fills up those few final spots.
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
This month I’m taking part in the #OctoberTeas2024 challenge on Instagram. If you’re a tea drinker on the ‘gram, follow the hashtag and play along with us!
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 -
The Earl Grey Year Part 20: Classics and Greens
I started the month slightly behind schedule, and today I tasted my 87th tea, meaning I only have three more to taste in October in order to stay on track! Even with two busy weekends ahead, I see myself easily completing this month’s tastings ahead of schedule!
Today I’m featuring two classic blends and two green blends. Both categories have a tea I found disappointing, and one I absolutely loved. We’re really hitting the full spectrum here.
Meanwhile, I only have 10 teas left to add to my tasting queue. What Earl Grey blend should I try next? Let me know in the comments!
Classic Earl Greys
Earl Grey Black Tea Rods, AMBA Estate
I was so excited to order these AMBA Estate Earl Grey Black Tea Rods from The Steeping Room. I had never seen anything like them before! So I was beyond disappointed when I ended up not being able to give this tea a ringing endorsement.
I didn’t detect much bergamot scent on the dry rods, though that’s not always a meaningful metric. I mostly evaluate the dry rods to track the sensory experience across the brewing process. I also want to note that the smell of the black tea rods was lovely! The leaves themselves have a fantastic aroma. After steeping the tea, though, I didn’t detect much bergamot scent in the infused liquid, either. I did get more of that lovely tea leaf aroma, though.
When drinking the tea, I did finally taste the bergamot, but there was just a whisper of it. I followed the steeping instructions the first time, and on subsequent tastings experimented with longer steeping times in hopes of bringing out the bergamot, but it just didn’t work. The taste of the tea is fantastic, but it just doesn’t taste like Earl Grey.
(Note: While the Earl Grey rods didn’t work for me, the tea rods infused with Sri Lankan vanilla were fantastic, and I will definitely be making those a regular part of my tea pantry.)
Earl Grey Extra Aromatic, Simpson & Vail
Simpson & Vail’s Earl Grey Extra Aromatic is a classic Earl Grey with double bergamot. As expected, the bergamot is strong in the dry leaf aroma; I smelled it even before I opened the package. In fact, it was difficult to detect the aroma of tea underneath all the bergamot.
I followed the suggested instructions to steep for four minutes, and was pleased to find that the aroma was perfectly balanced between bergamot and tea. While bergamot is the star of the show in Earl Grey, I always want to be able to detect the tea as well.
It should come as no surprise that, as a bergamot fan, I thought the taste of this tea was fantastic. While the bergamot was strong, it wasn’t overpowering; I still got to enjoy the taste of the tea leaves themselves. If you’re not a bergamot fan, you’re not going to enjoy this one, but for those of you who want a big punch of citrus, I recommend it.
Green Earl Greys
Sencha Earl Grey, Palais des Thés
I’ll say right off the bat that this blend did not work for me. From the moment I sniffed the dry leaves, something felt off. I don’t think the tea was bad. It’s simply that from the get-go, this was never going to be a tea that I loved. (Unfortunately, Palais des Thés does not sell sample sizes, so now I have quite a lot of this tea and no desire to drink it. If you’re interested in this blend, let me know. I’d be happy to set up some tea mail to offload this one from my stash!)
This tea has a medium-light body. It’s not the lightest green tea I’ve ever seen, but also not the darkest. It has a nice gold hue; if only I enjoyed the taste as much as I enjoyed the look of it. The steeped liquid did smell better than the dry leaf, but it still didn’t quite agree with my nose.
When I tasted the tea, I understood what my problem was: the grassiness of the sencha simply did not work in combination with the bergamot. I’m not saying it’s an inherently bad tea. I just felt the grassiness and the citrus did not work well together. But for you hardcore sencha fans, this might be enjoyable. I’d certainly be happy to send you a sample of mine if you wanted to try it!
Green of London, Palais des Thés
By contrast, I found this tea to be completely delightful. I ended up drinking this all day long the first time I tried it! This is another blend in which the bergamot wafted up before I’d even finished opening up the package.
The tea brewed to a golden, medium body. I followed the suggestion for a three-minute steep, and I think that was perfect. When I smelled the steeped liquid, the green tea aroma was heavier than the bergamot, but didn’t mask it.
The green tea that Palais des Thés selected for this blend is slightly bitter, but that is not a complaint. I loved the way the brightness of the bergamot played with the bitterness of the tea. I found the two flavors equally balanced. The only complaint is that the bergamot flavor was greatly diminished when I went for a second infusion. However, that’s been true of almost every Green Earl I’ve tried, so I’m not going to single them out. This blend still gets a place on the best-of long list.
By the Numbers
Last month I was in a funk, and this month I can’t believe I only have 13 teas left to go! My tasting queue is short at the moment; since I started the month behind schedule, I didn’t anticipate getting this far this fast. So now it’s time to think hard about what the last 10 teas will be.
I like how I went out of my way to add more green blends to the queue, and yet again, the proportions remain roughly the same. This is just how it seems to shake out over and over again. There are still some differences from my very first pie chart, and I look forward to comparing the first and the final.
There are lots of tea companies out there, so I can’t help but wonder what comes next. I’ve already tasted every Earl Grey from most of the companies on my list. A few are too expensive for me to order from again, and some others are not easily accessible in the United States. So I don’t see myself buying much, if anything, from familiar retailers. It looks like the last 10 teas will be mostly new.
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
This month I’m taking part in the #OctoberTeas2024 challenge on Instagram. If you’re a tea drinker on the ‘gram, follow the hashtag and play along with us!
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 -
The Best of It: Apples Edition
- Cold cider
- Mulled cider
- Hard cider
- Apple cider donuts
- Living in the Midwest where I actually have proper access to good apple cider
Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com -
The Best of It: Teas Other Than Earl Grey Edition
- Colombian Cacao Kisses, Simpson & Vail
- Laos Meung Honeybee Black Tea, Simpson & Vail
- Preparing a 50-50 blend of Tea Market’s Creamsicle and Cocoa Berry (which sadly appears to be out of stock)
- Meyer Lemon Chai from Tea Market
- Forest Hill Handmade Wild Black Tea Rods with Sri Lankan Vanilla from The Steeping Room
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Soulard Haiku Walks Launch in October
I’m thrilled to announce that next month, I’m launching a quarterly ginko (haiku walk) series around the Soulard neighborhood. The first event takes place on Saturday, October 26th at 9:30 a.m. It’s free, family-friendly, and open to anyone in the St. Louis area.
I’ve wanted to start hosting ginkos in St. Louis for over a year now, but with everything else I have going on, it kept getting pushed to the back burner. Finally, though, I realized I could start hosting them in conjunction with the Soulard Restoration Group Community Involvement & Events Committee.
Here are my goals for the series:
- Provide free haiku education in a digestible format.
- Provide space for people to practice writing haiku without worrying about critique or judgment.
- Create a family- and beginner-friendly event.
- Explore Soulard and learn about its unique history.
- Recognize that haiku can be written in any environment, and that urban spaces are just as legitimate haiku spaces as pastoral ones.
We will meet at the Soulard Community Garden and spend 90 minutes learning about haiku, walking, exploring, and writing. The event concludes at the historic Soulard Market, a great place to explore at the conclusion of events.
If you have any haikurious friends in the St. Louis area, forward this post along to them!
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The Best of It: Midweek Edition
Not pretty, but pretty delicious - The stovetop mushroom lasagna recipe in the new issue of Bon Appetit
- Playing fetch/tug with Astrid in the yard
- A fruitful three-hour work session with my memoir group this morning
- Turning old Chianti bottles into candleholders
- I’ve been making my own variation winter market salad for over six years now, and it remains one of my favorite go-to recipes.
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The Best of It: It’s Only Tuesday? Edition
The to-die for breakfast sandwich - Both of my morning meetings ended early
- The electrician seems to have finally fixed my porch light for real
- Fried rice
- I got asked to officiate a friend’s wedding!!!!
- Stump Sohla
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The Best of It: Grading Procrastination Edition
She decided she didn’t like her crate for just one night - Hiking at Baker Sanctuary and having the whole place to ourselves
- Bistek ranchero
- Finding a pair of boots I wanted on Poshmark
- Bagel sandwiches
- Having a reason to go to H Mart
