84
drank Wuthering Heights by LiteraTea
681 tasting notes

Merry belated Christmas to those who celebrate(d), and Happy Holidays to all! I’m a couple of days behind on the holiday wishes, because I was working a 12 hour shift on Christmas day and was just incredibly busy trying to squeeze in an hour here and there with my family where I could. I’ve had a couple of days off now though, and am finally settling into the holiday spirit of eating too much food (and plenty of chocolate), watching a lot of TV and drinking festive drinks.

This was a gift I received in my stocking this year – Santa definitely knows me well! It combines a few of my favourite things in tea and books, but also it’s an Earl Grey creme, and based on one of my favourite novels!! I love Earl Grey cremes, and have been sorely missing having one in my cupboard while I try to sip down some of my collection, so this feels sort of like a get-out-of-jail free card in adding one to my collection without buying any new teas. I am a very happy Nattie. The icing on the cake was finding out when adding it to the database that this tea comes from a small business based in Ann Arbor Michigan (I have no idea how Santa came across this one), somewhere I’ve never been but would love to visit as the spiritual home of yet another interest of mine. I know it was a coincidence, but I really feel like this tea was the perfect gift for me.

The scent of the dry leaf is incredible, the bergamot is present but it’s very creamy and intoxicating. Steeped, the malty black tea and bergamot come through the strongest but there’s a definite creamy scent there too. The instructions on the tin said to steep for 5-10 minutes, but that seemed like overkill so I went with a pretty standard 4-minute steep. In the sip the base is quite brisk, but not astringent, and perfect for breakfast time. The bergamot is bright and fresh, and the vanilla and cream flavours round it out really, really nicely. The cream is very present at the back of the sip when hot, but as my cup cools it’s becoming less noticeable, and more like a regular EG. I added a splash of milk, just to test it out really, and it’s equally good either way. This might not be the number one best EG creme I’ve tried, but it’s pretty dang tasty and I would be more than happy to keep this in my collection!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Jen vB

This sounds like it needs to be in my cart! BTW, it’s National Chocolate Candy Day, so definitely indulge.

Nattie

Do it! I am a big proponent for the Earl Grey creme. This one cold brews really well, too (:
I didn’t know that! Thanks for the go-ahead to indulge, haha.

derk

Merry Christmas, Nattie :)

Nattie

Thanks derk ! Hope you enjoyed your holidays too.

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Comments

Jen vB

This sounds like it needs to be in my cart! BTW, it’s National Chocolate Candy Day, so definitely indulge.

Nattie

Do it! I am a big proponent for the Earl Grey creme. This one cold brews really well, too (:
I didn’t know that! Thanks for the go-ahead to indulge, haha.

derk

Merry Christmas, Nattie :)

Nattie

Thanks derk ! Hope you enjoyed your holidays too.

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Bio

I first got into loose leaf teas when a friend of mine showed me Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends on Adagio a good few years back, but they weren’t on sale in the UK so I started trying other kinds instead and have been hooked for almost three years (and have purchased several fandom tea sets including the Sherlock one I lusted over for so long).

Flavoured teas make up the majority of my collection, but I’m growing increasingly fond of unflavoured teas too. I usually reach for a black, oolong or white tea base over a pu’erh or green tea, though I do have my exceptions. I will update my likes and dislikes as I discover more about my palate, but for now:

Tea-likes: I’m generally easily pleased and will enjoy most flavours, but my absolute favourites are maple, caramel, chestnut, pecan, raspberry, coconut, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin, rose, hazelnut and peach

Tea-dislikes: vanilla (on its own), ginger, coriander/cilantro, cardamom, liquorice, pineapple and chocolate

I am a 25 year old bartender, English Literature sort-of-graduate and current student working towards finishing my degree. I am hoping to one day complete a masters degree in Mental Health Social Work and get a job working in care. Other than drinking, hoarding and reviewing tea, my hobbies include reading, doing quizzes and puzzles, TV watching, football/soccer (Sunderland AFC supporter and employee of my local football club), music, artsy weird makeup, and learning new things (currently British Sign Language).

I should probably also mention my tea-rating system, which seems to be much harsher than others I’ve seen on here. It’s not always concrete, but I’ll try to define it:

• 50 is the base-line which all teas start at. A normal, nothing-special industrial-type black teabag of regular old fannings would be a 50.

• 0 – 49 is bad, and varying degrees of bad. This is probably the least concrete as I hardly ever find something I don’t like.

• I have never given below a 20, and will not unless that tea is SO bad that I have to wash my mouth out after one sip. Any teas rated as such are unquestionably awful.

• This means most teas I don’t enjoy will be in the 30 – 50 range. This might just mean the tea is not to my own personal taste.

• 51+ are teas I enjoy. A good cup of tea will be in the 50 – 70 range.

• If I rate a tea at 70+, it means I really, really like it. Here’s where the system gets a little more concrete, and I can probably define this part, as it’s rarer for a tea to get there.

• 71- 80: I really enjoyed this tea, enough to tell somebody about, and will probably hang onto it for a little longer than I perhaps should because I don’t want to lose it.

• 81 – 90: I will power through this tea before I even know it’s gone, and will re-order the next time the mood takes me.

• 91 – 100: This is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, and I will re-order while I still have a good few cups left, so that I never have to run out. This is the crème de la crème, the Ivy League of teas.

I never rate a tea down, and my ratings are always based on my best experience of a tea if I drink it multiple times. I feel that this is fairest as many factors could affect the experience of one particular cup.

I am always happy to trade and share my teas with others, so feel free to look through my cupboard and message me if you’re interested in doing a swap. I keep it up-to-date, although this doesn’t mean I will definitely have enough to swap, as I also include my small samples.
Currently unable to swap as I’ve returned after a long hiatus to a cupboard of mostly-stale teas I’m trying to work through before I let myself purchase anything fresh

I also tend to ramble on a bit.

Location

South Shields, UK

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