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__Morgana__ drank Earl Grey by Simpson & Vail

2037 tasting notes

Another of the Earl Greys I found while going through my tea collection. I haven’t tried this one before, either.

I steeped this according to the consensus of tasting notes at boiling and for three minutes.

I didn’t get much bergamot fragrance at all from the dry tea, but the try tea was in one of those S&V paper bags. It was nicely taped up still, but the reality is all the S&V dry leaf smells similar to me because of the paper bags and it all smells a little fruity in a berry sort of way. It must be because I had some berry flavored blacks in the group and the strongest aroma shared with all the others.

I don’t get a ton of bergamot after steeping either, but of course, I don’t like heavy bergamot in my Earl Grey so that’s a good thing. The liquor is clear and a cherry wood red color which must be the influence of the Ceylon.

I like the black tea blend in this one. I definitely taste the Assam, but it isn’t overpowering. I taste the darjeeling as well. It’s a very flavorful base and while I wouldn’t call it smooth, it isn’t harsh either, just has a small bit of bite.

And that’s mostly what I taste, at least this time around. I’m not sure I’d identify this as an Earl Grey if I wasn’t told it was. There is a definite floral note to the tea, but not much of a citrus one and the floral could just as easily be something other than bergamot to my tastebuds.

So I’m torn on how to rate this. On the one hand, as a tea, I quite like it. On the other, I’m not sure it lived up to my expectations of an Earl Grey. On the other hand (what other hand? how many hands do I have?), my expectations of an Earl Grey often result in my feeling that the bergamot is too strong (which this isn’t) and is sitting like a lump of tar in my stomach (which this isn’t).

So I’ll split the baby. Earl Grey points: 75. Tea tastiness points: 83. Rating: 79.