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Nothing is better than a cup of hot Earl Grey you love when you are sore and want to be soothed. Well, unless you don’t like Earl Grey. Then you should just learn to like it because it is so comforting.

This was the second cup of tea I had in class today. I was one of the first ones to try this flavor. The second person to try it was my teacher. I didn’t think she minded it, but it didn’t go over so well for me.

It started off very, very sweet. Then the taste got slightly sour on my tongue with a fake-sweet taste. Then it made my tongue go numb for a little bit. Apparently, I made faces and amused the girl sitting next to me before class started.

It sounds like a novelty, but do not get this tea. Numb tongue and sour. I didn’t even finish my cup.

-Discount this tasting note. I discovered that this tea was not Earl Grey French Blue but that it is a very delicious tea and I should try it some time. The tea I was drinking was named correctly as Bel Ami.

I was reading one of my classmate’s essays for senior seminar and it was about her family—her mom, specifically. It was so well written that it made me homesick for my mom. Two of the things that remind me of her is a cherry-almond lotion and Constant Comment.

Sometimes, nothing satisfies you more than grocery store tea. I have a feeling that I will always have some Constant Comment somewhere in the house.

I have been craving this tea since yesterday, but I was too tired to make it yesterday because of my writer’s conference. Now it is officially over and I have both time and energy to make tea.

I think I lost track of time when making my water. It is slightly hotter than the last time I made it. I also steeped it for slightly longer because I am bad at keeping track of time today.

The buttery creaminess is still present, but only slightly. I think I might be able to get another steep out of these leaves with cooler water and a slightly longer time. I’m being experimental.

Second Steep

I let it go for four minutes instead of three this time. I’m not sure if it will get any flavor out of the leaves or not, but that is what I am going to find out. The color is light yellow now instead of the clarified butter shade of yellow.

At first it has that nice light green taste to it, but then it has a really rough after taste on the back of your throat. Really drying even though it has a register of smooth butter for a brief second.

Moral of the story: pay attention to my water and time when steeping this tea. I will have a better cup next time.

This tea doesn’t really remind me of tea. It reminds me of something else, but I’m not sure of what. It smells nuttier than the last time I made it and I think it is a darker amber color than the last time I made it too.

I am getting a fair amount of chocolate and a good amount of hazlenut when I sip this. I had to let it cool for a little bit before the flavors developed. I think it doesn’t register as tea for me because it doesn’t taste watery. Even though it doesn’t have the thick body of cream, I am getting a more creamy mouth-feel. It feels like I am getting something rich, creamy, and decadent when I am not actually getting something thick and creamy. It is decadent though.

I think I have to boost the rating because it really feels like I am sipping on cocoa instead of tea. I am falling more in love with it every minute I sip this. Thank you Ashley! I will have to remember to actually get some of this when I have the tea funds.

I haven’t had this tea since last semester. This time I only used one teaspoon for my cup. I’m not quite sure how much I was supposed to use, so this is a guess.

The liquid is a nice amber. It smells like damp earth. It isn’t unpleasant to drink. It tastes toasty and roasty. It also tastes a little bit like wood and slightly dries out my mouth. It tastes nice, but I’m not sure if I actually care for it or not. Nothing really jumps out at me. Of course, this could be that she has had this tin of tea for a long period of time and it is still mostly full.

So, it is a nice cup of tea, but not something I would drink most of the time. It is kinda “meh”. The more I sip it, the more it doesn’t really taste like much.

I decided to try this again. This time I took the kettle off of the burner when it just started to make the slightest bit of noise. I kept the leaf the same and only did 3 minutes or so for the steep time.

The liquor is still golden, but it reminds me more of clarified butter than sunshine. The aroma is gentler. I still smell a light scent of fresh cut grass. It is a lovely smell though.

The biggest thing that changed was the taste. Wow! What was first very grassy and dewy changed to be slightly sweet. It reminds me more of honeysuckle. Barely there and sweet. It is really smooth and tastes slick on my tongue. The more I sip on it, the more I get an almost buttery taste. Especially if I just let it linger in my mouth before I swallow.

This is just so different from any of the green teas I have ever experienced. I really taste butter now. It is freaking me out a little bit, but I think I like it.

Ok, after it cooled down a little bit the butter mellowed out from the initial taste. Now it is just a slight aftertaste on the sides of my tongue. I still feel like I should be drinking this with pancakes.

Ok, I managed to go one day without having a cup or three of yerba mate, but I don’t feel like going more than one day. It just tastes too good!

Compared to the loose leaf teas I have been drinking recently, the cup isn’t as clear as the other ones. But it is the nice chocolate with a hint of spice chocolate mate I remember. I found this bag floating around with my roommate’s stuff. She said she didn’t remember if it was a gift or not, so I took it back. Yummy.

Two cups of tea this morning. I’m going to have to have a glass of water to follow these ones so I don’t get burnt out by the caffeine. Well, more from the caffeine in the mate than anything.

Now I get to compare a french press brewed Queen Catherine to one brewed in a tea ball. The liquid is much darker now. It is a nice rich red-brown. Almost approaching the brown I see off of dark beers. It smells even better. Deep and rich. It reminds me of the happy feeling I get off of smelling coffee, only you can tell that the smell is tea.

Now to the taste. It is definitely richer and fuller in the press than it is in the tea ball. I am just getting a hint of cocoa, but I am getting a richer almost smokey thing going on. Not as smokey as Lapsang Souchong, but it definitely has that quality. It is really, really smooth too. No hint of bitterness.

I have been trying to get up earlier to brew tea before class, but I didn’t make it today. Luckily, my teacher cancelled class and I was in the mood for the Queen. I am so glad I made her too. The only bad thing is that I am now out of my sample that Ashley was kind enough to send me. I wonder if I could convince my mom to help me order tea? I think that will work better if I drink up most of the teas I have left. Then I can get more of the Queen.