183 Tasting Notes
I get an earthy mineral taste that reminds me of the hot springs my family would hang out at up in the mountains when I was younger. Then I get a faint light-roast coffee aftertaste, which was a little stronger on smell. I dont detect much of the boiled spinach-water taste I seem to pick up in many greens and oolongs, which is always a plus. Good stuff.
I’ve had about a zillion earl greys, and this is one of the better ones I’ve had…kind of surprised at some of the other reviews. I do like bergamot to be pretty strong in the mix though, and I wasn’t looking for complexity when I ordered this. Anyhow, great taste and smell, very relaxing (even with caffeine in it no doubt), and no harshness detected.
Preparation
(Opens the bag and takes a long whiff) awwwwwww yeahhhhhhh. Smells awesome. Everyone that walked past me also commented on how good it smells. Tastewise I get a lot of vanilla, with zesty bergamot off in the background. Relatively smooth mouthfeel. This kind of reminds me of some of the higher quality, micro-brewed creme sodas I’ve had. I’m going to have to try it iced.
Update: I tried it iced and sugared. This is easily my new favorite iced tea. So good. My other teas have been neglected all week because I’ve been drinking this iced every day.
Preparation
Slight cocoa on the nose pre-steep. For me this started off smooth, then has a bit of a lingering aftertaste with a little bit of a bite to it. Not bad.
Revisiting this 5 months later, it has a nice nut like smell in the bag. It seems to be smoother this time with less astringency. The taste is kind of hard to describe, I guess I’d say it is somewhere in between the typical Yunnan and Keemun flavor profiles. Toasty/roasty, plus the nutty notes mentioned above. At its current decent price, this would be a good every day drinker. Great with sweetener and ice as well.
Preparation
I knew when I opened the bag and smelled it things were about to get interesting. The taste reminded me of artichoke, baked potato, and maybe even sauteed mushroom after it had cooled down a little. Pretty complex.
Revisiting this months later it has the taste I assoiciate with Yunnan teas, but is also bit unique. I’m getting notes like dried fruit, with some light sweetness. I guess the best way I could describe it is a more creamy mouthfeel than the typical Yunnan tea. The mushroom taste is still there but more subtle. I think I prefer this one on it’s own, with no sugar. I wish it was a little less pricey.
Preparation
Oh man this is good stuff. I had a goofy smirk on my face after the first couple of sips, the sign of satisfaction. Smells like malt/cocoa and tastes the same, perfect with just a little bit of sugar added in. It steeped for a long time and still ended up without any harshness. The best I’ve had from this company so far.
Preparation
Preparation
The flavor of this one is complex, and it was a little tough for me pick out everything I was experiencing the first time I drank it. Now that I’ve gone through a bag of it, the taste and smell both kind of remind me of biting into freshly baked, still warm bread. I get a mild corn cereal taste out of it, which sugar seemed to bring out even more. Other notes (some from later tastings) remind me of unsalted popcorn, toasted bread, caramel, brown rice, maybe even faint cinnamon? It reminds me more of an oolong than a black. Very smooth with no harshness to speak of. This is something I could see being a staple in my cupboard. As far as sugar is concerned, this is just as good with or without. I think I might like lighter, shorter steeps more, but I am still experimenting…
Different from the other Earl Greys I’ve had in the past, has a little more complexity going on in the nose before adding water. I get smells similar to butterscotch and/or caramel, with citrus of course, plus the tea base.
Taste: I get the creamy thing plus a bit of a cotton candy flavor? Some vanilla too maybe. I don’t detect a huge a amount of bergamot. After making this several times, the butterscotchy smell comes through on taste quite a bit for me. I like some sugar with this tea, and bet it would make a good latte. I’ve had many earl greys, and this one is pretty good.
