This one’s unusual. It has a…I don’t know what the term for it is exactly…kind of…very light but definitely present jasmine-y muskiness or earthiness to it, some sort of smell I associate with Chinese tea. I suppose basing EGs on Keemun is unusual among the ones I’ve tried maybe, guessing that’s why. It’s good though!…not what I expect when I reach for my EG like a security blanket (I admit I like mine heavily perfumed with super floral and super zesty bright bergamot), a sort of unique hybrid thing. Not sure where exactly to class this in my day to day tea habits as it’s filling a rather unique niche. Hm.
(I’m noticing sometimes I run into a problem rating teas because what I think of as the in-a-vacuum aesthetic quality of a tea and whether it actually fits into my specific life are at a disconnect. I guess going forward I’m going to try to take more of the former into account than the latter in rating on this site, and keep personal notes of my must-haves and staples elsewhere. We’ll see if I can keep that straight for the most part…)
As a side note to myself, I’m beginning to wonder if “bergamot” doesn’t mean what I think it means smell and flavor-wise somehow, based on other Steepsters’ reviews of EGs. Common consensus will be “oh this one’s super bergamot-y” or “this one has barely any bergamot” and it will be almost opposite my impression. But I find this so, so puzzling because I’ve LOVED bergamot for like 20 years and as such chosen it for my bath products and candles and whatever else, so the element I find common (and tantalizingly beautiful) in all of those products (from lots of different sources, mind) must be it, right? Perplexed.
To me it’s that exquisite heady yet fresh, floral note that has an edge of citrus zest to it. The smell of, well, the flowers in an orange grove, that almost jasmine perfume (which is so funny because I loathe jasmine) combined with the zippy aroma of orange oil, the way the zest permeates the petals a bit. Done poorly or too heavily it becomes bitter.