Baroness Grey

My first tasting note on Steepster – yay!

I haven’t been a loose-leaf tea drinker for very long, but one of my favouritest teas for a long time has been Twining’s Lady Grey. When I found this Baroness Grey loose leaf tea, I thought I’d give it a try. It was very reasonably priced and I didn’t have much to lose.

When I got my tea in the mail, this was the first bag I pulled out. I was disappointed at the initial smell, which was rather bitter and astringent. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I brewed it! Drinking it without milk and sugar, I found the bergamot to be a little bit overwhelming, but with milk and sugar it mellowed out a lot and became very smooth. I found this tea to be fairly similar to the Twinings variety, but without the “Froot Loops”-esque aftertaste I sometimes get with that one. As the tea cooled, I found the lemon became much more pronounced (and even overbearing) for the last few dregs.

I brewed 1.5 tsp for 5 minutes and it came out a tad weak – I will brew it longer next time.

’Here’s Hoping’ Teabox Round #4 – Tea #20

Try all the Earls! This one seems less bergamot and more citrus. But then there seems to be a perfume-like quality… definitely something like “baroness” there. It’s not the best earl I’ve tried… I seem to like more bergamot than citrus, but it tastes better to me as it cools. A very dark cup that lends itself to the brightness of the citrus.
Steep #1 // just boiled // 3 min

A nice morning cup. This smells like a very lemony Earl Grey with some floral notes, and tastes just the same. The lemon lingers nicely on the finish.

The liquor is pretty dark and surprisingly thick – I was expecting something with a bit lighter body, though this makes it a pretty great morning tea. I think I may have over steeped slightly at 4 minutes – there’s just the slightest hint of bitterness and astringency creeping in – not bad, but I think I would like this a bit better at 3 or 3.5 min.

As always, I’m a sucker for anything with bergamot and this doesn’t disappoint.