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“A nice cup of earl grey to chase away the desire for hot cocoa. My last cup of tea I had at my fiancee’s house. It might be my last cup of tea for a little bit because mom and dad are re-modeling...” Read full tasting note
“I’m backtracking to Friday evening. My birthday was almost a month ago, & Tony & I take each other out for dinner for our birthdays. His was in Dec (sag) & he chose Nobu’s, which is...” Read full tasting note
“I’m soooo sleepy but there’s still a couple hours left in the workday. I need a cuppa! I grabbed a free tea bag of this at work several months ago, and it’s sat in my office desk drawer ever...” Read full tasting note
“My favourite Earl Grey, ever. The presence of bits of bergamot, versus ‘bergamot flavouring,’ with a decent black tea, makes an enormous difference. Sadly, this tea is very hard to find in my part...” Read full tasting note
Earl Grey is one of the most popular teas, yet remains mysteriously beckoning. As the story goes, Charles Earl Grey, a 19th century British Prime Minister, was gifted this scented tea in gratitude for saving the life of a Chinese man. The secret to its lingering aroma is the pear shaped bergamot orange, called the The Fragrant One. Most Earl Greys utilize bergamot oils or flavorings. Numi’s special, organic Earl Grey is oil-free-using a unique method of aging this Italian bergamot fruit with malty Sonitpur Assam black tea. When brewed, it imparts an exquisite red-orange hue that calls to mind dawn’s finest moments. Balanced and stunning, we’ve recreated this timeless classic.
I decided to take advantage of Numi’s advertised 15% off sale and grab a few of their teas. I don’t believe I’ve had any Numi teas since I switched from bags to loose leaf four years ago.
When I opened the one-pound bag (yeah, when I see a good deal I buy it by the pound and hope I like it), I could instantly detect the Assam aroma blended with a bergamot scent. I brewed the leaves for five minutes at 212 degrees. The brewed aroma was again Assam-ish. The color was dark amber.
At first taste, I was deluged with the Assam flavor. The bergamot undertones frolicked underneath but not as strongly as I expected.
The flavor was not bad. I’d rate it as being medium-power. I would have liked more bergamot, though. It could be that my taste buds have been hypnotized by the extremely heavy bergamot presence in Rishi’s organic earl grey selections. I’ve been drinking Rishi’s earl grey offerings almost exclusively for the last two years.
In any event, I like this tea enough to continue drinking it (especially since I do have a pound of it to imbibe). If I purchase it again, it will be in smaller quantities.
Flavors: Bergamot, Tea
I am consistently satisfied with the quality of Numi’s teas. As distinctive as this tea is, I feel like it is versatile enough to pair well with almost any small plate or dessert. But it may be overwhelmed by a heavy meal. It is smooth and satisfying with a sophisticated air. The bergamot is much kinder to the palate than other orange-flavored teas. I foresee this being a staple of mine.
Lately I’ve been really down on astringency, knowing that it can really compliment a tea but not being at all in the mood for a harsh mouth-smack. This Earl Grey was exactly what I needed.
As other have said, this is not so much perfumed as it is brushed over with a natural, floral aroma. The assam itself is mild but still flavorful, certainly enough for a bagged tea. Until I find something better, this will be my goto bagged Earl Grey.
As far as bagged Earl Grey goes, this is a very good one. The bergamot is subtle but enjoyable, with no oils floating to the top as there may be in stronger blends—I think this is due to the aging process they describe. The tea base itself is quite mellow and smooth, not knock-your-socks-off as others of this kind can be. I only had a sample of this, but I would be happy to have it on hand for busy days, it’s definitely above average in the bagged black tea department.
finally found it in a newly opened organic supermarket. They will continue to keep it in stock. Pff. so pleased. It’s my favourite earl grey. Couldn’t find it for years.
Genuine earl grey tea, doesn’t get bitter. No artificial colourings, additions. Just plain organic assam with organic REAL bergamot oil. A gem.
So this tea really confused me, and I almost think it was mispackaged. I was at a friend’s house and he offered me tea, and I chose this because Earl Grey is that inoffensive tea that even if awful is still drinkable.
Only, when steeped… there was no bergamot flavor. At all.
And the tea quality is pretty damn awful in these filter bags so there I was drinking bad black tea that didn’t have bergamot to cover up how bad it actually was.
At least I squashed Steven at Boggle.
I tried the decaffeinated Earl Grey from Numi and was pleasantly surprised, so I decided to brew up a cup of the caffeinated version today, also included in the sampler box.
It’s good! A nice rounded Assam base, and I do smell and taste the tea more than the bergamot. This is more my preferred style of Earl Grey: a harmonious balance between the bergamot and the base tea, rather than a massive cover-up of the tea.
The liquor is darker orange amber (not quite red), so I may have used too much water for this Assam blend. I may try their loose leaf version, which I’d be able easily to brew to my desired strength for Earl Grey—to be served with light cream.
