Earl Grey with Bergamot

Finished up my sample, brewing it all at once for a bottle to put in the fridge. Nothing new to add. This is still kinda lame, and will just be fodder until I brew a bottle of something better…

Its finally cold enough for me to wear tights! And a non summer hat! And a cape! So I have done all of those things, and stopped by the local Peets on my lunch break to get a cuppa.
This is what I came away with. You know how in coffee shops, when you ask for tea, you can sometimes see the wheels just grind to a halt, while the poor barista frantically thinks “tea? tea?! Do we serve that?!?!”. Well, I had such a barista today, who undoubtedly could have walked me fearlessly through the land of coffee beverages, but was less secure with tea. So to make it simple, I got this Earl Grey.
I’m not impressed. Its weak, and unmemorable, and even the often too bitter for me bergamot is noticeably lackluster. Oh well, was worth a shot.

Making London Fog, but, really, this is not a good Earl Grey to push its flavors through with the vanilla.

Earl Grey with the base of India tea? I hoped this meant Darjeeling. The smell of the earl grey was very malty, and I picked up very light hints of bergamot. That must be why they called it earl grey “with bergamot”.

When I steeped the tea, I got a very bitter cup (for an earl grey, at least) and the base tea overpowered the bergamot. This did not taste really like an earl grey at all, and I was disappointed.

It is a good thing I did not buy this particular tea for myself, as my friend let me sample it. I would have liked more bergamot, or maybe a less strong base tea. There had to be some other tea besides Darjeeling, because it was too malty.

It felt like I brewed up an English breakfast tea, and added some bergamot oil in the mix. This was very surprising, as I have generally been pleased with Peet’s teas. I hope the next Peet’s tea I have is not like this.

This was a very disappointing Earl Grey. I can’t taste the bergamot at all, though I can taste something above the black tea. I’m not sure what it is, but I am fairly sure that I don’t like it. As per the tea itself: the Darjeeling is so-so. It is a bitter, bland, and overall bad tea. I am sad Peet’s.

Oh this is terrible. Bitter with a splash of perfume.

Wow, this has some low ratings. I’m not really understanding that considering that I’ve now had two cups (one yesterday, made by Peet’s, and one today, made by me) and they have both been reasonably good. The bergamot is on the fruity side, which I always appreciate. I didn’t realize until now that the base tea is Darjeeling, which explains the slightly sweet aftertaste I’m getting out of it. It also does not brew up bitter, which I like. Not bad!

I’m probably spoiled by Earl Grey teas from better blenders, but this is the worst Earl Grey blend I’ve ever tasted. I’m even counting Bigelow here. 0 points for style. However, I probably oversteeped it, but still… bleagh.

Flat taste, a bit bitter, and it’s empty of additional flavors, despite advertised. Not terrible, but nothing you want to buy.

The leaves were very crushed and it tasted about as old as your average bag tea. I barely tasted the bergamot, and I have to say I think it was mostly decaf. This is fine if you are meeting your friends there and don’t feel like drinking the coffee. In my opinion Peet’s is a coffee house not a tea house.