Earl Grey Supreme

A fairly basic earl grey, far too mild for my tastes and best drunk sans milk. Where is that ass-kicking, face-slapping bergamot explosion that my mind conjured up with the word “supreme”? This earl grey succeeds in being supremely mild.

In my never-ending quest for a supremely-great earl grey, I’m brought to Rishi’s offering. Unfortunately, this rather pricey blend will prove to be no rainmaker.

Opening the bag, the bergamot scent is on the lemony-side and ample, without being too overpowering. Acceptable start. My issues don’t lie with with bergamot. Upon tasting, I’m surprised at this earl grey’s black tea base. Using a Keemun/Yunnan blend, the base is rather bitter with some late astringency. It’s a dry bitterness without any redeeming value. Lifeless, barren, and dare I say, possibly stale. The citrus flavor fails to cover up this dehydrating crime.

It feels like Rishi took a lesser quality black tea base, masked it with the bergamot, and decided to slap a ‘supreme’ on the name. After drinking a pot of this, I feel like I just camped out in the desert and my mouth is suffering from a drought. A tall glass of ice water and some rain would be nice.

Lemony citrus aroma from the leaves. This brews to be aromatic but is more high tone perfume and less cream than my preference. Missing vanilla and cornflower aroma. Very brisk, needs milk and honey.

Belated posting of a tea I drank a few weeks ago.

Drinking this with cream and manuka honey. Really really good. The cream calms the bergamot down and the taste becomes a rich orange caramel. Beautiful, and without the harsh edge that sometimes bergamot delivers.

I really enjoyed this Earl Grey. However, I wasn’t too keen on it until adding lemon and a touch of sugar. Still, it’s a pretty nice blend!

Yes, yet another review of Earl Grey Supreme, but this time on the positive side! I had made enough for two cups yesterday when I was drinking it hot, and after having one cup I decided to put the rest in the fridge to try cold. Lo and behold, the Iced Earl Grey Supreme! I had added a couple of rock sugars to it while it was hot, and the Iced version is nicely smooth and not too bitter tasting. I can even get a TEENSY bit of that begamont that I was searching for in the hot cup. Although I still wouldn’t call this a great tea, I am glad that at least the iced version redeemed itself a little bit so that I can drink it without cringing.

I really liked Rishi’s regular Earl Grey because it had a very robust taste and the flavor was just loaded with bergamot. Therefore, I was quite excited to try the Supreme edition of their Earl Grey after I read that it contained “a smooth liquoring Keemun and a bold flavored Yunnan with 100% natural essential oil pressed from real bergamot citrus fruits.” I’m a very enthusiastic fan of both Keemun and Yunnan. (Getting a nice discount on this tea helped too.)

When I opened the package, a strong bergamot aroma with a fresh quality filled the room. I steeped the black leaves at 212 degrees for 5 minutes. The brewed color was a dark amber/gold. The finished odor also was fortified with bergamot.

The taste of this tea was similar to the regular Rishi Earl Grey that I drank and enjoyed semi-regularly for a year. But, that was my gripe with this blend. At a price of roughly $1 more per ounce than Rishi’s standard Earl Grey, I wanted…no…EXPECTED…something in the quality to elevate it from the basic (cheaper) product that I will be going back to the next time I order Rishi Earl Grey. Nowhere could my searching palate locate the Yunnan or Keemun infusion. I could taste black tea but that part of the flavor was unexceptional. Ironically, there also was a twinge of astringency that I didn’t encounter with the lower grade blend. This attribute remained with the strong aftertaste.

Do I like this tea? Yeah, but (surprisingly and perhaps fortunately) not as much as the lower-priced edition. Rishi’s bergamot in both offerings tastes fresher than several other Earl Grey selections that I have experienced. Rishi also seems to supercharge the bergamot presence in their teas.

This is the first time that I have ever subtracted rating points from a tea due to price. However, I feel that it is my duty to do so for two reasons:

o significantly higher price of this version (when compared to the very good basic offering)

o absence of enhancement over the basic Earl Grey (to justify the cost)

I will recover from this disappointment. I don’t mind being humble. I will continue to enjoy Rishi’s no frills Earl Grey.

I found the most exciting new coffee/tea shop ever!!!!! I drove by a shop about 3 miles from my house and noticed a new sign…. The Blue Box Cafe. I say to my self… Oh, how funny? Like Doctor Who. But then I go, sure it is… here in Elgin. Well guess what, it is a Doctor Who themed tea/coffee shop!!! Doctor Who and Tea… what could be better! This looks like my new obsession!

Well my cup of tea could have been better. Not much flavor, no bergamot. But they have other loose leaf teas, so I’ll try some more.

They have a nice selection of pastry, salads and sandwiches. Nothing looked Weight Watchers friendly, but I think I’ll find something I can eat without so many calories.

The smell is promising, bright bergamot and cola, but the taste is flat and a little soapy. Pretty one dimensional – bergamot. No real bitterness to speak of. Mildly astringent. Brews up dark brown. A mild afternoon tea. I no longer feel the need to nap, so it did the trick.

A solid well-rounded version, with good black depth and a nice bristling bergamot. Rarely over-astringent, very smooth, and a bit buttery. My go-to quick strong morning tea.