No. 55 Lord Bergamot

I liked that the steeping instructions on the box literally says to play some opera in the background. I played “the Diva dance” from the fifth element because that totally counts.

I like it. dark tea without the bitterness, nor an overwhelming taste of bergamot like so many earl grey teas have. very smooth and easy to drink. love it. will definitely try with some honey next time.
I steeped it to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and steeped for 3 minutes rather than the 5 minutes recommended on the box and it tasted perfect for me. I would definitely drink this tea again. :)

Earl Grey is my favorite tea. That’s why my family bought me this lovely tea. I had tried it long ago, and couldn’t remember the name. Thank goodness for family giving it to me again! The tea leaves are of a better quality than that of other “Sacheted” teas. The aroma of Bergamot was quite strong as well. However, the brewed tea itself was not very strong, and was actually weak. Aside from this, the tea was well rounded, not very malty, and over all a mild-tasting Earl Grey. I would get this tea again, however, it is not my favorite Earl Grey.

A single teabag from Ost’s sale! Thanks very much! I had high hopes for a bergamot blend on this blustery day. Upon opening the package, the dry leaf hardly had a hint of bergamot at all. So I guess those only wanting a hint of bergamot would like this? But I like MORE. It’s a good bergamot, so it’s a shame there isn’t more. If I had more than one teabag, using two wouldn’t help add more bergamot because this is a fairly brisk base tea. I wouldn’t use two bags. It would be caffeine overload with two teabags. I can definitely tell there is some assam in there, with its brightness and bread-like flavors, the base itself has a sunny quality. It’s a good base. I’m very glad more of the Ceylon notes were probably drowned by the assam. The dry leaf is a higher quality, nothing like a CTC that you’d find in a teabag. The bergamot is certainly tough to describe… it’s not really lemon or floral. I think it was fruity, like apricots? I don’t know, as again, it’s tough to taste. I think I brewed it as best I could. I certainly don’t suggest five minutes at boiling like the Steven Smith suggests – that would murder this tea. So not the bergamot tea I’d choose, but I wouldn’t mind having more of it when I want an assam with unique bergamot.
Steep #1 // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 7 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
2019 sipdowns: 21

Sipping this one at work. I have to say, Steven Smith has some of the best bagged tea I’ve tried! Their sachets are made of fabric and nice and large with plenty of room for expansion. The leaves inside are large and uncrushed and have a nice aroma. This is definitely one of the better Earl Grey teas I’ve tried (and I love Earl Grey!) Thank you to whoever slipped these tea bags into the Discovery TTB…I have a new brand to add to my list!

The water from the water cooler hot tap at work is pretty close to boiling.

This smells nice, subtle bergamot.

The balance is great with this one. The bergamot is present but not overpowering, and there’s a creamy mouthfeel. I’ll bet it would make a great London fog too.

Received this sachet as a gift from Mastress Alita, thanks.

It’s Earl Grey. It’s good. Good aroma, beautiful dark red color, good body with a little astringency, great fruity/berry-tasting base tea and a perfect level of bergamot for me. It might be one of the best Early Greys I’ve ever had. I don’t think there’s much more to say.

Since it has been nearly a month now, I figured I should finally get around to copying over the reviews I hastily scribbled in a portable notepad I carried in my purse when I was on vacation Memorial Day Weekend.

On the last day of the trip, Todd and I needed to grab breakfast before his flight; normally I will bring my own tea to restaurants (and on this particular trip, I did bring my own genmaicha in fillable corn fiber bags to a sushi restaurant to avoid crappy bagged green tea!), but since it was the last day all my tea was already packed up and everything was moved out of the room for check out. I figured I’d just not have any tea with breakfast and I’d opt for coffee or juice, but the restaurant we found actually stated on the menu that they had Steven Smith Teamaker tea! I was shocked! I knew this brand actually uses whole leaf tea in sachets so I was like, huzzah! Tea for me! And I haven’t been able to try hardly any of their flavors since my local grocery only has two varieties, Fez and Meadow. So I went pretty classic and just got the earl grey.

And… oooooooh… this was one of the best earl greys I’ve tried yet! It was very sweet and smooth, I was so surprised! I’m used to earl greys being so harsh; usually the black base ends up being really bitter/astringent and the bergamot so strong it comes off really biting, which is why I have never liked it and avoided them for years (and only recently have I made efforts to adapt my palate to them). The base of this tea had no bitterness or astringency, and the bergamot was not overbearing at all. There was a very balanced citrus bergamot flavor on the tongue that actually finished in a sweeter black currant flavor, and I’ve never experienced that before. I would totally buy this tea!

Had a sachet of this that was given to me by a friend and I’ve had this one before so I decided to use it up and drink it while I finished my final exam. This one I did add some cream to since I don’t love the bergamot that they use. With a little cream and honey added it was better though. Maybe this one would be better steeped at a lower temperature. It’s nice and smooth though!

Talk about a blast from the past. I could recall buying a two ounce pouch of this tea back in the summer of 2016, but until last week, I was entirely unaware that not only I still had it, but that I had never even gotten around to opening it. Upon discovering this, I made the decision to prioritize drinking this one. Fortunately, the tea was still viable. I’m aware that the shelf life of loose Earl Grey is longer than many people realize, but one great thing about Steven Smith Teamaker is that their loose packs are very thick and both heat and light resistant. Since this was still sealed and stored at the very back of one of my tea cabinets away from heat and light, I noted no deterioration in the tea. I have to say that this was a very nice Earl Grey, and fortunately, I did not find it to be too heavy on the bergamot oil.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped one teaspoon of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 212 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted a powerful bergamot aroma underscored by subtle hints of malt and toast. After infusion, the bergamot was still front and center, but I could detect more pronounced malt and toast aromas coupled with traces of roasted nuts, orange peel, and caramel. In the mouth, the bergamot was particularly heavy on the entry, but the liquor soon acquired a semblance of balance due to the presence of roasted nut, caramel, malt, cream, leather, orange peel, and brown toast notes. The finish was rather powerful, as the bergamot once again reasserted itself and left a lingering citrusy tartness in the mouth and throat after the swallow.

Like most Earl Greys, this was not the most complex or nuanced blend in the world, but it did what it was designed to do. Blends like this are specifically designed for lovers of bergamot, and as this artfully showcased the aroma and flavor of bergamot, I cannot fault it much. For me, this would not be an everyday Earl Grey, but for those times when I want something a bit tarter and punchier, it would the sort of blend for which I would reach.

I’m pretty sure this is my favorite Earl Grey tea. So smooth and delicious. Not bitter in the least. Balanced flavors. It’s great.