First off, I was assuming that this tea was going to be a lot like their regular EG, just with a less oomphy tea base. I’m not sure if I’m right. I would assume they use the same bergamot flavoring, but this one tastes a little different. It either is different or the way it interacts with the tea changes the taste to just seem different.
The bergamot doesn’t give me much of the pith/peel taste like the other did. Instead it is higher and more floral with a tail end of an orange juicie-ish taste, followed by a tiny pith tongue tingle.
The feel of the tea is still rather silky, but it doesn’t feel quite as heavy. Which makes sense, being an afternoon tea. But the other one felt a little sexier. And sure, the regular EG had a little bit of a muddy flavor to the tea, but this one… the tea seems to be almost completely overwhelmed by the bergamot.
All that being said, I don’t hate this tea. It’s not badly done, the bergamot isn’t offensive, it doesn’t make me want to pour it out. It’s just not wow-worthy. I think I’d like it a lot more (been more impressed by it) if I hadn’t had the original EG first.
The husband seems to be in a similar boat. He quite enjoyed the original EG giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars. (Yes, we have our own rating system in the house. We initially used it for new recipes but it has since carried over to anything I need a definite “yes, get more” or “no, never again” answer on.) This one, though, ranked more in the middle ground with a “it’s good and nicely mellow” but captured only 3.5 out of 5 stars.
All in all, it’s decent and I’d pick this up at the grocery store if we were in an EG bind, but doesn’t answer the question of What Would Jean Luc Picard Drink?
I have scone envy.
Super easy recipe from AC Perchs actually. I have the book they published celebrating their 175th jubilee. I translated it in the comments on my other post about this tea. They’re very quick to make, it only takes about half an hour before they’re ready to eat. http://steepster.com/Angrboda/posts/190223
Husband says (and he should know) that they taste very authenticcally English.
oh god.. those sounds amazing
Now I have even more scone envy. I’m taking this year off from baking, though – Italian flour is a science unto itself (among other obstacles).
The recipe looks great – I’ve experimented a lot, and have found the best results (to get them just the way I want them) with a mix of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar for the leavening agent, and a mix of butter and vegetable shortening for the fat.
I always, always bake with butter, never vegetable shortening. I don’t even keep the stuff in the house. I find the result is worth the extra cost of the butter.
Your leavening mix sounds more or less like my baking powder though.
Ooh, is Italian flour self-raising? In that event just add sugar, milk and butter. Salt and leavening agent are already in there.
Oh, I am as anti-margarine as they come, but using 1/3 shortening and 2/3 butter is a way to make the scones crumble in a very specific way. It’s more about consistency than flavour, and the very small amount of shortening used doesn’t affect the flavour adversely, in my opinion.
Oh, Ang. Italian flour is just plain evil.
Oh, these were plenty crumbly. :) Why do I always put the most runny jam on the most crumbly half???