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While part of my summer marathon of Earl Grey, I wanted to try this one to appease my inner nerd! Can we have a show of hands for who has tried EG simply because one of our favorite starship captains happens to enjoy it? Both my husband and I would have to rather sheepishly raise our own hands!

I tried this first without milk, and it was a fairly straightforward EG – better than a bag, but not really unique in any way that I could discern. Adding milk did bring out some hitherto unknown floral notes. I think the search for the best EG will continue, but thank you, Emilie, for giving me the opportunity to try this one!

I’m purposely not rating it, because I think something may be wrong with this batch. Maybe it was contaminated somehow, or I made it wrong. I used a second-hand shop gaiwan, put 2tsp of leaves in, and after 3 minutes it was only watery with a slight bitter taste. Wondering if I need to steep it more, I left it another three.

I’m trying to re-train my palate for green, so that may be part of the reason, but this… bleh. Even my dark pu-erh-loving husband agreed with me that this tasted bitter and somehow burnt. I don’t know if this one is even worth putting on my swap list, it’s so gross!

Update: Okay, I watched several different videos about using a gaiwan, did a conversion so I could use the correct amount of tea, and came to understand that the crazy quick steep time wasn’t a misprint! This is much better – actually palatable! The husband stole my cup, so I made myself another with (don’t hate me!) a little sugar and I actually kind of… may I say? Like it! The bitter and burnt taste must have been a combination of the over-steep and too many leaves.

Oooh… I wanted to try this for a while now, and I am so glad that Emilie gave me the opportunity to! While I don’t taste the tang of a cheesecake element, there is a rich creaminess that harmonizes beautifully with the EG. The green tea does add an odd note, but doesn’t change the experience too badly. Overall, I would love to add this to my cupboard!

My first morning of summer vacation, but I can’t sleep in because our apartment complex is still working on the water. It’s only bothered me in the evenings so far, because I’ve been at school when the shut-off occurs and usually don’t have to deal with anything until I get home. But today, 10am-6:30pm is an awfully long time to camp in our apartment, so we have to catch our showers before we head out to the library or catch a movie matinee.

Hence my need for caffeine this early on the first day of summer! I’ve been trying out different Earl Greys in hope of finding the perfect cup for me, and Emilie was kind enough to inclue this one in our swap. Right now, the Teavana Earl Grey is the front-runner, so I was curious to try their other variations.

I have to admit I definitely needed the caffeine this morning, as I couldn’t place an element and asked my husband for his opinion on it. His take? Cocoa and Bailey’s Irish Cream. I have to agree with him – the cocoa is stronger, but the Irish Cream element is light but there. A very interesting mix, but I don’t think it will supplant my usual EG. Thanks for the opportunity to try this out, Emilie!

I stayed an hour and a half after school today to help a senior complete everything he needed in order to graduate. I managed to drive home, but my get-up-and-go appears broken for the rest of the evening. Now that school’s out for the summer (yay!) I thought an iced tea sounded just delightful – and easy. A pre-mixed sample of this, which includes the rock sugar, came with my Teavana order today, and I thought it would fit the bill nicely.

When I opened the package, my eyes actually rolled up at the scent. I remember being unimpressed with the hot version when I tried it in the store, so being presented with the overwhelming scent of freshly cut orange and fruit was a little strange. It’s funny – there are a lot of Teavana mixes that smell just heavenly, but can’t brew worth a damn.

For the most part, I followed the directions that came with the sample. We don’t keep a lot of ice around, so I just made it like a normal pot and then stuck it in the fridge to cool. I did have to sample it hot first, and the impression I formed at the store is holding true – this is lackadaisical hot, and all the ingredients are just too lazy to stand out when they feel too warm.

I’m hoping the cool version will be better, and I will update when it’s ready. In the meantime, did you know it is delightful to pick out the apple pieces? After steeping, they are just so tart and tasty!

Update: The cold tea just came out of the refrigerator, and I can quite honestly say that the temperature did nothing for it. It’s more tart than fruity, the sugar doesn’t even register, and I feel like each sip coats my tongue with floral perfume. Sadly enough, it was actually better hot.

Thank you, Shelley_Lorraine for including this with the other tea you sent! I brought it to school, and I think I might have done it a huge disservice. I was only able to microwave the water to tepid and we were at the tail end of our sugar supply. I’m deliberately not rating this one, because it turned out so strangely and I’m not sure if it’s my fault or a characteristic of the tea itself. It’s very faint, with a slight hint of straw. For the most part I’m just tasting the microwaved water. Next school year an electric kettle just has to be on my school supply list!

One of the teas I made earlier decided to fuse with the mesh filter of my teapot, so while I scrub away at that with a toothbrush I wanted something to savor. This definitely fit the bill.

While I would usually give something this chunky room to expand (stupid tiny particles!) I had to use my much smaller pinch mesh ball. Fortunately, the compression doesn’t seem to have affected it, as the flavor is rich and rather succulent.

It might have been the grapefruit I had earlier, but I am loving the fresh taste of this tea! Sweet with a twist of gentle tartness, I can definitely pick out the citrus and the hibiscus, with the lightest note of the cranberry.

As I continue stabbing away at the mesh of my filter, this is a nice calm-me-down… because otherwise I might start trying to zap these things with a lighter! But, mmm… sweet. See? It’s working.

Thank you, Shelley_Lorraine, for this sample! With the school year ending tomorrow, I’ve desperately needed all my sleep lately, and that’s led to us experimenting with different herbals. I enjoyed trying another member of that group, and an organic one at that!

I didn’t measure the sample, but it looked about the right size for my 24-oz teapot, so I tossed it all in and steeped it for 8 minutes. My quick before-additive sip was very tart, so I dumped in 3 spoonfuls of Sugar in the Raw and served it up.

With the title’s focus, I was a little surprised how prevalent the chamomile is – It didn’t sing a solo, but the orange and cranberry backup singers were more distant than I would have expected. I think I’ll grab another cup, sit back, and watch the husband make dinner. Ahhh… now that’s a way to end a hectic day!

Our apartment complex decided we needed an entire week of no water between 10am-5pm, which sucks but is doable… until they’re over an hour late to turn it back on!

We decided to comfort ourselves with a hot pot of this, and it’s slightly tart sweetness did the job nicely. Both the strawberry and kiwi present themselves nicely, and don’t taste too artificial. Reading over the reviews, I noticed that a lot of you prefer this as iced tea, and that sounds delicious! Do you just make a pot and stick it in the fridge or do you go through another process? Thank you!

This is my first Earl Grey Creme, and I just learned an important lesson – don’t add milk to an Earl Grey Creme before you try it! I was in a rush this morning, and just made it the same way I make my usual EG: Into the travel mug with the pinch-open infuser ball 1/2 full for 4-5 min, 1-1/2 tbsp Sugar in the Raw, and a moderate dash of milk.

My first sip was like drinking creamer with milk! I sealed it back up and gave it a really good shake, but the next drinks were the same. It’s difficult to even taste the EG at all. I’m deliberately not rating this yet, and I think another cup tomorrow morning is a must in order to suss out what this tea is really like.

Update: Tried this without adding milk, and it was much better! The cream still overwhelms the EG, but at least now it has more of a presence. I may keep a small amount of this on hand for a change now and again, but I doubt it will ever be a larger order. The fact that I can’t see what causes the cream flavor weirds me out a bit.