Citrus Paradisi Earl Grey Blend by Simpson & Vail

Seller Description: "Citrus Paradisi is a citrus lovers delight. We've combined our best selling Earl Grey black tea with natural grapefruit oil to create a taste sensation. The tea brews to a dark amber cup with a hearty, full bodied taste. The aroma and taste of this blend is captivating and refreshing. Earl Grey tea is a favorite with bakers in many culinary recipes. It goes especially well with cakes, cookies, confections and any recipe with chocolate!"

Classifications: Kosher
Directions: Brew tea at 212º - steep for 3 minutes. 

Cost: $7.20/4oz

Citrus Paradisi Earl Grey Blend

Teaware: 16oz tetsubin and depression glass cup

Measured dry: 1 tbsp

Water Temperature: Boiling

Steeping Time: 3 minutes

Additives: 1 tbsp Sugar in the Raw

This is the second tea from the sample set Simpson & Vail were kind enough to send my way. I felt like something a little summery this morning, and the dry smell of this tea seemed like it would hit the spot quite nicely!

Dry, this tea smells more like an herbal - the grapefruit and other citrus flavors nearly jump out of the bag and dominate your senses. I couldn't smell the black tea blend at all, and had to give the package's label another glance to make sure it was, in fact, an Earl Grey blend!

Steeped, the pendulum swings and the citrus flavors surrender to the demands of the black teas. The citrus notes fade into the background and it's difficult to pick them out at all. I have to sip them extra slowly, and let the tea linger on my tongue in order to taste the grapefruit at the tail end, while I still can't pick out the bergamot which is supposed to give Earl Grey its distinctive flavor.

First and Second Steeps

As you can see from the image above, the first and second steeps were very different. While the wet tea leaves did continue to smell like grapefruit throughout, the second steep is a much lighter cup - both in color and in flavor. The bergamot does finally come out to play, and the grapefruit is diminished. At this point it actually begins to taste like an Earl Grey, albeit a watery one. Because the flavor does wane in the second steep, I will treat this as a single-steep tea in the future.

When you wrap it all up, this is an interesting blend - I've never had one play such games on me! First you've got a tongue-in-cheek game of Got Your Nose! with the dry smell, and then you play Hide & Seek with the flavors in the steeped cup. While I do enjoy it, and will be happy to finish the pot, this will not be moving forward in the Battle of the Earl Greys because it simply doesn't taste strongly enough like an Earl Grey.

Prominent Notes: Black tea blend

Aftertaste: Grapefruit

Overall: A playful cup

Lemon Crème Parfait by Della Terra Teas

Seller Description: "Creamy lemon, what a most amazing parfait that would be! Well, we have in this amazing fuit blend the perfect blend of cream and lemon. Parfait, literally means perfect in French, and we feel that is exactly what this blend is."
Ingredients: Lemon bits, lemon rind, lemon flavor, cream flavor, lemon grass, apple bits, dried cranberries.

Directions: 1 to 1.5 teaspoons per 6oz, 210 degrees Fahrenheit, steep 2-5 minutes.

Cost: $8.50/2oz

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Teaware: 24oz tetsubin and depression glass cup

Measured dry: 2 tbsp

Water Temperature: Boiling

Steeping Time: 3 minutes

Additives: 2tbsp Sugar in the Raw

A couple weeks ago, Della Terra offered a giveaway contest on their Facebook page, and I was lucky enough to win a 2oz package of their Lemon Crème Parfait. It just arrived today, and I couldn't wait to try it! 

I've been trying to get better about picking out different scents and investigating each step of the process instead of just the end result. To explore the dry smell I thought a little comparison/contrast would help. The husband and I have really enjoyed another one of their lemon tisanes - the Lemon Chiffon. I had a little bit left, so I decided to get it out and compare the two. While they both imitate different lemon deserts, both Jake and I were surprised at how very different they were. The Chiffon has more of a dessert smell - a wee bit more artificial and sugary sweet. The Parfait, though, smells more fresh and authentic. It's almost like I just grated some lemon rind while getting ready to make the real thing. 

Lemon Crème Parfait

The dry appearance was vastly different as well. The Chiffon is a Rooibos and has very small pieces, while the Parfait is much, much chunkier. Not quite as bad as a Teavana (I've had to avoid some of theirs before because the pieces wouldn't fit in my steeping equipment!) but still at least four times larger.

We decided to pull out the larger teapot, both because of the dry size and because we thought we might be coming back for seconds!

What we discovered is that this tisane wasn't done surprising us yet! The dry smell is completely different from how it tastes after the steep. To my husband and I, this is like a rush of lemonade quickly followed by lemon meringue. The toasted, creamy flavor is actually adhering to my tongue just like a real meringue would. It's a bit of a mind boggler for me, as this is the first tisane I've tried that truly tastes like what it advertises.

The lighter second steep.

Of the ingredients, I don't really taste the apple and cranberry, but the cranberry certainly comes out in the color: a pretty crystal pink that contrasts in an interesting way with the overwhelmingly lemon flavor. 

I did try a second steep, and it's caused my only disappointment in this mix. It just doesn't hold up, and even when I forgot to set the timer and let it go for nearly 20 minutes it was weak and watery. This is good for a single-steep only. 

All in all, I've really enjoyed this tisane and I am very excited that it was a 2oz bag, so we can continue to enjoy it for some time to come - but only for the first steep!

Prominent Notes: Lemon and cream

Aftertaste: Lemon meringue

Overall: Seconds, please!

Earl Grey Lavender by Rishi Tea

Seller Description: "Our contemporary version of this classic blend was developed in French tea salons and has pleased the palate and raised the eyebrows of more than a few Earl Grey purists. Earl Grey Lavender is handcrafted in small batches and infused with pure essentials oils of real fruit and flowers."
Classifications: Organic and Fair Trade

Directions: 1 tablespoon per 8oz, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, steep 3-5 minutes

Cost: $4.00/oz

Teaware: 16oz tetsubin and depression glass cup

Measured dry: 3 tsp

Water Temperature: Boiling

Steeping Time: 3 minutes

Additives: 2tbsp Sugar in the Raw

While I was in graduate school, my friend Drea and I rented an adorable house in Portland's Hawthorne District. Like so many homes there, ours was a bit of a hodgepodge of second-hand and hand-me-down furniture. It was cheerful chaos, and everything kind of meshed in the way that nothing matched but it was all wonderful and unique. Our front porch did not escape. It was dominated by a green swing, covered in tropical floral cushions. Spiders loved it, but so did we. I remember taking breaks from studying or grading, lounging on that swing and watching the people who passed by. Piercings and tattoos, yuppie and hippie alike - and often accompanied by the strangest variations of canines. You've got to give it to Portland - we have wonderful people-watching! 

Earl Grey Lavender - Rishi

Just in front of the swing, the front flower bed was dominated by a solid block of lavender. Even though I'm still stuck here in Dallas, this tea just took me back to those deliciously lazy summer moments on that swing. 

This is the second Earl Grey Lavender I've tried during this project, and not only does it taste amazing, you also get the pleasure of knowing each cup is both Free Trade and organic. 

I've tried floral teas before that have tasted like I'd dunked my tongue into a vial of perfume, but this is smooth and fresh. This tea finds a gorgeous balance between the notes - it stays true to the flavor profile of an Earl Grey, but kicks things up a notch with the addition of the lavender. Neither dominates, nor does either go after your taste buds with a sledgehammer - they twine and play together beautifully. A sinuous dance inside the cup!

Steeped Earl Grey Lavender

I am so glad that I made a full pot of this, as I just can't seem to get enough of it! Thank you again, Short Sorceress, for the Steepster swap that gave me the opportunity to try this wonderful tea!

Prominent Notes: Lavender and Bergamot

Aftertaste: Black tea blend

Overall: The best Earl Grey Lavender yet!

Earl Grey by Simpson & Vail

Simpson & Vail was kind enough to send me a selection of their Earl Greys for this project! I'll spread them out, but look forward to their Victorian Earl Grey, Summertime Earl Grey, Creamy Earl Grey, Citrus Paradisi Earl Grey Blend, and Mrs. Grey's Blend in the weeks to come! For now, let's start in the beginning, with their Earl Grey Aromatic Tea:

Mei Photo-Bomb - Again!

Seller Description: "One of Mr. Vail's 15 original tea blends. If you enjoy the floral notes of Bergamot, this Earl Grey tea will become your favorite! This exceptional combination of Darjeeling, Assam, Chinese, and Sri Lankan teas, sprayed with the oil of Bergamot has been satisfying our customers for generations....Certified Kosher."

Directions: 1 tsp at 212°F for 3 minutes

Cost: $9.10/4oz tin

Teaware: 8oz cup with tea ball infuser

Measured dry: 1 tsp

Water Temperature: Boiling

Steeping Time: 3 minutes

Additives: 1 tsp Sugar in the Raw, with a second added later.

From the moment I opened the bag, I wanted to bury my nose in it! The delicious scents of the traditional Earl Grey blend were nice and pungent - it lives up to the "aromatic" part of the name! I got out a couple other Earl Greys out to compare, and while the scent did back off a little after that initial waft, my husband and I agreed that this had a smoother citrus fragrance than the sharper notes of the Arbor and Teavana that we'd pulled out. 

Simpson & Vail - Earl Grey

I decided to go small this morning, and just made a single cup instead of a pot. I started out by only adding one teaspoon of sugar, but the cup called for a little more. The first sip, with the single teaspoon of sugar, had more of a bite than I would usually care for, and it left my tongue feeling dry. 

Adding another teaspoon of sugar really helped smooth it out. If I had remembered to stop by the store and pick up milk, I think a dash would help kick this up another notch and balance out the dry feeling. I'll try to update when I make that happen! 

I did try one re-steep, but it didn't hold up - even with a longer steep time the flavors had waned and it was a little too watery. I think in the future this will be a single-steep tea for me.

Altogether, this is a nice, easy-going Earl Grey - the black tea blend does dominate the cup, with only a mild kick of bergamot to give it that distinctive Earl Grey flavor. It's matter-of-fact and straightforward - a good cup of tea! If this is the starting point, I really look forward to trying the other Simpson & Vail Earl Grey varieties!

Prominent Notes: Black tea, mild citrus

Aftertaste: Black tea blend

Overall: A great place to start!

Cream of Earl Grey (Organic) by DAVIDsTEA

Seller Description: "Lovers of Earl Grey adore this creamy alternative to the original blend. You’ll recognize the same high-quality black tea, the same citrus burst of bergamot oil, the same beautiful grey-blue petals. However this version adds a touch of vanilla, and the result is an unexpectedly rich, creamy taste experience. (MK Kosher)"

Directions: 1.5 tsp at 208°F for 3-5 minutes

Cost: $5.75/1.76oz

Teaware: 8oz cup with pinch infuser

Measured dry: 1.5 tsp

Water Temperature: Boiling

Steeping Time: 3 minutes

Additives: 1 tsp Sugar in the Raw

I was rearranging my tea supply, and realized I hadn't tried this one yet! This is another tea that I received from Emilie in our Steepster swap. Dry, it has a somewhat sharp aroma, like a mix of coffee and dark cocoa, but that doesn't translate into the steeped tea.

Earlier, I accidentally over-steeped it for something like eight minutes and tortured my taste buds with - if you don't mind the alliteration - a bitter, bracing brew. Apparently this is not very forgiving, but if you're careful about your steep time... mmmm. 

The fresh cup is creamy and has just a little bit of a bite at the end. So far this is right up there with the Earl Grey Moonlight by Adagio - the Earl Grey flavors don't have to take up arms against overwhelming cream and vanilla. They are there, and unmistakable, but in much more of a supporting role. Given a choice between the two, I would promptly head in this direction because it's listed as organic and I believe that as a consumer you vote with your dollars.

Because I do like this and want another cup, I attempted to re-steep it. I don't usually have good luck with that, but I figured it would be worth my while to at least try. I didn't want to chance the bitter zone of my first attempt, so for the second attempt re-steep I let it go for three and a half minutes. It wasn't quite as impressive - it was less flavorful, and the cream was starting to step out around the EG flavors. I set the timer for another minute, in one last attempt to eke out more of the original flavor, but it did not noticeably change. I think this will be a single-steep tea for me in the future. 

Prominent Notes: Black tea, bergamot, vanilla, and cream

Aftertaste: Bergamot

Overall: A very tasty and well-balanced Earl Grey cream, but this not a strong enough Earl Grey on its own to move to the next round.

Earl Grey (bag) by Tazo

Seller Description: "A traditional tea scented with the essence of bergamot."

Directions: None listed on bag

Cost: Varies per seller

Teaware: Depression Glass cup and saucer set (Hazel Atlas' Newport/Hairpin pattern)

Measured dry: 1 teabag

Water Temperature: Boiling, minus 5 minutes

Steeping Time: 3 minutes

Additives: 1tbsp Sugar in the Raw, dash milk

TAZO Earl Grey Mid-Steep

I've been steering steadily away from bagged tea, but this was a surprise addition to a swap, so I decided to give it a try. 

After my first sip, I really wish I hadn't! Either this tea is revolting or some kind of cross-contamination occurred. It's incredibly bitter, and has a seafood aftertaste. Yeah, you read that correctly - I think it's salmon. Which is wrong. So very, very wrong.

Teabag Autopsy

In an attempt to make it remotely palatable I added Sugar in the Raw and milk. Over the seafood, I can now taste elements of the Earl Grey flavors, but they just can't break free of the fish.

Since I just can't manage to drink the rest of this, I decided to open up the teabag and see if anything was remotely recognizable. As you can see... nope. It looks more like... well, as I've already grossed you out with the fish, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. Suffice it to say that I cannot identify any leaf-like structures in the... substance inside the bag. 

So, to wrap up, this was absolutely horrible. To drive that home, Mei-Mei decided to inspect it while I was busy typing. Usually she'll try to sample just about anything -not that I'll let her, but she still tries! Mei-Mei was a feral kitten when she was rescued, so she has no qualms about anything edible, drinkable, or even resembling food. This? She actually turned her nose up at it. Good decision, cat. Very good decision.

Mei-Mei

Prominent Notes: Seafood, bergamot

Aftertaste: Seafood

Overall: Dump it! Dump it now!

And yes, Mei's name is a nickname on Firefly. I believe it means "little sister" in Mandarin. She totally embodies that! Akasha's is from Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned. They were about 6-7months old when we adopted them, so we just found nerd-esque names as close as possible to the ones they'd gotten used to: ChiangMai and Acosta. 

Earl Grey Moonlight by Adagio Teas

Seller Description: "By popular demand, we have finally added an Earl Grey 'cream' blend. Comforting flavors of vanilla and cream combine to soften the citrus notes of traditional Earl Grey. Your taste buds will swoon at first sip of our Earl Grey Moonlight."
Directions: 1tsp/8oz, steep at 212 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes.

Cost: $6/3oz

Teaware: 16oz capacity hand-thrown mug

Measured dry: 2 tsp

Water Temperature: Boiling

Steeping Time: 5 minutes

Additives: 1-1/2 tbsp Sugar in the Raw

I’m liking this one! A lot! I didn’t think that I would rate an EGC this highly, but the cream aspect here is toned down considerably and there’s a nice licorice aftertaste that I adore. I do wish the bergamot had come through a little stronger, but otherwise this tea and I have no issues!

Update: Now that I'm mostly over that cold (and no longer on all the lovely cold medicine!) I'm not quite as effervescently enthusiastic about this one, but this is still an enjoyable cup of tea! I continue to be weirded out about the creamless-cream flavoring in general (if it's there, you should see it!) but when I compare this to the other EGCs I've tried (like the Della Terra) this one actually does allow the Earl Grey flavors to do more than just peek through. Without a doubt this is the best EGC so far, but the EG is just not strong enough to be in the top tier.

Prominent Notes: Cream and bergamot

Aftertaste: A mix of vanilla and licorice

Overall: The best EGC so far, potential for upper tiers