Earl Grey Black Tea

My favorite Earl Grey. I've tried others but always come back to this one.

I absolutely love this blended tea - my son first introduced me to it when he brought some from England. Your tea is as good as theirs and I can’t say that for any other.

I simply love the flavor of the Earl Grey loose tea that has the ground up corn flowers in it. The taste is delicious.

First off, I'm a BIG tea drinker, my favorite varieties being in order Earl Grey, Lapsong and English Breakfast. My reference points for what represent great teas are Kusmi, Harney, Taylor's of Harrogate and Mark T. Wendell (Hu Kwa). So take what I say within that context. When I first ordered this tea, there were no reviews and I was a bit skeptical it could measure up to what I'm accustomed to. Well, simply put, it does. This is a very good Earl Grey. The base Sri Lankan black, while not the Chinese black found in most Earl Greys, is large-leafed and a very high quality. Moreover, the application of begamot oil, while somewhat bold, is not overpowering. So the bergamot has presence, but not to the point where you find yourself wondering if it's being used to camouflage weaknesses in the underlying tea (a common trick). And as for the cornflowers they don't seem to have any impact at all which is probably a good thing. Compared to the others, this is most akin to Harney's Earl Grey Supreme. It shares the Harney's tea/bergamot flavor balance, but possesses more overall punch. Whereas the Taylor's puts less emphasis on bergamot and the various Kusmi Earl Greys offer more overall subtlety (which they should, considering they cost 4-6 times as much). This tea represents a very good value. The quality is significantly better than the price would suggest and the flavor should suit anyone who prefers a somewhat bold interpretation of the traditional Earl Grey recipe.

I like this tea. It takes a bit more time than usually to be enough flavored. But taste is very soft and pleasant.