Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Trepidation’

For those of you that know me, the fact that I am reviewing an Earl Grey tea may seem a bit… strange. For those of you that do NOT know me, you should know that I do not like Earl Grey. I have tasted teas from all over the world, different cultures, countries and hundreds of different blended and flavoured tea, and I could just never get my head around one of the most well known teas, Earl Grey – until now.

I actually broke one of my own rules here on It’s All About The Leaf – the rule that says you can only review teas that you either like, or have never tried before. If you don’t like black teas, and know it, don’t review them.

When I received this tin of Tippy Earl Grey from Golden Moon, my first thought was “Who should get this to review? They should like Earl Greys – because it looks like a good one”. I made the mistake then of cracking the tin open for a sniff – and instantly I knew that I was the one reviewing this one! It smelled like Earl Grey – but not as flowery and had a sweetness about it.

Even with the great scent I was still approached it with a little trepidation – it IS Earl Grey after all, and I don’t LIKE Earl Grey! So I started with a little less than is was called for, and steeped it only for 3 minutes to keep the strength down.

First impressions, smooooooth. Subtle. NOT bitter! NOT flowery! What the heck am I drinking? I am so used to an extremely tannin’y brew that smells and tastes like flowers, that I was momentarily confused! I can smell the Bergamot, I can taste the Bergamot, but it is not like taking a sip of grandma’s perfume, which is my usual reaction to an Earl Grey! It tastes… good!

Golden Moon highlights that this tea is made with a high quality base – and by George they are right! Right from their site:

“How is the Golden Moon Tea Earl Grey better than most Earl Grey teas?

The tea base is of a much higher quality than most Earl Grey tea. Also, our flavor is a good deal more balanced. Most other Earl Grey teas use a very strong Bergamot to cover poor quality tea. Earl Grey tea connoisseurs love our Tippy Earl Grey because of its consistently good taste and high value per cup.”

That is it, that is exactly it. Well balanced with a high quality black tea base. That is what has been missing in my enjoyment of Earl Grey tea since I was a kid! I am really enjoying this tea – cup after cup. No milk required, no sugar required to mask the taste. Even as it cools, it stays balanced and enjoyable.

Bottom line – this is the tea that you want to get back to Earl Grey with. If you don’t like Earl Grey – try it. If you like Earl Grey – try it. The only people that may not enjoy it are ones that like bitter cups of flowers. This is not that, this is a sweet subtle and enjoyable cup of Earl Grey Flavoured Black Tea. Thank you Golden Moon – I cannot WAIT to try other teas from your collection, based on my enjoyment of this!

You can purchase the Tippy Earl Grey directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Let me start with the statement that I do NOT consider myself a tea snob. My philosophy is, any tea, any time, any way. However, it was with some trepidation that I approached the Celestial Seasoning Sleepytime Vanilla Tea.

You see I grew up drinking tea via teabag. You know, Tetley, Sleepytime, etc. When I discovered loose leaf tea, I felt that I had moved on, forever putting behind the regular boring old teabag. Much to my surprise however, a shipment from Celestial Seasonings showed up on the doorstep for review, so I thought, why not? Of course I will try it, I am not a snob, they must have come a long way since I was a kid, after all, it is their 40th anniversary, so there must be something to the tea!

The scent when you open up the package was amazing – sweet and minty like peppermint candy. I could feel myself starting to drool already! I was really looking forward to this cup of tea. I extracted a teabag, and the butterflies started. They are the regular old teabags we all know – paper, attached together and perforated for “easy” separation, (I ripped 2 open trying to “easily” separate them…) but the smell… mmmmmm…

When I examined the bag’s contents, it was pretty much what I expected, not just small leaves, but pretty much dust, not much recognizable here. Preparation numero uno was boiling water, 5 minute steep. This produced a golden amber liquid, with distinctly distinguishable scents of Chamomile, Mint and Vanilla. As I went to remove the teabag, it occurred to me that there is no string attached! That is odd, and unexpected, and, well, inconvenient if you did not have a spoon around, as that water is HOT!

As for the taste, the best way that I can describe it is hot, and frankly, tasteless. I was so incredibly disappointed. The scent to this point, and even now as I reminisce about it, was incredible, the buildup to tasting almost unbearable, making the actual tasting experience a total of a letdown. I thought I was in for something different, but memories of drinking tea as a child flood back as I sip hot, tasteless, colorful and beautiful scented, water.

What to do? Well, why not go back to my roots I figured, so I added *GASP* sugar! Just a bit, maybe half a teaspoon – that could not hurt it right? Well, with just that bit of sugar, all of a sudden the tea came alive, and I could taste the Chamomile, and the sweetness of Vanilla and even the Peppermint goodness!

So, in the end, all is well that ends well, I would recommend that if you are not a sugar person, avoid this tea, as the taste of the tea by its self is remarkably unremarkable, but with that sugar, it is a good tea, delivering what you would expect. The only question left is, will Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Vanilla Tea put me to sleep tonight, or will I be tossing and turning all night, ruminating how this tea could have been so much better?

You can purchase
Celestial Seasoning Sleepytime Vanilla directly from their website.