Kimberley's Kyusu

Hey there Teacups. It’s time again for another Let’s Talk Tea post and this time around I’m going back to my tea roots and reviewing a classic Earl Grey from The Rare Tea Company. If you’ve ben reading my blog for a long time you’ll know that my love of tea started with Earl Grey and I’ve never stopped loving it. When I saw that The Rare Tea Company had included their classic Rare Earl Grey in the package they sent me I couldn’t have been happier. Earl Grey is normally my every day tea but I haven’t had chance to have any for a little while. This package arrived at just the right time and took me right back to here my love of tea started.

The dry leaves of this blend have a delicate floral note to them and a slight sweetness, I do get a little matiness in the background from the tea but mostly it’s the bergamot that I smell. Because The Rare Tea Company use pure bergamot oil that I can only imagine is incredibly concentrated that citrus/floral note is incredibly intense. I will admit that because of such an intense citrus-floral note I was a little hesitant when it came to actually trying this. Most Earl Grey’s that smell so intensely citrus/floral are literally nothing but bergamot when you go to drink it and that is not a pleasant experience. Luckily while steeping the floral note definitely mellowed out and gave the tea time to shine a well.

This is one of the most perfectly balanced Earl Grey’s I’ve had in a long time. The citrus/floral note from the bergamot mellowed out while steeping, an enabled to tea to shine through. The single estate black tea used for this blend is incredibly rich and definitely stands it’s own against the bergamot and rather than one ingredient overpower the other they just run perfectly along side each other. It is a little astringent but I find that can be fixed by adding a little agave and a slice of lemon (I always have my Earl Grey that way – You could also add milk to it but I never do). Mouthfeel wise it is very heavy and can be a little drying but that’s quite common with black teas (especially earl grey). I applaud The Rare Tea Company for creating such a perfect classic earl great – I was starting to feel like there were no more Earl Grey’s out there that could surprise me but I was very wrong because this one definitely did.

Overall Teacup Rating: 5/5

You can find out more about the Rare Tea Company and purchase this Earl Grey for yourself here. As always if you have any questions at all either stick them in the comments or send them to me on twitter (@teaisawishblog) and I’ll answer them as soon as possible.

Speak to you all on Friday. Happy Steeping – Kimberley