I sampled two delightful Earl Grey teas and below are my tasting notes and reflections. I sampled the teas prepared three ways; hot, lukewarm, and iced. While I am noting the various flavor nuances and subtleties, other people may taste the tea a bit differently. The differences can occur due to each person’s individual sensation and perception involving their five senses.
Sickness and medication can have a factor in how a taste is perceived. Believe it or not, memories can also affect a person’s sense of taste. Reflections on this past year 2020, and the memories sparked by reflection have been less than comforting, cozy, and calming. Please indulge me as I become a little poetic on the tasting notes of the teas. In the future there will be more scientific and analytical information regarding cupping and tasting teas. In the meantime, may these reflections on the teas add a bit of calm diversion to an otherwise unsettling year.
Cream Earl Grey White Tea
The dry leaf had a slight bergamot aroma with a hint of vanilla. The blend consisted of evergreen colored leaf pieces. The infused leaf had a citrusy aroma with a vanilla, and brown sugar note. The color of the liquor (the tea liquid) was light amber. The aroma was full of vanilla and bergamot. It had a smooth taste with a bit of vanilla, bergamot and a touch of pepper. As the tea approached lukewarm, it’s aroma and taste became more lemony. The vanilla became more apparent in taste and aroma while lukewarm. Prepared iced, the tea had a crisp, piney, slightly peppery taste. I think this tea can be served hot or iced. My personal preference is to drink it hot. If served as an iced tea, I would leave out the sweetners. This tea heralds memories of walking in the snow on a crisp winter morning. Hearing the wind in the pines, listening to the rhythmic crunch, crunch of footprints being laid down through the diamond-like sparkling snow, and the fresh snow covering the trees is foremost in my mind while sipping this tea.
Baroness Grey Black Tea
The dry leaf had orange peel, blue coneflower, and rose petals in the colorful blend. The infused leaf had the aroma of oats, carmel, bergamot, and a hint of rose. The liquor (tea liquid) color was dark amber. The aroma of the liquor was bergamot with slight rose. The taste of the tea was full of bergamot and mellow rose. As the tea reached lukewarm it became more jammy in taste and had a thicker mouth - feel. There was a slight bergamot aroma in the lukewarm tea. The iced tea had a strictly bergamot taste. There was a slight aroma that I could detect with the iced version. This tea would stand up (work well with) to milk/milk substitutes and sweetener/sugar added while hot. Baroness Grey black tea would hold up well as an iced tea.
My personal preference…..it was a tie! I liked Baroness Grey as both a hot and iced beverage. If I had to choose one temperature to drink Baroness Earl Grey it would be as a hot tea. The aroma brought memories of walking through a rose garden during the height of the blooming season. The sight and aroma of the rose bushes having been warmed by the sun, with its sweet fragrance perfuming the air, is an ethereal delight to the senses!
Reflections And Moving Forward
As one year closes and a new year begins, may you hold on to the warm, and sweet memories of 2020. As you begin a new year, may you find comfort, calm and serenity regardless of what life brings to you. May you feel the coziness, stillness, and peace that can come from sipping a warm cup of tea!
Warmly,
Leslie
About The Author
Leslie Sundberg is a World Tea Academy Certified Tea Specialist, a World Tea Academy Apprentice Tea Sommelier, a Specialty Tea Institute Level IV trained Tea Specialist, and a Tea and Business Etiquette Specialist. On any given day, Leslie can be found teaching, speaking or sharing in the joys of a cup of tea. No matter what Leslie is doing or where she is, one thing remains constant: 4:00 in the afternoon is tea time!
