The source of today's tea should dispel any rumors that I only drink Earl Grey. Hey I'm an addict but I'm also no fool and enjoy many different types of tea. While ordering some wonderfully tasty Japanese Green Tea I noticed that Den's Tea also sells a bagged Earl Grey. So I added it to my shopping cart, along with the green tea I bought, and here we are. With all of that explained, onto the review.
Aroma
Den's tea comes in a typical (at least what I call) sales box. Meaning the box can be opened via the top, or by pushing in the perforated half circle at the bottom front. Once pushed in, people can then take out individual bags for purchase. For a retailer these things must be nice. Pop the front bottom, place it on your shelves upright, and you are in business. The box also has a fair amount of needed info in a plain and easy to read format. On one side their Earl Grey story, the Best Before date, brewing for both hot and cold, the ingredients and their location. On the back some talk about the benefits of organic foods, and some words on their support of fair trade. The remaining side has their quality guarantee and some company history.
The bags themselves are just sealed clear plastic bags/wraps and given how I couldn't detect any aroma they work well at keeping things fresh. Upon ripping one open you will pick up a bit of citrus but overall the aroma is very lite. The ingredients providing this aroma are (from their site):
Steeping Method
Directly from the box:
The Results
Normally 4 minutes is my sweet spot but in this case 4 minutes was a bit too lite for my personal preference. The color was on par with teas typically steeped 4 minutes, but the flavor was definitely on the thin side. The flavor itself was mostly black tea leaving me wanting for a more balanced tea. Letting it sit for a bit brought out a bit more citrus but not enough to win the day.
In this tea's case, 5 minutes provided the best flavor that I could obtain. The color was a bit darker, the aroma increased but most of all, the flavor was alot more balanced. The black tea was there along with the bergamot instead of covering it up. When allowed to cool the citrus really came to the front and provided a nice cup of tea. But I have to admit there was little to no complexity or depth. It tasted like Earl Grey but I wasn't blown away by it. Yes it was an improvement over the 4 minute mark but it didn't reach the heights of some other teas.
At the 6 minute mark I didn't burn the tea per say but I definitely pushed it beyond where it should have been steeped. Instead of getting more bergamot flavor, I actually got less. This leads me to believe there would be no hidden gems with this tea which is fine. Pushing the teas like I do are done for that one rare occasion and the marker of the teas are not held responsible when things go horribly wrong.
Re-Steeping
There are times when during my review I find combos of 1st and 2nd steeps that work and extract the most from the teas. In this case I found nothing which leads me to the following statement, "Don't re-steep this tea; ever". Instead dump your 1st bag into your compost bin, and grab another.
Final Thoughts
Given how I like knowing what it is in my food, while at the same time knowing the people who actually grow the food are making a fair living, I like this tea. The flavor isn't the best of the Earl Grey's I've reviewed but it definitely isn't the worse. I know that is not exactly a glowing review but that's how the tea tasted. Would I suggest it to others? If you had never had Earl Grey before, or your preference is a lighter blend, then yes. If you do end up trying it, please feel free to leave a comment regarding your opinion on this tea.
Aroma
Den's tea comes in a typical (at least what I call) sales box. Meaning the box can be opened via the top, or by pushing in the perforated half circle at the bottom front. Once pushed in, people can then take out individual bags for purchase. For a retailer these things must be nice. Pop the front bottom, place it on your shelves upright, and you are in business. The box also has a fair amount of needed info in a plain and easy to read format. On one side their Earl Grey story, the Best Before date, brewing for both hot and cold, the ingredients and their location. On the back some talk about the benefits of organic foods, and some words on their support of fair trade. The remaining side has their quality guarantee and some company history.The bags themselves are just sealed clear plastic bags/wraps and given how I couldn't detect any aroma they work well at keeping things fresh. Upon ripping one open you will pick up a bit of citrus but overall the aroma is very lite. The ingredients providing this aroma are (from their site):
Our Earl Grey tea is a blend of organic Indian black tea from select gardens and the natural essence of Italian bergamot, a fragrant citrus fruit.Once you get the bag out you'll notice the lack of any staples on either bag or the label. Needless to say this goes hand in hand nicely with the use of organic ingredients and should be the standard for all companies. With that said, lets move on to the steeping.
Steeping Method
Directly from the box:
"Use one tea bag & 8oz of boiliny water. Steep for 4-5 minutes & enjoy."That meant I tried the suggested 4, 5 and of course went for 6 minutes to stress test the tea.
The Results
Normally 4 minutes is my sweet spot but in this case 4 minutes was a bit too lite for my personal preference. The color was on par with teas typically steeped 4 minutes, but the flavor was definitely on the thin side. The flavor itself was mostly black tea leaving me wanting for a more balanced tea. Letting it sit for a bit brought out a bit more citrus but not enough to win the day.
In this tea's case, 5 minutes provided the best flavor that I could obtain. The color was a bit darker, the aroma increased but most of all, the flavor was alot more balanced. The black tea was there along with the bergamot instead of covering it up. When allowed to cool the citrus really came to the front and provided a nice cup of tea. But I have to admit there was little to no complexity or depth. It tasted like Earl Grey but I wasn't blown away by it. Yes it was an improvement over the 4 minute mark but it didn't reach the heights of some other teas.At the 6 minute mark I didn't burn the tea per say but I definitely pushed it beyond where it should have been steeped. Instead of getting more bergamot flavor, I actually got less. This leads me to believe there would be no hidden gems with this tea which is fine. Pushing the teas like I do are done for that one rare occasion and the marker of the teas are not held responsible when things go horribly wrong.
Re-Steeping
There are times when during my review I find combos of 1st and 2nd steeps that work and extract the most from the teas. In this case I found nothing which leads me to the following statement, "Don't re-steep this tea; ever". Instead dump your 1st bag into your compost bin, and grab another.
Final Thoughts
Given how I like knowing what it is in my food, while at the same time knowing the people who actually grow the food are making a fair living, I like this tea. The flavor isn't the best of the Earl Grey's I've reviewed but it definitely isn't the worse. I know that is not exactly a glowing review but that's how the tea tasted. Would I suggest it to others? If you had never had Earl Grey before, or your preference is a lighter blend, then yes. If you do end up trying it, please feel free to leave a comment regarding your opinion on this tea.
