So let's say one of my loyal readers, lets call her Jean...well because that's her real name...contacted/emailed a well known tea house that specializes in organic and fair trade tea. And lets say that Jean asked a rather pointed question about how teas are labelled. But instead of the tea house shying away they handed it over to their person in charge of "labeling and certifications" and the answer returned turned out to be pure gold. Well that's what really happened.
To be honest I delayed posting this review until I heard back from Jean. I originally was just going to put their response in this pre-amble area but when I saw how well written the response was I knew I needed to add another page so we can easily reference it. So if you look up to my menu, you will see a new page called -> Label Info. On this page you will find the response from Aubrey of Arbor Teas where she explains all the intricacies of labeling. It's crazy good. Heck maybe someone from across the Pond (UK, India, etc) can contact me with info on how their country regulates their labeling so I can add that to the page as well.
Finally, and before I start this review I would like to send a huge EGA thank you over to Jean at DelightfulRepast.com for taking the time and effort in sending out that first email and getting me the permission so everyone can benefit from Aubrey's knowledge.
Aroma
So I get this email about reviewing tea from Adagio BUT they kinda knew of my traditionalist slant with regards to Earl Grey. But to Adagio's credit they told me right up front "we want you to try something a bit different." After a bit of back and forth I settled on this tea because it's only extra ingredient is Orange Peels. So when an .8oz sized bag came in I knew I would be able to play around and really have fun testing this blend. The bag is a resealable zip lock type bag where you rip off the top and it leaves the zip part behind. I purposely took the picture a bit low to hide my horrible ripping job. Seriously, I couldn't have screwed this up any worse then I did. When opened I was met with a nice fresh smell and at first got nothing but bergamot then a wave of orange and then the black tea. So what are the ingredients? From their bag:
So as I alluded to before we have three ingredients instead of my typical two. Would this mess with my review process? Would I like it? Would I hate it? Well lets find out.
Steeping Method
The bag says the following:
The Results
Starting with the 2minute time I found a thin Earl Grey with a little orange flavor. As the tea cooled the Earl Grey/bergamot was replaced with the orange. The color was very good given how short a steep time this was but it went from an Earl Grey to something else.
At the 3 minute time I found more orange and much less bergamot/Earl Grey. The color was a bit darker and the aroma was of both orange and black tea. As this time frame cooled the orange came out even more leaving no Earl Grey.
Moving on to 4 minutes brought out chaos. No seriously, this time couldn't decide what it wanted to be and that was due to the balance being off. It was like the bergamot and orange where fighting for control and it wasn't working. It should be repeated, Adagio did not suggest this time on their bag so we can't blame them for this result. To be honest we can't blame them for the next two as well.
That brings me to 5 minutes. At this time the tea had a much stronger Earl Grey aroma but it had
more orange flavors right after steeping. The color was one of the darkest but when it cooled that's when I found what I wanted. That's right, at 5 minutes, and after letting it cool, I was treated to an Earl Grey that was on the thin side but one that I found familiar. The balance was pretty good and I probably liked it the best because the orange had "burned" off. This steep time practically forced me to go for 6.
We are so far beyond what Adagio suggests its not even funny but guess what, at this time it pretty much starts out as an Earl Grey. The balance was good even though the flavor was still on the thin side. As it cooled I picked up a hint of orange but that helped to mellow the bergamot and create this rather smooth flavor. Some where at Adagio there is a tea blender who is screaming at the screen as they read this, "you are ruining my tea. " To be honest they have a point.
Re-Steeping
I have no idea what to tell you. At every steep time there was a change in flavors as the tea cooled. The two times I liked the best didn't allow it because I pushed this tea way past where it should go. But at the same time the shorter steeps kinda produced thinner versions of the initial flavors.
Final Thoughts
This tea should be called Schrodinger's cat given it's ability to be two different teas almost at once. Want to start fruity with more orange and less bergomot but still want a bit more Earl Grey when it cools, no problem. Or do you want Earl Grey right from the beginning but then let some orange back in at the end. This tea can do that too. But do I like it? Well it's not technically a traditional Earl Grey but Adagio was completely honest and told me that right away. Curse you duality where is Bohr when you need him. So did I like it? Yes. When it's more orange it was nicely balanced because the orange didn't over power the black tea. When I changed the steeping times to get more of a traditional Earl Grey it was on the lighter side but still everything came through and it was enjoyable. So there you have it, my first quantum response. I think. Maybe.
To be honest I delayed posting this review until I heard back from Jean. I originally was just going to put their response in this pre-amble area but when I saw how well written the response was I knew I needed to add another page so we can easily reference it. So if you look up to my menu, you will see a new page called -> Label Info. On this page you will find the response from Aubrey of Arbor Teas where she explains all the intricacies of labeling. It's crazy good. Heck maybe someone from across the Pond (UK, India, etc) can contact me with info on how their country regulates their labeling so I can add that to the page as well.
Finally, and before I start this review I would like to send a huge EGA thank you over to Jean at DelightfulRepast.com for taking the time and effort in sending out that first email and getting me the permission so everyone can benefit from Aubrey's knowledge.
Aroma
Black Tea, Orange Peels, Natural Earl Grey Flavor
So as I alluded to before we have three ingredients instead of my typical two. Would this mess with my review process? Would I like it? Would I hate it? Well lets find out.
Steeping Method
The bag says the following:
Steeping: 1 teaspoon per cup | 2-3 mins @ 212F / 100CObviously I'd be following their suggestions but given how much tea they sent I was going to also use 4, 5 and 6 minutes and maybe just maybe I'd even stress test it.
The Results
Starting with the 2minute time I found a thin Earl Grey with a little orange flavor. As the tea cooled the Earl Grey/bergamot was replaced with the orange. The color was very good given how short a steep time this was but it went from an Earl Grey to something else.
At the 3 minute time I found more orange and much less bergamot/Earl Grey. The color was a bit darker and the aroma was of both orange and black tea. As this time frame cooled the orange came out even more leaving no Earl Grey.
Moving on to 4 minutes brought out chaos. No seriously, this time couldn't decide what it wanted to be and that was due to the balance being off. It was like the bergamot and orange where fighting for control and it wasn't working. It should be repeated, Adagio did not suggest this time on their bag so we can't blame them for this result. To be honest we can't blame them for the next two as well.
That brings me to 5 minutes. At this time the tea had a much stronger Earl Grey aroma but it had
We are so far beyond what Adagio suggests its not even funny but guess what, at this time it pretty much starts out as an Earl Grey. The balance was good even though the flavor was still on the thin side. As it cooled I picked up a hint of orange but that helped to mellow the bergamot and create this rather smooth flavor. Some where at Adagio there is a tea blender who is screaming at the screen as they read this, "you are ruining my tea. " To be honest they have a point.
Re-Steeping
I have no idea what to tell you. At every steep time there was a change in flavors as the tea cooled. The two times I liked the best didn't allow it because I pushed this tea way past where it should go. But at the same time the shorter steeps kinda produced thinner versions of the initial flavors.
Final Thoughts
This tea should be called Schrodinger's cat given it's ability to be two different teas almost at once. Want to start fruity with more orange and less bergomot but still want a bit more Earl Grey when it cools, no problem. Or do you want Earl Grey right from the beginning but then let some orange back in at the end. This tea can do that too. But do I like it? Well it's not technically a traditional Earl Grey but Adagio was completely honest and told me that right away. Curse you duality where is Bohr when you need him. So did I like it? Yes. When it's more orange it was nicely balanced because the orange didn't over power the black tea. When I changed the steeping times to get more of a traditional Earl Grey it was on the lighter side but still everything came through and it was enjoyable. So there you have it, my first quantum response. I think. Maybe.
