As I started uploading everything for this review I had a look at my stats. I do this because I really enjoy seeing all the different places where my visitors are coming from. But then I noticed this number and I did a double take. I convinced myself the number was wrong because I never thought when I started this whole Earl Grey Review thing it would ever get past being my personal log. But oh how wrong I was, I mean are, is....oh never mind. Either way, I have officially past the 200K hits point and I have have all my readers to thank. So everyone in unison raise your cup of Earl Grey and to you I say....Well Done and Thank You!!!!
Steeping Method
To be fair I headed off to their website in search of steeping instruction and found...confusion.
The website they give on the box doesn't take you to the Suttons home page. You have to search for their site to find it. Once there I couldn't find any steeping instructions so like I said earlier, not something you see very often with tea companies. I'd also also like to point this out:
So Sutton's is one of those companies that makes tea for others so that means I'm making up my own steeping times.
3 - 4 - 5 and stress testing.
The Results
At three minutes this is a very light tea with a light color and a light flavor. The aroma keeps coming
and it does smell really nice but since we don't know anything about the ingredients, it's hard to get excited. I let the tea cool a bit and instead of gaining some extras this tea lost some fast.
At four minutes the flavor started to improve while the color got darker. The aroma continued on but it was less citrus and more tea. As stated the color did get darker so we were definitely getting more out of the bag. Again I let the tea cool and again it lost more then it gained.
At the five minute time, this tea really stepped up in all categories. The color got darker, the flavor improved and the aroma went back to more citrus and less tea. I said it had more flavor but I will point out it didn't gain any complexity, it was just more of the same. Once again I tried cooling and once again the flavor just fell apart.
Which brings us to stress testing times. The tea made it to about 7 minutes before starting to become bitter. To be perfectly honest, at around the 5.5 to 6 minute mark I found what I considered to be the best this tea could offer. To end, cooling did nothing for this tea except loose all it's flavor.
Re-Steeping
If you like light tea, then maybe you can get two cups out of this but for me once you go past the 5 minute mark you leave little to no flavor left for a second steep. My best attempt, and result, was 4 minutes then 6 minutes but that was really pushing it past where this tea can go.
Final Thoughts
Yes loyal readers you know what I am going to say. If you are like me and are concerned about where you food is sourced I cannot suggest this tea. You have very little info on both the tea and flavors and you have metal for your steeping pleasure. If you are less concerned with such things, then for the price and the flavor, I would say give it a try and see if you like it. If you do be sure to leave a comment so others can learn from your experience.
Aroma
The tea comes in a rectangular box minus the dispenser opening wrapped in plastic. When I ripped open the plastic I was met with a huge wave of tea. It appears the plastic was doing it's job of keeping the box all nice and sealed up. From there I took another good breath from one of the bags. The aroma had both citrus and tea but for me it was the citrus that really came through. One of the first interesting things I'll point out, there are no steeping instructions anywhere on the box. I've seen this before so I checked the bags and found nothing. I'll get back to that weird omission and bring you to the bad news. While looking around for the steeping instructions I found a staple on the top of the bag just under the flap. Not good I thought, but at least they don't use staples for the part that goes in the water. Sadly I was wrong. There was a staple keeping the bag closed up and attaching the string to the tag. I've been reviewing teas since 2012 and still find it a bit disappointing when I see staples. Ok, very disappointing.
So what's inside? From the bottom of their box:
"Finest quality blend of teas with Bergamot flavour"That doesn't tell us much so next stop, the side with the nutritional facts.
"Pure Ceylon tea
Packed in Sri Lanka (Ceylon)"Needless to say, not an encouraging start to this review. Lets move on.
Steeping Method
To be fair I headed off to their website in search of steeping instruction and found...confusion.
The website they give on the box doesn't take you to the Suttons home page. You have to search for their site to find it. Once there I couldn't find any steeping instructions so like I said earlier, not something you see very often with tea companies. I'd also also like to point this out:
Suttons of London can produce any own label packaging that you may require and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your requirements. We can supply all the necessary ingredients needed for you to produce your own successful brand, starting at the initial design stage, right through to the finished product.
So Sutton's is one of those companies that makes tea for others so that means I'm making up my own steeping times.
3 - 4 - 5 and stress testing.
The Results
At three minutes this is a very light tea with a light color and a light flavor. The aroma keeps coming
At four minutes the flavor started to improve while the color got darker. The aroma continued on but it was less citrus and more tea. As stated the color did get darker so we were definitely getting more out of the bag. Again I let the tea cool and again it lost more then it gained.
At the five minute time, this tea really stepped up in all categories. The color got darker, the flavor improved and the aroma went back to more citrus and less tea. I said it had more flavor but I will point out it didn't gain any complexity, it was just more of the same. Once again I tried cooling and once again the flavor just fell apart.
Which brings us to stress testing times. The tea made it to about 7 minutes before starting to become bitter. To be perfectly honest, at around the 5.5 to 6 minute mark I found what I considered to be the best this tea could offer. To end, cooling did nothing for this tea except loose all it's flavor.
Re-Steeping
If you like light tea, then maybe you can get two cups out of this but for me once you go past the 5 minute mark you leave little to no flavor left for a second steep. My best attempt, and result, was 4 minutes then 6 minutes but that was really pushing it past where this tea can go.
Final Thoughts
Yes loyal readers you know what I am going to say. If you are like me and are concerned about where you food is sourced I cannot suggest this tea. You have very little info on both the tea and flavors and you have metal for your steeping pleasure. If you are less concerned with such things, then for the price and the flavor, I would say give it a try and see if you like it. If you do be sure to leave a comment so others can learn from your experience.
