The references I could make about the next three reviews are beyond numerous. I could reference a certain frog who sang about it's not easy, I could reference a certain well known UK metal band with the song title of "Can I play with madness", and finally I could pull out a certain series of books by a certain author who lives in Maine but I won't. I will just explain what is going on. For a time, I had today's reviewed tea staring me in the face. It came with a gift 3-pack box that someone gave to me. 1 Earl Grey, 1 Green and this one. Both Black and Green tea. Then two other companies sent me Green Only Earl Grey and asked that I review them. Needless to say I put them off for a while because this is all new territory for me. So this review will start me on my Green adventure by going easy on me because it has both Black and Green tea but the next two are full on Green tea based. Can I test them the same way? Will my tea background (cough) help me do a good job? But most importantly will I like them? Well fellow EGA'ers, lets find out.
Aroma
Since you know where I got the tea lets get straight to the box. It's your typical TBDB with alot of information on it. It says organic but also has the round USDA green organic symbol and the Fair Trade logo as well. On the back some information about ecological harmony with regards to farming and on the final side, ingredients, brewing info and another certification for organics this time by QAI. So what is in this tea?
Steeping Instructions
The Results
Starting with the 3 minute steep time I found a lightly colored tea with a nice aroma. The citrus was
starting to come out and the two different teas started to give off their own aroma. The flavor was very different then I am use to. I wanna say the green tea was holding it's own against the black but nothing was distinct. Even the bergamot wasn't easily picked out. After the letting the tea cool a bit I noticed the black took over a bit. My initial reaction was kinda neutral. It wasn't Earl Grey as I know it but I couldn't really knock it for it's differences. It just wasn't winning me over.
Moving onto the 4 minute time had the tea grow darker, and the aroma change. There was definitely more citrus coming through and now the tea had this wonderful sweetness to it. The mix of flavors was really nice. I would say this tea had some complexity. When you drank it you could pick out the different flavors. I must admit, I very much enjoyed this time.
Ending with the 5 minute time brought more changes. The tea grew darker again but the aroma faded a bit. The sweetness was not as prominent and now the black tea had come forward. The mix of flavors I enjoyed at 4 wasn't there. It was now more of a traditional Earl Grey but not really. If I had to guess I would say the green had either burned off or had become overwhelmed by the black.
Re-Steeping
I tried but the flavors were completely different from the ones that I enjoyed at the 4 minute time. For me personally, I wouldn't do it.
Final Thoughts
I am totally surprised by what I drank at the 4 minute time. The sweetness, the complexity and all the rest made this tea something I would definitely enjoy again. Is this a traditional Earl Grey? No way, but if you would like to try something based upon Earl Grey that has a bit more sweetness while not being overpowered then stick with the 4 minute time. Also if you are concerned with what is in your food/drink then this tea ticks all the right organic boxes. As always, if you try this tea please leave a comment so others can learn from your experience.
Aroma
Blend of organic black and organic green teas with organic oil of bergamotThere was one...ok we'll call it weird....thing about the box, it only had 18 bags in it and not the typical 20. If anyone from Stash or anyone else out there knows why they went with 18 instead of 20 let me know. Once you open the box you will find all the bags and each one looks just like the cover of the box with one exception. The bags have both English and French on them. The title, the ingredients and the brewing all have both. Only one language on the box but two for the bags. In my typical engineering thinking I'm going to say that given how close they are to the Canadian boarder (Stash is in Oregon) they put French on the bags to support those across the boarder. So what aroma does it give off? Not much. It has a bit of black tea to it but not much else. Lets move to the brewing.
Steeping Instructions
To savor the full flavor of our teas, bring fresh water to a rolling boil. Pour hot water directly over the tea bags in a pre-heated pot or cup. Brew 3-5 minutes or to desired taste.Not going to lie I wasn't expecting to see the use of boiling water since there is green tea present. I'm guessing this tea is weighted more towards the black.
The Results
Starting with the 3 minute steep time I found a lightly colored tea with a nice aroma. The citrus was
Moving onto the 4 minute time had the tea grow darker, and the aroma change. There was definitely more citrus coming through and now the tea had this wonderful sweetness to it. The mix of flavors was really nice. I would say this tea had some complexity. When you drank it you could pick out the different flavors. I must admit, I very much enjoyed this time.
Ending with the 5 minute time brought more changes. The tea grew darker again but the aroma faded a bit. The sweetness was not as prominent and now the black tea had come forward. The mix of flavors I enjoyed at 4 wasn't there. It was now more of a traditional Earl Grey but not really. If I had to guess I would say the green had either burned off or had become overwhelmed by the black.
Re-Steeping
I tried but the flavors were completely different from the ones that I enjoyed at the 4 minute time. For me personally, I wouldn't do it.
Final Thoughts
I am totally surprised by what I drank at the 4 minute time. The sweetness, the complexity and all the rest made this tea something I would definitely enjoy again. Is this a traditional Earl Grey? No way, but if you would like to try something based upon Earl Grey that has a bit more sweetness while not being overpowered then stick with the 4 minute time. Also if you are concerned with what is in your food/drink then this tea ticks all the right organic boxes. As always, if you try this tea please leave a comment so others can learn from your experience.
