Tea Review: Earl Grey Jasmine by Twinings

 The next flavor in my Twinings gift box that I decided to try this morning was this Earl Grey with Jasmine.



Now, from the front of the package, I thought it was Earl Grey black tea with added Jasmine essence, flavoring, or flowers.  Oh-ho, NOT SO says the back of the package - this is an Earl Grey mixed with a Jasmine scented Green Tea.  Boy am I glad I read the ingredients these days because that shifted my entire expectation for the flavor profile.



Now, here's the thing I became worried about - black tea and green tea brew at VERY different temperatures, so I had to figure out where I thought I should brew the water on the temperature scale.  I wavered a bit for a while - but finally decided to go with the packaging and use the boiled water for black tea.  



The reason I wavered and worried over this was because I do not like the harsh taste of green tea when it has been brewed with too hot water.  It loses its sweetness and dries out my mouth - and it also gets this weird scalded taste that just ruins the cup for me.  Thankfully, this blend either didn't get that scald taste, or hid it well with the black tea.

The first thing that hits you from this blend is how floral the nose is.  The Bergamot and Jasmine both hit the nose in a powerful, yet pleasant, punch as the mug gets to your nose.  It also means that the Bergamot and Jasmine were the first flavors to hit my tongue as well - again, in a very pleasant way.

Two of my favorite milk tea flavors are Jasmine Green Tea and Earl Grey... I never thought they would mix well.  Goodness, this blend of tea was like all my favorite parts of both milk tea flavors in one lovely blend... only hot.  I am terribly sad I only had one bag of this because I now REALLY want to try using this to make myself a milk tea.

As a hot tea - it was delightful straight off the steep - with one exception.  That dryness that comes from the too hot brewed green tea hit my mouth at the end of every sip.  The smallest touch of milk helped to mediate that dryness and also had the extra bonus of making the cup taste even more like a milk tea.


Final thoughts:  Yes, I will buy more of this.  It's unexpectedly delightful.

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