Vahdam Tea Advent Calendar: Day 5 - Earl Grey Citrus Black

 


By the time I got to a place in my day when I had the ability or energy to brew a cup of tea, it was far too late to do a black tea, so this had to roll over to the morning of the next day.  It was a good choice to do so, because this was a WONDERFUL way to start my day.



I admit to being excited by just the name of the tea blend.  I do love me a good Earl Grey, and I love a nice citrus note to my tea as well.


The appearance has a lovely twist to the leaves, and the aroma on the dry leaf is simply.... bliss.  The bergamot is SO strong on the nose - but in that tasty way that makes me want to dive into the tea.


As you can see, it steeps to a lovely dark color.  The aroma of the tea liquor kept that lovely sweet lemony bouquet from the bergamot and whatever type of black tea they use in the blend gave the brew a nice woody note to the fragrance.


The flavor.... was divine.  I like my Earl Greys bergamot heavy and this certainly was.  Often, bergamot in an Earl Grey loses a lot of its punch once you add milk - this was not the case here.  The bergamot in this blend stood up to cream in a big way, and it made me SO happy.  Like most Earl Grey blends, I do think it tastes better with a touch of cream and sugar - though I didn't add any sugar, pairing it with a sweet breakfast bread instead for the hit of sweet I thought it needed.

The name implies an additional citrus note, but other than the strength of the lemony bergamot, I'm not sure I tasted any additional citrus.  However, if that added citrus is what super boosted the power of the bergamot, I'm all for it.

Final thoughts:  Hell yes.  This has become one of my favorite Earl Grey blends.  Once I have worked my way through my current Earl Grey stash I will be re-ordering this blend instead of others.  If I ordered it now, I'd never get through my other Ear Greys.

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