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Apparently I have a full box of this and not just a sample? I really need to make a spreadsheet!

Anyway, this is a green tea with lemon verbena that leans far more lemon than green. It isn’t a tart lemon, mind you. It’s a nice, pleasant lemongrass flavor. You can taste a little bit of the green; there’s a note of warm hay there that I like. I feel like a broken record here by saying it’s good for bagged, but that’s what I keep having to say. There are far nicer green teas out there with much more complex profiles. But if you are first waking up and need a quick pick-me-up, this works.

So, I’ve been drinking this for weeks now and never logged it. OOPS.

Anyway, as I said in the so-called Steep deluxe version review, this is a pretty decent bagged EG. And by that I mean, it’s good for being bagged. The more bagged EGs I try, the more I realize they will never stand up to loose leaf. But this one and the Teavana EG Cream are probably the best, with the Teavana being the only one that I can call comparable to loose leaf.

As for this, however, it’s a nice punch of Bergamot, without being bitey. I love that. With a splash of milk and a single Splenda, this is a nice wake-up brew for when you need something quick and easy. It should be noted that, even with the milk and Splenda, I can still (slightly) taste the tea base, so that’s nice. All in all, I enjoy this a bunch. It’s good for bagged, and above-average overall. I have about half a box left, and then I will likely get more. Yum.

Attention!
Attention!
We have Gong Fu. I repeat, we have Gong Fu!

Yes, you read that right. I’m trying it again. I came into acquisition of some small cups designed, not necessarily for Gong Fu, but for a more relaxed and gentle tea session. They are I’d say about 4-6 oz cups, and now that I have them (well, one) I am trying Gong Fu again.

I’m not exactly being scientific about this, just sort of mimicking what I see on all those youtube videos.

Anyway, after a quick rinse, I steeped for about 5 seconds. BTW: The leaves in the gaiwan smell like sweet potatoes and hay. I don’t like sweet potatoes. We’ll see how this goes.

It was very strong at first. A bit too robust for me. I tasted malt and leather, but a good deal of harsh tannin as well. As the session progressed, the tea mellowed out, turning smooth with cocoa and yes, sweet potato notes. However, I didn’t hate it. Those sweet potato tones shifted to apricot on the final two steeps, leaving a lingering sweetness in my mouth once the session was over. Overall, once the tea softened a bit, I found myself enjoying it! It’s not bad fixed this way. In fact, it’s pretty darn good! According to steepster, my original rating was 82, but I somewhat remember not liking this tea, so that 82 might have been before I stopped rating everything high, regardless of if I liked it or not. There’s no tasting note that I can find, so I have no idea.

As for the experience, I was almost sad when the session was concluded. I got a good seven or eight steeps from this ranging from the initial 5 seconds to about 2 minutes. I will say that one problem with gong-fu for me is that my Breville doesn’t possess a keep warm feature, so I can’t keep the temperature consistent, and I certainly don’t want to re-heat the water. Once I get that new kettle (hopefully next month) and I redo my kitchen, I may invest in a proper full gong-fu tea set. Nothing fancy, just something a bit more extensive than a single gaiwan and a teacup. I do think I would like a small teapot at least to go with it, and actual gong-fu cups. The small teacup, while nice, was still way too big for what I was putting in it!

So, my final thoughts. Well, guess what. I think I’m going to break my habit. I now see that gong-fu can greatly improve the texture/flavor of good quality tea. So hopefully, in the near future, I can try this again. Maybe I can acquire a nice Wuyi to try it with.

Showtune of the Moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n7X-st2QPc

It’s been a while since I had bread pudding, but this definitely tastes like it. Strong sweetness to this naturally, with raisin flavor and bread and custard notes. This is like a party in my mouth. The flavors explode, and it isn’t at all subtle. It’s right there OOMPH Bread Pudding!

Very delicious. I wish I could get a pound of this to drink every day. Good stuff.

It’s 12:30, and I just finished breakfast. Yes, breakfast. At Noon-Thirty. Don’t judge me.

Anyway, that means it’s Earl Grey time!

This is another one from that Earl Grey box I ordered from Staples. I’ve already had the regular Bigelow Earl Grey and think it’s lovely, so I was interested to try this “deluxe” version.

Brewed 212F/4min/12oz.

Taste is… meh. It isn’t very strong. Maybe I should have decreased the water amount for the tea, but then that has never been a problem with the usual Bigelow EG. Also, this is a very dark liquor. I don’t see how it could be a case of the tea being brewed too weak. It’s just the flavor is weak. Adding a Splenda to see if that helps.

It helps a smidge. The main difference between pre-sweetener and post-sweetener is it’s a more palatable “Meh”. Yinz know I like that big, in-your-face bergamot, and this ain’t it. This is a mellow, gentle EG, which as I always say, may be great for some people, not so much for me. I like to be able to taste the bergamot oil, not just have it be an aftersip thing. I will say the black tea base on this is decent, but it slightly leans bitter, even with the Splenda added.

Overall? I hate to say it, but I much prefer the original Bigelow EG. This one is smoother and subtler, but when I’m drinking my breakfast cuppa (whenever that may be) I want something strong. This misses strong by a bunch. It’s not bad tea, mind you. It doesn’t taste bad at all. More that it doesn’t taste period. I think I’ll have to save this for days when I want a cup to soothe me, rather than wake me up.

This gets a C.

This not only has anise in it, it is HEAVY on the anise.

I’m so glad this was in a sampler pack and not a full box.

EWWWW. I hate licorice anything.

I couldn’t bring myself to do more than take a few sips. I don’t think it’s bad tea, I just despise licorice.

Ew.

Got dumped.

Cuppa #3

This is heavy on the spice. I’m only getting a bit of chocolate, but it’s playing off nicely against the spice. There’s big cinnamon and nutmeg, and a surprisingly nice base. Wow, I wasn’t expecting this to even be drinkable. Hell, I half bought this just to see how bad it could be. But it’s actually good? Out of my three mugs so far today, this is the best.

You know what this tastes like? Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate. I’ve never had that before, but the flavor tastes very much like if you blended hot chocolate and pumpkin spice. It’s tasty. I can’t believe I’m recommending a bagged Pu, but this is really good. I mean, as with all these bagged teas, I will never beat out loose leaf, but I really think I could stash a few of these in my purse and enjoy them on the go. Good stuff.

Solid B.

Cuppa #2. And wouldn’t you know, it’s an Earl Grey!

Ok, so fair warning, I have no idea what it means to have an “Aged Earl Grey”, but seeing as how I bought every EG on Staples’ website, it came with the set.

Bit less scientific on this one. K-Water/5min/12oz/1 bag. I know full well that means I am underleafing for my water amount, but I didn’t want to add two bags. My mugs are just too big, I suppose.

Taste is… um, is it supposed to be that… whatever that is. It’s that odd profile again that may or may not be raisin. It’s a flavor that is metallic, but sweet. Someday I’ll figure it out.

EDIT It occurs to me my Keurig may need descaling. That could be why so many black teas have that weird flavor to them. I will start preparing my black teas via kettle and see if there is a difference in flavor.

Anyway, the bergamot I love so much is very lacking here. It’s there, just not as much as I like. I like a bold bergamot, and this? it’s just too subtle for me. Now, for some people, that might be a bonus, but here, it isn’t doing it for me. I am getting a lovely black tea flavor that isn’t at all bitter or astringent, and only a touch tannic. There’s a bit of wet earth there, if you really start trying to pick apart flavors. Honestly, this tastes more like a good black tea than anything Earl Grey. It’s frustrating because I was excited for the prospect of a really good bagged EG, instead, it’s just too dang subtle for me. Maybe adding sugar/splenda to it would bring out the bergamot, but I’m not really feeling sweetener tonight.

All in all: It’s not a bad tea but it’s not a good Earl Grey

Well, My order from staples arrived today. If you are wondering why I ordered from Staples of all places, it’s because I wanted to place a tea order to try some new Earl Greys, however, my cash wallet was empty for the month. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out how this got paid for.

Anway, box arrived while I was sleeping, and when I woke up, it was waiting for me on my kitchen chair. I love my mom. However, being that I just woke up, and would like to get some stuff done, it was time to try the “Awake English Breakfast” from the Tazo variety pack

Enough about me, ON TO THE TEA.

Now, I should probably begin by saying that I tried to be as scientific about this as possible, regarding the brewing instructions on the package. I wanted to try it their way first. So water was from Keurig (somewhere around 210F), 5min/8oz/one bag.

I want to begin, while it’s cooling, to say that it was very odd that this didn’t seem to want to steep right? I stuck the bag in the tea… and nothing happened. Nothing happened for three minutes; the water remained clear. I then dunked the teabag a bit, and POOF the tea appeared. Not sure if this is a common trait among this type of tea or this brand of tea, but I wanted to include it here.

The flavor is… not bad. Actually, not bad at all. Not good mind you, this will never beat anything loose-leaf, and especially not my tippy Yunnans. But for a CTC black, it’s decent. I’ve had worse. I’m getting strong tannins, and a large hit of astringency. There are also notes of wet leaves, leather, and possibly raisin? It’s that same bitey/sharp note I always have trouble identifying in tea. It is a little bitter, but as an English breakfast, I think that’s to be expected. However, you guys all know my sweet-tooth, and I didn’t require sweetener.

All and all, what do I think? Well, as I said. It ain’t great. But it’s decent. Actually, I’d put this slightly above average, when in comparison to other bagged English Breakfast teas. Not that I’ve had a bunch, but it’s better than the others I’ve tried. Never gonna beat a loose-leaf, but if you need something quick and easy, give it a shot.

C- overall, B for it’s kind.