Brews a very dark cup, quite strong but without being overwhelming.

Aroma is very complex: the inclusion of lavender with a robust, malty base tea produces an illusion of spice, suggestive of mace, allspice, or cinnamon, and a rich, bready quality. There's a lacey sort of floral and fruity quality, almost suggestive of potpourri, but thankfully not overwhelming. This tea's ingredients list only tea, lavender flowers, and natural flavorings, no pure bergamot oil, and the absence of a strong bergamot presence is notable, in a blend labelled as Earl Grey. The flavoring tastes a bit more like orange or candied orange than bergamot orange, which has a bit of a more bright, edgy quality.

Flavor is quite savory for a black tea, with only a moderate bitterness. Rich and thick-bodied, with a warming quality. Finish is surprisingly sweet.

I tend to like the combination of lavender with black tea, and I think this example puts a novel spin on these sorts of blends.

I liked this tea overall; I wish it had less of the potpourri-like quality, however. Like all Epi Teas' teas, I think this tea is very high in quality, but also priced prohibitively high, well over 50 cents a cup.

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