Having not been either impressed nor repulsed by Bigelow's regular Earl Grey, and having not gotten any new teas to review for some months, and having to work down a stockpile of reviewed teas, I finally raided my wife's cache of the decaf version to try it for a report here. I've missed RateTea more than I've missed out on the experience of drinking this.

The difference between regular and decaf with this product wasn't as vast as with English Teatime—probably because a strong and reasonably good dose of bergamot flavors both iterations to the extent they overpower the base tea. Dry-bag scent was pleasant: just orange, virtually no tea. The in-cup aroma is almost pure bergamot, hardly any of tea, but also, a bit salty or musty...sweaty, to combine the two. The flavor loses the sweat vibe (thankfully!), and otherwise is bergamot-dominated, but for a wispy, weak, ephemeral, yet noticeable passing of metallic undertones I've experienced with a few decaf black teas before.

If, like my better half, you are affected by caffeine and strongly desire something "Earl Grey" flavored to drink before bedtime, this would do to satisfy the craving. Otherwise, there are numerous better Earl Greys out there, even down close to this price point.

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