Interesting tea, a step up from their standard Earl Grey flavor-wise, but hardly any aroma in-cup and almost none in the dry bag. The net effect rendered a slightly lower rating, though if given a rigidly binary choice between the two, I'd take this.

Revolution's version of this, with the same name, is still my favorite, being reasonably strong on all fronts. But Benner's, a recurring component of seasonal/holiday variety packs and advent calendars, is worth pouring into one's mouth. Based on the almost complete absence of aroma, I thought the flavor would be old, flat or weak, like a lot of cheap-motel teas wrapped in much thinner paper that have lost whatever was their identity to aeration over time. Instead, it surprisingly came out well as a creamy bergamot with what seems to be a decent, somewhat astringent Ceylon base, and a mild, discontinuous hint of lavender. More bergamot seems to be used in this than their regular Earl Grey. Moreover, mouth-breathing after taking a few sips yields more of a cooling effect than straight tea should provide, as if mint or other similar ester were a minor component of this.

All that makes the lack of smell rather dumbfounding, but it is what it is. The strongest aroma, strangely, was in the wet bag, and mainly base tea. More than most other teas, something about steeping unlocks all the flavor components of this one, both on the tongue and through the nose. Maybe I sampled a batch held over unsold from a prior year?

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