Organic Earl Grey (Loose)
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Commercial Description
A traditional blend of hand-picked black teas from India and natural Oil of Bergamot. The Assam is mellowed a bit with a smooth south Indian Tea.
Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
85 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5Whiskey (45 reviews) on Dec. 23rd, 2019
This smells and tastes like some halfway point between Bigelow Earl Grey and Twinings Earl Grey. With Bigelow, the bergamot note is strong and pointed and the tea has a more earthy taste. With Twinings, the bergamot note is more gentle and the tea has a more woody taste. With Harney & Sons Earl Grey, the bergamot note is pointed, but also broad. I don't have to add lemon with this, but with other brands of Earl Grey, particularly Twinings, I often feel the need to add a squeeze of lemon.
The tea taste here is quite subdued. That's where it deviates from both other teas. I'd say that this tastes more like lemon/bergamot tea than it does like black tea. I may have just gotten the tea when it's too fresh, though. There are about 2 years left before the "best by" date on the bottom. So, it could be that the bergamot note is leading at this point and won't be as strong later.
I don't dislike this tea, but I also don't feel like I'm drinking tea when I have it. Every tea I've had from Harney & Sons thus far has had the tea itself taking a backseat to other flavors. As someone who loves tea, I find myself quite disappointed by this, but not surprised. There seem to be a lot of brands creating "teas" that are essentially a bit of low-quality, low-taste tea with a bunch of other flavors that completely disguise the fact that it's even tea that you're drinking. David's Tea is another brand that does this.
Overall, I'd say that this isn't a tea lover's tea. It has a good flavor and is good-tasting with a bit of honey. But, it lacks any real tea flavor at this point. For more of a tea flavor, I think Twinings is more suitable, though it does best with a bit of lemon as well as honey. For more of a punch of bergamot, but with a tea flavor that's still present, I'd recommend the Bigelow Earl Grey instead. I don't find that it needs a squeeze of lemon to satisfy.
My brewing method for this tea was:
100ºC temperature
300ml water
2 tsp tea
3 min duration
1 spoon raw honey
Update: After making this quite a few times, I've become more impressed with the flavor. Loose teas, particularly flavored kinds can have the flavoring unevenly distributed. So, I'm raising the rating from 78 to 85. There are definitely some flavors I still crave from Twinings or Bigelow Earl Grey teas, which this one doesn't have. But, this is a good tea and I'm glad to add it as one of my regulars.
80 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 3/5E. Alex Gerster (66 reviews) on Aug. 11th, 2013
Received an 8 ounce tin of this tea for Christmas, and have nearly finished without ever having left a review... It is really a wonderful tea, that is both bold and yet light--good for traditional afternoon English tea, or just for a casual cup to sip through out the day.
Nice base of primarily Assam and Keemun teas, with a bit of Ceylon and Formosa Oolong in the mix along with oil of bergamot. Just a touch more lemony than the Twinings loose Earl Grey that I grew up on, and with a much stronger aroma.
I brew it for 3 to 4 minutes, as the 5 minute brew recommended on the package makes it a bit bitter for me. Any leftover tea from the pot is wonderful iced. Goes especially well with buttery Scottish shortbread or Walker's Ginger Biscuits!
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