Earl Grey

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

FLUSH!

First or second? And why would you ruin it by greasing it with floor-cleaner?

--Blair "No, this is not a troll, it's an honest opinion."

Earl Grey can definitely be an acquired taste. I didn't like it when I tried it for the first time, either. Even now, it's something I don't like all the time. I go through spells where I drink a lot of it (mostly in the afternoons. Tried it at breakfast time once - BIG MISTAKE!) and then I might go for months without drinking any Earl Grey at all.

But before you dismiss Earl Grey totally as something you don't like, bear in mind that there are many different blends of it available and not all are created equal. Maybe you just tried the wrong brand? I think most of the Earl Greys blended for American consumers are too heavy on the bergamot, resulting in a soapy-tasting tea. It's worth experimenting a bit to find the right amount of bergamot for your particular taste. For me, Twinings seems to have just about the right amount of bergamot. I also like the Republic of Tea's Earl Greyer, though it is a bit pricy for the quality. Other brands like Stash, Lipton and Bigelow have so much bergamot in them, it almost anesthesizes the pallette.

Try Jackson's Earl Grey sometime, if you get a chance. The bergamot in it is very subtle; just a hint, really. It's quite different from any other Earl Grey I've tried. Jacksons used to claim that theirs was the original Earl Grey formula, until they were taken over by Twinings, who makes the same claim. Now that they're part of the same conglomerate, they don't argue about this anymore.

Ahmad "English Afternoon" is a black tea blend flavored with bergamot, but not as much as in their "Earl Grey". Probably fits your description of the Jackson's and Twinings Earl Greys above, though I've not tried either of those.

stePH in cup: Russian Caravan from Limbo (bulk)

I went to this very mediocre Tapas restaurant in Clarendon, VA and they were serving Earl Grey Iced. It was bad, and added to the general mediocracy of the place. That said, I sometimes enjoy Earl Grey in hot tea. I agree the mood has to hit me right.

Steve

(overpriced and mildly treasonous)

--Blair

The East India Company's teas are very good. I like their Staunton Earl Grey. It's been so long since I had it, I'd forgotten about it. I agree it is overpriced. I used to get it a pretty reasonable price at Marshall's and TJ Maxx, but that was several years ago.

Funny you should say this, because for the past few days I've been thinking about trying Earl Grey iced. Last night I decided to make some and let it steep in the fridge overnight. I was afraid the bergamot would be overpowering in a cold beverage, so I made a mixture of half PG Tips and half Twinings Earl Grey. This proved to be a wise decision; I had two glasses of it at lunchtime today and the bergamot was quite strong. 100% Earl Grey would have been way too overpowering. The tea was pleasant enough; if I try it again I may try

60% PG and 40% Earl Grey. I'm trying to find a combination that will give the iced tea a little extra pizzazz without overwhelming it entirely.

It might have tasted better if the Bergamot was very subtle. The stuff at this restaurant was not so good. I do like the flavoring of the iced tea at Cheesecake Factory, which is apparently some kind of mango. Its not sweet like most flavors and you can still taste the tea. Let me know if you find a good balance and I'll try it too.

Steve

Nice to see I'm not the only one here shopping for tea at Marshall's and TJ Maxx :-)

stePH in cup: unidentified oolong (bulk) from Limbo, 2nd infusion

I've found the coffee and tea at TJ Maxx questionable at best. Both have been a bit old for my tastes and one of them was obviously low-quality coffee that had been roasted very dark to cover up some pretty unappealing flavors. I've found some good coffee and tea equipment there though...

Steve

It's a matter of getting there at the right time. Sometimes stock does hang around too long, but other times it is quite fresh. The tea I bought was still a year away from its expiry date. The problem is that when you find something you like, it probably won't be there the next time you go back and is probably difficult to obtain elsewhere.

I routinely make Twinnings EG as a cold-brew. In fact, that's the only way I have it. Three bags per 5-cup batch steeped overnight in the fridge. Afterwards I add a total of 15 drops of stevia glycerite to the batch for zero-calorie sweetness. This drink is not intended as something refined for sipping. Just slam it down when you're thirsty, as an alternative to drinking water, fruit juice, or soft drinks. Very refreshing. I especially like it after working out in my home gym. And the kids love it too. I'd rather see them drinking EG than polluting themselves with cola.

I also drink iced tea by the gallon when I get home from the gym. The jury is still out on the Earl Grey as a cold drink, though. It was not bad, but I think I prefer the plain stuff iced. Next time I may try a little more plain tea and a little less EG and see how that goes.

Try icing jasmine tea. It's not bad. The cheap yellow box jasmine from Fujian is fine.

--scott