This fragrant loose leaf tea offers a wonderfully aromatic and flavoursome Earl Grey experience. Milder and fruitier than a traditional Earl Grey, this blend imparts a uniquely muscatel rich Darjeeling flavour with enticing hints of bergamot enhanced by pieces of bergamot fruit.
Darjeeling black teas are known as the champagne of tea. Usually made from the Chinese Camellia Sinensis Sinensis variety of the tea plant, they impart a thin-bodied and light-coloured brew with muscatel notes and a floral aroma that makes them stand out from other black teas. Notice the wonderful mix of mossy-green and dark brown colours of the leaves, reminiscent of a forest floor in autumn.
To make this characteristic interpretation of Earl Grey tea, we have carefully selected a premium Darjeeling tea blend and delicately infused it with the finest bergamot oil. We use 100% pure essential bergamot oil, which hails from the coastal region of Calabria in Southern Italy. The tea is then mixed with dried bergamot fruit pieces - also from Calabria, Italy. The delicate Darjeeling leaves are beautifully complemented by the luxurious scent and flavour of the bergamot fruit.
Enjoyed mid-morning - or in the afternoon - this is an exceptional Earl Grey tea with an abundance of the distinctive flavours of Darjeeling black tea.
Ingredients: Darjeeling Black Tea Blend, Bergamot Oil, Bergamot Pieces.
Region & Time of Harvest
This tea is harvested in Spring from Darjeeling, India. (Bergamot from Calabria, Italy)
Smells divine and there are real pieces of bergamot but I haven't used it as yet.
This review has not been appraised.
Rating:
Darjeeling Earl Grey No.9
Wednesday, 29 May 2019 | Andrew
Having experienced a wide selection of teas in my life my expectations of this particular tea were high. A golden pale amber colour without a strong aroma. I followed conventional wisdom for Darjeeling by heating my water to 90 degrees and without being too exact this can be achieved by using a boiled kettle but wait around 2 minutes and then pour on the hot water. Or use a kettle with a variable temperature sensor having warmed your pot and cups first. Let it steep for 2 minutes as over steeping can bring out the bitterness of cheaper teas. This tea is both black and green, not fully oxidized and has the look, feel and aroma of a 90% semi oxidized oolong tea as it should. Sticking your nose into the bag however allows you to fully appreciate the complex character and heady citrus notes. Now there seemed to be plenty of bergamot pieces mixed in with the tea leaves but we have to remember that bergamot is more bitter than grapefruit and care should be taken to achieve the right balance. It is this balance that I do not believe is right for this particular blend as it is the bitterness which dominates. This leads me to suggest that the quality of the tea leaves could be improved further as on inspection the tea itself consists I believe of a variety of leaf sizes and therefore quality. Indeed this blend is perhaps not as good as one would expect and is at the lower end of 'premium'. I find it produces too much bitterness without developing the bouquet. Though I must say the bergamot pieces are actually 5 star and delicious when eaten. The tea is quite refreshing drunk cold with the bitterness being less noticeable. Only 2 stars awarded due to the bitterness of the tea leaves.
