Green Earl Grey from Dragonwater

Scent in package: mainly floral, roses, and a slight bergamot background
Brewed in: filter bag
Steeped: 3 min@ steaming, 4 min@ steaming, 2.5 min.@ steaming
Cup: Café mug

This is an interesting tea – sort of the green version of Rosy Earl Grey. The base tea is Japanese Sencha, which I prefer to most Chinese green tea, and it’s quite a beautiful mixture in the package, the thin green “tea strips” mingling with pink rose petal bits. It smells lovely, preparing one for a relaxing experience.

I’m on my third cup now, and I think I’m finally starting to figure out what’s been stumping me about this “Earl Grey” tea. In a typical earl grey, the bergamot is quite citrus-y, but not quite orange. In this particular tea, the natural sweetness of the sencha is a perfect backdrop for the not-so-subtle rose flavor. Highlighted by those two flavors, the bergamot tastes more “lemony”, which is quite refreshing when everything is taken in together.

The first thing you taste is the sencha – light, and naturally sweet, almost like someone added sugar to the cup. The rose flavor is really more of a “scent”, but it binds with the taste as I sip, wafting up through my nose as the tea rolls over my tongue. It has a beautifully thick viscosity. The aftertaste is where the bergamot comes out to really bind everything together. It’s very complex, with hints of grassiness sneaking out in the sencha here and there.

I love this tea – it’s relaxing and refreshing at the same time. Not only does it calm my mind on a busy afternoon, but also sort of “wakes me up” a bit, perhaps that’s the bergamot. In any case, I’d highly recommend it – a sample is just $1, or you can get a full quarter pound for just $5.00…very affordable.