Earl Grey Impérial

My friend Shaunna spoiled me by sending a package of three tins of loose leaf tea from Dean & DeLuca - an Earl Grey, and two green teas (one a citrus blend and the other vanilla-infused.) I was thrilled to try them since D&D seems to have a fantastic reputation. I had never heard of the brand tea before (Mariage Fréres.)

Being that I had been baking so many sweet treats, it made more sense to me to try the Earl Grey (for some reason green tea and madeleines just don't go together in my head.) This tea is PUNGENT! Earl Greys always have a very distinctive scent to them - one that is, frankly, not very appealing to me. But the subtle nuances to the taste of this tea far outweighs any hesitations I might have due to its fragrance.

All that being said, the scent of this blend does not stray far from my generalization of Earl Grey scents: it is very strong and can be clearly discerned within moments of being opened from nearby. The can describes this blend as a daytime bergamot brisk tea. I can't lie - I had no idea what bergamot meant until after tasting and my review notes.

The first thing I noticed as I removed the infuser from my mug was the amount of particles sitting at the bottom of the mug. I was somewhat surprised by this, and am unsure whether it was a fluke, a sign of good/bad quality leaves, or just a problem with the infuser. I don't know. I do know D&D and this particular tea company have fantastic reputations, and the leaves from the tin look superb, but again - I was a little concerned by the large amount of small particles.

The personality of this tea is definitely like that of a man one would describe as a 'big teddy bear.' Essentially, the leaves pre-steeping were almost intimidating, but the flavor was much calmer with a distinctive aftertaste of citrus rind (not too acidic though.) I found that I steeped this tea for quite some time, and got very close to oversteeping; the bottom of the mug was bitter. This might have been due to the excess particles at the bottom.

The flavor well complemented the lemon madeleines I had baked earlier that afternoon. This tea is definitely good for snacking, meals, and tea services.

Bottom line: this tea is satisfying, though not something I would be likely to buy for myself in the future. However, drinking the remainder of the can definitely will not be a chore.