Day 19: Cream of Earl Grey

Hello friends and family!

Welcome back to another day of 24 days of tea. Today is the last Friday before Christmas, which means there are lot of parties underway all of the city. But before we were allowed to get into the Christmas spirit, we sat down this morning to have a pot of tea together, as promised.

Brooke: Oooh, Cream of Earl Grey!
Stacey: Oh yay!
Brooke: I’m going to add eggnog to mine to be cute.
Stacey: Ick! Eggnog!

Tea: Cream of Earl Grey

Description: Lovers of Earl Grey adore this creamy alternative to the original blend. You’ll recognize the same high-quality black tea, the same citrus burst of bergamot oil, the same beautiful grey-blue petals. However this version adds a touch of vanilla, and the result is an unexpectedly rich, creamy taste experience.

Ingredients: Black tea, cornflowers, marigolds. With natural flavouring (Guess that’s the vanilla)

Steeping Instructions: 1.25 tsp, 96°C, 4-7 minutes

—-

Brooke: The smell is so nice! It is obviously not your typical Earl Grey, it has a little something extra.
Stacey: It’s got to be the cream!

*sip*

Stacey: Mmm it is creamy!
Brooke: What do you think of the tea André?
André: I’ve had it before (Ah yes, check out our blog post from last year, here. Oh and what I surprise, we also had it the year before that), but it’s one of there better ones. It’s not as in your face as a regular Earl Grey.
Stacey: Did you say invasive?
André:  “In-your-face”. The regular Earl Grey really hits you in the face.
Stacey: Ah, that makes more sense.
Brooke and André take a few minutes to discuss the possibility of Earl Grey tea invading something.

Later in the day, our friend MK texted Brooke to provide her and her brother’s opinions:

MK: What do you think of the tea Doug?
Doug: It tastes creamy but I dunno. I normally get steeped teas from Tim Hortons–2 cream 2 sugar..
MK: It’s wonderful!
Brooke: What makes it wonderful?
MK: It’s fragrant. Simple, vanilla-y and creamy. I could drink this everyday!

Tea vibes:

We used our favourite feature on Stacey’s phone to describe our thoughts, and here is what the voice-type feature provided:

Brooke: Evening with creamy rendition of a classic. Rather than having a better x or black g h s. Sale through your sips, lake huron. Ocean cruise but like a wintry, iran, air house, london.

Stacey: I’m really clingy (Stacey: I swear this voice-type feature has it out for me). Really tasty just so smooth and delicate adults. If you have a great way less harsh am. Eon 10.

And so ends another tea. We hope you all have a wonderful Friday evening, full of laughter and cheer. If you’ll excuse us, we have to go get ready for our parties!

Until next tea,
Stacey and Brooke

It’s hit you like a pink balloon!

 

Day 17: Cream of Earl Grey

Good morning readers!

It’s a cold one out there yet again! I don’t know about you, but I would have loved to spend the day to curled up indoors with a good book and a cup of cream of earl grey tea. Instead I had to take ice off my eye lashes…we can dream right?

Tea: Cream of Earl Grey

Description: A Creamy Twist

Lovers of Earl Grey adore this creamy alternative to the original blend. You’ll recognize the same high-quality black tea, the same citrus burst of bergamot oil, the same beautiful grey-blue petals. However this version adds a touch of vanilla, and the result is an unexpectedly rich, creamy taste experience.

Ingredients: Organic: Black tea, cornflowers. With natural vanilla and bergamot flavouring.

Steeping Prep: 1.25 tsp, 98°C, 3-5 min

—

André joined us again for another three-way review. We all held onto our mugs for dear life as they warmed up our hands.

André: Mmm, smells great! I love Earl Grey, but I’ve never tried Cream of Earl Grey.
Stacey: Based on the ingredients I think the only difference is that they add vanilla.
André: So it will be like a London Fog?
Stacey: That’s what I thought too last time we tried it.
Brooke: GAH why isn’t there a proper tune to this song?! “No Woman No Cry…”
Stacey and André: …

*sip*

Stacey: Mmm, it tastes creamier than I remember.
Brooke: Yep, putting milk into it.
André: I love it already! I like that it’s like their Earl Grey but a little less intense.
Brooke: Oh, much better.
André: Oh boy! I like it. I really like it!
Brooke: The milk just got rid of the bitterness. I wasn’t in the mood for the bitterness today, I’m already bitter.
Stacey and André: …
Brooke: If you could think of a location that this tea reminds you of, what would it be?
André: Late nights working at cafés. Also Picard. “Tea, Earl Grey. Hot.”
Stacey: My Nana’s apartment. She had a lot of cool old furniture and trinkets. And my Mom always talked about how they would always drink tea together. I just feel like she would have really enjoyed this tea.
Brooke: Aw, that’s nice. I think of a fancy hotel, like Lord Elgin. Sitting on cream coloured cushions listening to a piano player.
André: What would the piano player be playing?
Brooke: Hmm, a nice waltz.
Stacey: That sounds like a lovely image.
Brooke: Nooo woman no cry.. 

Tea Vibes:

Stacey: This tea is light and airy and doesn’t bog you down like a regular Earl Grey might. The hint of vanilla is quite lovely and comforting. Not quite a London Fog but a lot less sugar too. 4/5.

Brooke: This is not your usual Earl Grey; the vanilla tones make it a much more sophisticated drink. It’s sweet but not sugary. It’s flavourful but not overpowering. The milk did help mute the bitterness of the black tea though, so I would suggest adding it to your cup. I wouldn’t drink it every day but it did make me feel fancy, and everyone needs to feel fancy every once in a while. 3/5

André: I find that it’s a lot sweeter when I smell it than when I drink it. And it’s lighter than a regular Earl Grey, which is perfect when you are looking for an alternative to the heaviness of a black tea. It would be a nice well balanced afternoon tea. 3.5/5

Another tea down, only a few more to go! With Brooke heading home tomorrow and me leaving on Friday we will try out best to get out our daily tea blogs.  With the help of skype, google chats, and our families, we’ll do it (just for you)! Wish us luck!

Until next tea,
Stacey and Brooke

 This one’s mostly for Brooke.

 

Cream of Earl Grey

Hello fellow tea drinkers!

After a weekend of dancing and formal events we’re back for another tea time. Let’s jump right in!

Since we skipped two black teas (see our: Crème Brûlée post) and we both had a long day of master’s work ahead of us, we decided to go back for a caffeine-induced black tea.

Brooke: So you push from the bottom and I’ll pull it out from the top. *Pop* Well that was eas– [mid sentence, the tea container flies out of her hand and rolls under the radiator]-y.
Stacey: Ohh…
Brooke: Well… it’s a feisty one, at least…oooh, Organic Cream of Earl Grey!

Tea: Organic Cream of Earl Grey

Ingredients:  Black tea, cornflowers, natural vanilla and bergamot flavouring.

DAVIDsTEA Description: “A creamy twist Lovers of Earl Grey adore this creamy alternative to the original blend. You’ll recognize the same high-quality black tea, the same citrus burst of bergamot oil, the same beautiful grey-blue petals. However this version adds a touch of vanilla, and the result is an unexpectedly rich, creamy taste experience.”

—

This tea was listed as a medium-caffeine black tea, so given our last experience with Salted Caramel, we opted to have one cup each instead of a pot. We steeped 1.5tsp of tea in 98 degree water for approximately 4 minutes.  Then we just let the aroma take over…

Stacey: Oh, it smells like a London Fog.
Brooke: I’m going to love this.

*sip*

 Stacey: You know for smelling like London Fog, I’m not really getting the London Fog taste. But that’s not a bad thing; I was thinking it would be much like the London Fog you get at a Second Cup. I like this better, because it doesn’t have the extra sugar.
Brooke: Makes me think of my aunt Tracey! : ) She often offers me tea when I come for a visit and it’s always a type of Earl Grey (Lady Grey, I think?). This one is DEVINE. No need to throw any milk or sugar into this baby!

[We paused to watch a video of Brooke’s baby niece talking to a star, a moon, and a sheep. Aaaadorable.]

Brooke: The vanilla is wonderful; it really softens the blow of such a strong tea. Also, babies.
Stacey: I am really enjoying this brew; this is definitely a sip-able, drinkable tea.  Yes, babies.
Brooke: Hopefully the caffeine doesn’t make you go too crazy. We can’t have that again.

Tea Vibes

Stacey: This is certainly not your typical cup of Earl Grey but it’s not too wacky either. DAVIDsTEA doesn’t throw intense flavours at you; just subtle hints of vanilla; that changes it up a bit. If you’re a fan of London Fogs, this is the tea for you (with less of a sugary base, of course). Mmm! A solid tea and a good staple to have in our cupboards. I give it 8/10 because it’s the best Earl Grey I think I’ve ever tasted.

Brooke:  This is a good morning tea; it starts you off on the right foot, creamy and smooth. No milk needed, no sugar needed. Reminds me of my Aunt-tea (get it?). Yep, I’m okay with us buying a batch of this for the cupboard [Stacey: I’m okay with that too, we need some regulars in here]. I know I keep giving this out, but another solid 8.5/10.

What’s a better way to start a morning than babies and tea? Hmm? Exactly.

Well, a bit of a shorter post today, but honestly this tea needs no lavish description to promote itself; it’s a solid brew. Definitely a must-try for Earl Grey lovers everywhere.

Until next tea,
Stacey and Brooke

Here, have this baby in a teacup.