Loose Leaf Early Grey

Form: Loose Leaf from the local Tea Emporium

Early Grey is a blended black tea, meaning that it is a mixture of various kinds of black teas (which often contain other elements as well). In the case of Earl Grey, it is a blend of Indian black teas, namely Ceylon however. The origin of this tea is in legend and open to debate. They say that an Indian Raja's (aka King's) young son was playing on his own and was forced to retreat up a tree because of a Tiger attack. The Second Earl Grey and British Prime Minister, Charles Grey, apparently saved the boy somehow. The Raja was so thankful he created a tea on the spot, added the much prized Bergamot Orange and named it after the Earl in thanks.
This aside, this is a very easy tea to enjoy at all times of the day. It has a very distinctive aroma and, as such, flavour due to the bergamot orange extract it contains. Surprisingly though, the scent is rather different to the taste, which is light and fruity compared to the almost smokey and slightly fruity flavour it delivers. As anyone who has tasted leaf and bag tea enough will know, loose leaf tea is signifigantly nicer than tea in bags and, as such, this particular Earl Grey (which seemingly is the tea shop's own blend) was particuarly nice. The wonderful scent of the bergamot orange wofting from the teapot promised something good and it delivered. This tea offered the slightest taste of the fruity flavour, not too much and really just enough to please. The smokey flavour, which I am a fan of in most cases, was only slightly present (a feature which my smokey tea disliking partner was pleased with) which gave the ceylon and other black teas enough room to be fully appreciated and meld with the bergamot. A very smooth tea which, I found to be, best enjoyed with a slight dash of sugar to bring out the flavour, yet it is perfectly nice without sugar and also with milk.

"Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea" - Sydney Smith, English writer and clergyman