Tonight's review is about Teapigs Earl Grey Strong. Check out the tea here!
Now, you may of read my other post about my Teapigs order arriving. But if you've not seen it, here is a little run down.
Teapigs specialise in high quality tea packaged nicely in, what they call, tea temples. I had decided that I wanted to try their Jasmine Pearl's tea and ordered a box of 15 tea temples. But alongside the larger boxes, Teapigs also sell smaller, tester sized boxes called teapiglets, which contain just two teabags so you can try before you commit to purchasing a full box (we've all been there, you buy a tea, decide it's awful and then your stuck with a nearly fully box!).
For some reason, (probably monetary!) I opted to not buy a full box of Earl Grey Strong which is rather odd as I love, and am obsessed, with Earl Grey. But I think, on this occasion, my love of Jasmine Pearls won over!
I will admit that on the first brewing, I totally mucked up the brewing process and the tea was awful and bitter. Then I realised that I had got side tracked and had over brewed this tea, and considering I don't add milk, it made a rather bitter mess.This was no reflection on the tea at all, rather I had let it brew for considerably longer then the three minutes suggested!
So, I decided to try again this evening, and brew it properly.
Earl Grey Strong smells just like it's described. It's incredibly fragrant, and strongly scented. it's absolutely gorgeous. But, sadly, when I picked up the teabag, I realised that there was a massive hole in the bottom of the bag, so what was meant to be a quick brew made in the advert during Googlebox, I had to rip open the bag, find the infuser and then wait for the tea to brew three minutes. Quite a bit of a performance.
Still, I was not going to be deterred. I set the time for exactly three minutes and waited. Oh, the joy of this tea. It really smells utterly divine. It's mouthwateringly so.
I had brewed this tea perfectly - and it tasted it!
First of all I must say that the tea Teapigs use is always high quality, and this black tea is no different to the green tea that I've tried. It's strong, robust, and when brewed correctly is nicely sweet rather then bitter.
It has a nice depth to it and the citrus and bergamot tastes are well balanced and exquisite. As I sat back and curled up on the sofa, I realised how tasty and delicious this drink actually is. So delicate, gentle and easy on the palate.
The citrus taste isn't artificial at all, it's natural and lovely and incredibly moreish.
As an Earl Grey addict, I'm quite hard on Earl Grey blends. I hold the standard up really quite high. When I first tasted this tea, I was let down because it was quite awful. Undrinkable even. But, that was my fault, not Teapigs.
When brewed correctly, this is one of the best Earl Grey's around.
It is vital to brew this tea in the right way, particularly if you can't or wont add milk to it. If you do it wrong, not only will you have a cup of tea you won't enjoy, but you also waste precious teabags, (or temples in this case!).
I can quite easily kick myself having made such a mistake when I first brewed this tea. But, you learn by your mistakes and I certainly will - don't load up the washing machine when you have a tea brewing!
I will certainly invest in a full sized box of Teapigs Earl Grey Strong. It will be hard to resist doing so!
As for the hole in the bag, it was a bit of a pain, however, these things happen and I have experienced this with many different brands. Normally, Teapigs is spot on and the bags are fairly robust, so I've no worries about that. I'm just grateful I had an infuser!
As a Earl Grey nut, I put two thumbs up for Teapigs Earl Grey Strong. It's ace, and hope you get the chance to enjoy it too!
P.S - Love the cute little Bulldog on the packaging.
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