Tazo’s Earl Grey (tea bag format) was the one tea that got me through a week of instructing a martial arts kids camp. My body is very anti-mornings. Whatever it is about my chemistry, mornings are just not for me. Getting up to do a kids camp at 9am was a strain. Getting somewhere by 9am is bad enough, never mind that it’s to deal with high energy kids. Ugh. Don’t get me wrong. It was a good experience. It was even fun at times, you know, when the caffeine kicked in. But kids at 9am. Dude.
I was in “grab whatever caffeine I could find” mode, and I found a box of Tazo’s Earl Grey in my pantry. Not my favorite, but it met all the qualifications of having caffeine and being palatable.
Dry: Overwhelmingly flowery and tart. The sort of overwhelming that makes me think this tea will be gross. All flowers. No tea. Just flowery, citrusy froo froo stuff. For an Earl, he smells like a princess.
Brewing: Tea Bag, 8oz water, 212*F, 2m
Aroma: Oh THERE’s the tea. Post-brewing it smells like black tea first, tangy flowers second.
Flavor: Black tea and a bit of citrus. Nothing like what it smelled like in the bag. Bit of a slick, oily mouthfeel. Nothing too special or crazy.
Bonus! What I did like about this tea, is that when I got back after the camp, my kitchen smelled pleasantly of bergamot (not the overwhelming bag smell) since I left the bag on the counter. In fact, even after I tossed the bag in the garbage, it made my garbage smell better.
I’m not a super huge fan of Tazo tea bags, but this one did the job suitably and I was able to function at a level somewhere just above Zombie.
What: Earl Grey by Tazo (the tea dust, not the full leaf)
Type: Black, Flavored
Cost: $10.99/24 bags ($0.46/bag)
Cost per Cup: $0.46/cup, $0.23 if you steep twice
Resteeps: 1
Tea Score: 60 – It’s tea bag Earl Grey. It’s decent.
Cupboard Score: 68 – It’s convenient, quick, and easy for a morning cup. I also don’t feel terrible about oversteeping it or just plain forgetting it as I run out the door. Not gonna cry if it’s not in my cupboard but it’s good for what it is – a quick caffeine fix.
[…] Tazo’s Earl Grey […]