Earl Grey tea is commonly a black tea with bergamot oil. According to my on-line research, thank you Wikipedia, bergamot oranges are grown commercially in Italy. They have a dstinct flavor, often used in teas.
There are various varities of Earl Grey teas...
Lady Grey -
Lavendar Lady Grey is flavored with lavendar.
Citrus Lady Grey is flavored with Seville oranges.
London Fog is Earl Grey with steamed milk & vanilla syrup.
French Earl Grey is flavored with rose petals.
Russian Earl Grey is flavored with citrus peels & lemongrass.
Earl Grey Green is obviously green tea leaves with bergamot.
Rooibos Earl Grey is Earl Grey with red tea (or South African herbal tea) & bergamot.
And that brings me to tonight's tea...Rooibos Earl Grey from the wonderful people at Adagio.
Oh Earl Grey how I love your warm wonderful flavor.
And rooibos tea always calms me down.
I love a good cup of rooibos at the end of the day when I want to unwind & settle down before going to bed. Rooibos has a way of relaxing me & helping me drift off to sleep.....
Tonight I'm excited about brewing this pot of tea. I'm using my new cast iron teapot.
Since I started my obsession with loose leaf tea, I have been looking for the perfect cast iron teapot. After much on-line research & searching high & low for the perfect teapot, I will stumble across one at a favorite store....V&T Supermarket in Hempstead. I luck out & find some great deals there on tea accessories.
Nothing overly fancy...in fact, it's quite plain. And you would probably expect me to want something over the top exotic, but I went for something simple. Something functional.
Here it is....
Simple...but functional.
For the record, the teapot warmer is also cast iron. Found on Amazon for a mere $11.
I will 'wash' the pot before I brew my tea tonight. By washing it, I merely run boiling hot water through it. I will take the time to care for this pot. No soap. Just hot water to clean it. And I leave it air dry on the drain board. Let's hope I can keep it clean & not get any rust.
After I wash the pot, I open the bag of tea. I love the smell. It's definitely a strong orange scent that first greets you. But then there is something behind it. I can't quite place it, but it's wonderful. It lets you know this tea is going to be delicious.
Adagio lists this tea as rooibos tea with citrus peels, blue cornflowers & natural Earl Grey flavor.
Here is what the tea looks like in the bag....
I am now faced with the decision of which teacup & saucer to use. I seem to have amassed quite the collection of teapots, teacups & saucers since the loose leaf tea obsession has taken over. I seem to find new stuff that I MUST HAVE!
Hey Anthony....call Hoarders now! I expect to be found burried in a large mass of teapots!
Tonight I will use a new addition to the collection. Found for a mere $6 at Home Goods, I lucked out & bought two of these...
I love floral patterns on teacups. I also love solids & funky designs....but floral patterns will always grab my attention. I lucked out at the Home Goods in Hempstead recently & found these. I have seen them on Amazon for $50 for a set of four....so I was glad when I found the two for $6 each. Ahhh....Home Goods. Have I mentioned how much I love that store?
So tonight I am relaxing.....sipping this wonderful cup of flavorful deliciousness. Warm citrus with that light floral hint....it's perfect.
Such a great flavor filling my mouth....I let the citrus & floral notes entice me into finishing the entire pot....which I will gladly do.
I am amazed at how long I will linger over this pot.
I don't want to rush it.
Tonight I want to relax & savor the flavor.
I want to let the tensions from work roll away.
I need to destress.
Sometimes I wonder if the people who grow these teas realize at how much I enjoy their teas!
So thank you Adagio for this wonderful flavor.
For the record, yes, I would share this lovely pot with others....just not tonight.
Tonight, it's all mine.
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