Creme de la Earl Grey by Little White House
Black Tea / Flavoured
$14.00 for 100g
First Impressions
Creme de la Earl Grey is the standard black tea that comes with the afternoon tea at Little White House (you can find my review of their afternoon tea service here), and the tea is also available for purchase if you want the opportunity to recreate the feeling of afternoon tea at home. Creme de la Earl Grey comes in a plastic pouch that is resealable with a gold tabbed wire. It isn’t air-tight, so I would up transferring the tea into an empty tea tin.
The dry leaf has a beautiful and inviting bergamot and vanilla aroma to it, with light floral notes in the background. Creme de la Earl Grey consists of: Assam and Ceylon black teas, vanilla, bergamot, flower blossoms, and flavouring.
Preparation
Little White House recommends steeping Creme de la Earl Grey in boiling water (100°C/212°F) for 3 minutes, then to stir, and steep for an additional 2 minutes (5 minutes total). I followed the steeping instructions for my initial steep.
First Taste
Creme de la Earl Grey steeps to a golden orange. There’s a very strong bergamot aroma that wafts up from the tea. There is a noticeable flavour of bergamot and creamy vanilla in the tea, as well as the flavours of the strong black tea base. There is a robust malty flavour and I found it to be pleasantly strong, like a breakfast tea.
I’ve had this tea as part of the afternoon tea service and I’ve had it both straight and with some additions added (sugar cubes, cream/milk). I opted to have it straight/plain at home, and found it to be quite enjoyable although I do think my favourite way to drink Creme de la Earl Grey is to have it with a touch of honey and evaporated milk.
A Second Cup?
I resteeped Creme de la Earl Grey twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour of Creme de la Earl Grey stayed fairly consistent with each resteep, although the bergamot and vanilla flavours do get a bit weaker with each steep.
My Overall Impression
I loved Little White House’s Creme de la Earl Grey. I found the flavour of this Earl Grey blend to be quite pleasant, and the strong creamy vanilla notes really set it apart from other Earl Grey blends. I liked the tea plain, but I enjoy it best when made with cream and sweetener (local honey is always a good choice!). Creme de la Earl Grey is a great tea choice if you’re having afternoon tea at home.
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