Simple Loose Leaf, Casablanca Earl Grey Green

Simple Loose Leaf Description:
A unique blend of our nutty Organic Gunpowder and Nilgiri Black Indian Tea flavored with peppermint leaves and citrus bergamot oil. A wonderful and surprisingly delicious variation on the traditional Earl Grey. Enjoy this aromatic cup hot for a delicious uplift, or for a Moroccan twist, add a bit of sugar.

Peppermint, Organic Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea, South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Black Tea, N/A Bergamot Flavors

Sample Provided by Simple Loose Leaf

My Review:
I LOVE EARL GREY! There I said. Actually, in Internet terms I guess I shouted it. I love Earl Grey black. I love Earl Grey Green. I love it white, smoky, or creme. While I enjoy all manner of tea, from the unpretentious to the exquisite, Earl Grey is the one type I would find most difficult to live without. I usually have several varieties on hand at all times.

When Simple Loose Leaf generously offered to allow me to review their subscription service, this is the first tea I added to my basket. The subscription service is extremely flexible, you get to choose which teas you want, how much, and how many. It is a really cool idea that I have enjoyed and do recommend.

The price of the teas vary depending on your subscription choices. This one for instance, ranges from a high of $0.20/cup at 1oz to a low of $0.07/cup for 4oz of tea. That is pretty inexpensive. So far the teas have been even better than the price suggests.

Now on to the review. First the packaging. The label lists the ingredients and a second label on the back of the pouch offers steeping guidelines. This is much appreciated. The pouch itself has a resealable zip strip top. The back of the pouch has a vent that aids in removing the air trapped inside the pouch when closing. This is a totally awesome addition!

This is a unique blend that includes both black (Nilgiri) and green (gunpowder) teas along with glorious bergamot and peppermint. Peppermint? Sure why not, it sounds interesting.

I opened the bag and removed about 3g of leaf. The leaf is small chopped pieces of leaf. It looks fresh and smells very worthy of the Earl Grey name. I steeped for two minutes in my press with water heated to 180 F. The resulting brew is nicely burnt orange.

I took my first sip. It was nicely (some would say heavily) bergamot. My first reaction was where is the peppermint, but before I could even complete the thought the peppermint came rushing up from underneath. Emphasis on the rush! It leaves a chilling breeze on the lips, just like it should.

I can taste the green tea early in the sip and the black base mostly in the aftertaste. I am not noticing any bitterness or dryness associated with astringency. I did add sweetener for the Moroccan twist as Simple Loose Leaf suggests. Oh, who am I kidding? I added sweetener because it is Earl Grey and I like it sweet.

Interestingly, the cooler the cup becomes the more prominent the peppermint.

This is the only bergamot/peppermint tea I have ever seen. I rather enjoyed it. If you are a weenie this might be too intense of a thrill ride for you. Earl Grey adventure seekers should give this a try.

Visit the Simple Loose Leaf site.