The French

I went to a tea talk on the weekend and discovered that despite tea being a traditionally English drink, the French were into tea before the English.  I suppose now the French are more for coffee but I expect with cuppas like French Earl Grey there would still be a lot of tea drinkers in France.

T2's French Earl Grey is like the more elegant cousin of the traditional Earl Grey.  Early Grey is a blended black tea flavoured with bergamot oil to give it that subtle, almost lavender-like flavour.

French Earl Grey takes it one step further with the addition of cornflowers.  Tiny blue flowers that change the traditional taste of Earl Grey into something even more refined but also more playful.

French Earl Grey smells stongly of apricots.  Like an apricot tart hot from the oven.  The bergamot is much more subtle but I'm not sure whether this is the highlight the cornflowers or merely that T2's traditional Earl Grey only has a subtle bergamot taste and the French version has been built on that base.

Having it with milk takes the edge off the taste and makes it smoothy and creamy still with that divine apricot taste and smell.  Like dessert in a cup.

Mmm...can't wait til apricots are in season.  But until then the French Earl Grey will hit the spot!

Pretty blue cornflower - tastes so good!

Stockholm Syndrome

Ok, so I know that Stockholm Syndrome traditionally relates to a person becoming enamoured of their captor due to lengthy captivity but I don't see why the same thing doesn't relate to the fantastic Stockholm Blend at The Tea Centre.

It was Friday afternoon and after a heavy week, my boss had allowed the team to head off home at 3pm.  My problem:  I had left my keys at home so I had to wait until my fiance arrived home to let me in.

Anyway, I decided to spend the afternoon at The Tea Centre with a pot of Stockholm Blend.  It is a blend of black tea, orange peel, safflower, calendula blossom, rose petals, vanilla pieces and apricot.  It smells spicy and strongly of vanilla and apricots.

It tastes smooth, without a hint of bitterness despite the orange peel.  It is fruity, the same way you might describe in a red wine.

Yes, I did fall for my captor, if you count a divine black tea blend.  Well, it was rather captivating!