Earl Grey Creme Brulee

Lately, it has become a weekly thing for my boyfriend and his father to plan a “grilling out” menu for a Sunday dinner. They both are really passionate about food and preparing it… while my boyfriend’s mother and I are really passionate about eating it.

So, for last night’s dinner we had a whole roasted duck, penne carbonara with bacon, squash, and parmaggina-reggino, and clover leaf rolls… and, oh yeah, Earl Grey crème brulee for dessert.

It was the first time I have ever had crème brulee and one made with tea was a great introduction to the French dessert. They wouldn’t tell me what flavor it was (they wanted to surprise me) so when I took my first bite I thought “No way!” It was really tasty! It had a great texture with the smooth custard and the crunchy, sweet, caramelized sugar crust.

The level of Earl Grey flavor was nice. I could taste the sweet bergamot flavor more than the black tea, but that was ok because it was meant to be a sweet dessert.

Sorry for the lack of quality in the pictures. I had to take them with the camera on my phone.

Mighty Leaf’s Mango Green Decaf Review

Type: Green - Decaffinated
Origin: Nilgiri, India
Price: Sample (regular price - $8.95 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 170°F-180°F, steeped for 2 - 3 minutes
Overall Score: 3.8 out of 5

Mango Green Decaf is decaffeinated green tea with mango and calendula. When I open the package, the first thing I smell is the sweet, fruity mango… and that is about all I can smell from the dry leaves. The blend is tiny rolled and twisted green tea with big chunks of mango and pieces of calendula. The mix of dark green, yellow, and orange is pretty.

The freshly brewed tea smells of sweet and tart mango. There is a floral scent in the background, but I can’t figure out if it’s from the green tea or the calendula. The liquor is a pretty orange color.





The taste is fruity and tart. Mango is the main flavor I pick up in the first couple of sips. The tea was quite bitter… more so than I thought it would be. The bitterness may be more from the calendula (because the plant is described as having bitter qualities) and not necessarily the green tea.

The aftertaste is fruity and sweet, but also a little astringent. I still don’t taste the green tea anywhere, however. I would say this tea is medium bodied because of the punch from the tart mango.

It would be interesting to see what this tea would taste like iced. Mango is a refreshing flavor so I believe some ice cubes and a pinch of sugar would ease some of the tartness and make this tea a nice treat.

Mighty Leaf’s Yellow Flower Review

Type: Green
Origin: China
Price: Sample (regular price - $16.95 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 170°F-180°F, steeped for 2 - 3 minutes
Overall Score: 4.0 out of 5

Organic Yellow Flower is a Chinese green tea. The subtle aroma of the leaves is sweet, floral, and slightly grassy. The leaves are long, slender, rolled pieces that are dark green in color. The whole leaves are quite big and I noticed very little tea dust in the package.

The tea smells fresh, sweet, and grassy with some floral notes in the background. The liquor is a very light yellow color.





At first sip, the taste is light, sweet, and grassy. This is definitely a light bodied, mellow tea. After I swallow, the tea leaves a sweet, floral aftertaste that lingers for a while. It is not bitter or astringent at all… it is actually quite refreshing.

The tea is so light that sugar would kill it completely, but I don’t see a need for a sweetener (do I ever?) because the tea provides enough sweetness on its own.

Mighty Leaf’s Organic Emerald Pearls Review

Type: Green
Origin: China
Price: Sample (regular price - $16.95 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 170°F-180°F, steeped for 2 - 3 minutes
Overall Score: 4.2 out of 5

Organic Emerald Pearls is Chinese green tea. The aroma of the dry leaves is sweet, fresh, and grassy. The leaves are long, rolled, slightly twisted strands which are dark green in color.

The aroma of the tea is grassy and fresh. The liquor is a light yellow color.





The taste is sweet, fresh, and grassy. A sweet, floral aftertaste lingers for quite some time. I would say this tea is somewhere in between a light and medium bodied tea. It is not really mellow, but it is not bold either. The tea is not bitter, but it is a tad astringent… after just the first 2oz. cup my mouth started to feel a bit dry.

There isn’t much to say about this tea… it is straight and to the point with its sweet, grassy flavor. There is a tiny bit of astringency, but this tea has refreshing qualities, as well.

Imperial Tea Court Snacks

I bought a few more tasting cups recently… as you may have noticed in the past couple of reviews… from Imperial Tea Court. I loved their style and selection of cups so I bought a tasting and aroma set plus three different glass tasting cups.

While browsing their site, I stumbled upon their tea snacks. They say the snacks are supposed to complement the tea and not over power it. All of them looked really good so I thought… what the heck. As a result, here are my thoughts:



Imperial Spice Raisins: The first thing that surprised me with these raisins is that they crunched when I bit into them – they still have the seeds in. I think most of us are used to the raisins made from seedless grapes, but the seeds give these raisins a great texture. They taste is a lively combination of sweet and spicy. I taste the sweet raisin first, and then the heat from the spices starts to rise.

Roasted Almonds: What I like about these almonds is that they still have their shells on. The shells come off fairly easily to reveal the nut inside. I don’t normally like almonds, but I like these. They are a great complement to any tea. They taste lightly roasted with no salt so you get a hint of flavor, but it doesn’t take anything away from the tea.

Peanut Tea Cookies: These… are good! At first I thought it was going to be a rather hard cookie, but when I bit into it, it just crumbled into my mouth. It has a lot of peanut flavor and not too much salt or sugar (It tastes like the salt and sugar have been kept to a minimum). They vacuum pack their stuff when they ship it and the cookies stayed very fresh, soft, and moist.

Want some? Go here for more information about these snacks and more from Imperial Tea Court.

Adagio’s Rooibos Vanilla Chai Review

Type: Chai (rooibos base)
Origin: South Africa
Price: Sample (regular price – $7 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 170°F-180°F, steeped for 6-7 minutes
Overall Score: 4.0 out of 5

Rooibos Vanilla is rooibos blended with vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom. The first thing I smell is the cloves, followed by the fruity scent of the rooibos. In the background I can smell the vanilla and cinnamon. The blend is really colorful with the yellow cardamom, black and brown spices, and the red flecks of rooibos.

The liquor is a dark orange color. When I smell the freshly brewed tea, the cloves jump at me first and then I smell the fruity rooibos along with the sweet vanilla.





When I taste the tea, I get the spices on my tongue right away. The rooibos floats in the background and I can taste the sweet vanilla a lot more than I thought I would. I can still taste the spicy cloves, but they provide the perfect amount of kick instead of being too overpowering (Finally!).

Between the vanilla and the rooibos the tea tastes quite sweet. It’s not bitter or astringent at all. Add milk and/or sugar if you want, but I think this blend is fine on its own.

Adagio’s Bengal Green Chai Review

Type: Chai (green base)
Origin: China
Price: Sample (regular price – $7 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 170°F-180°F, steeped for 1-3 minutes
Overall Score: 2.8 out of 5

Bengal Green Chai is Chinese green tea with a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom… and the cloves are already burning the back of my nose and throat. After several attempts, the only thing I manage to smell from the dry leaves is the cloves. The blend is very colorful with the green tea leaves, yellow cardamom, and brown and black cinnamon and cloves.

The liquor is a yellowish green color. The first thing I smell from the freshly brewed tea is cloves (why am I not surprised?)… and that is pretty much it… and overall spicy aroma.





I taste the cloves first and it settles on the back of my tongue and throat. I can’t taste the green tea at all. It pretty much tastes like spicy water. This tea is described as sweet, but I don’t taste that at all. The tea is not bitter, but it is astringent – the heat from the cloves dries out my mouth.

Milk may mellow out the harsh spices, but that may also mask any chance of tasting the green tea (and good luck with THAT by the way). Adagio makes some good green tea. I happen to be a fan of their Sencha and Gykuro… but I am starting to think that chai just isn’t their thing.

Adagio’s Thai Chai Review

Type: Chai (black base)
Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price – $7 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 200°F-210°F, steeped for 4-5 minutes
Overall Score: 3.9 out of 5

Thai Chai is Ceylon black tea with a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, coconut, and lemongrass. I did not spot one clove in the blend… and based on my last reviews on Adagio’s chai’s, I’m really ok with that. The first thing I smell is the ginger and cinnamon. Next, is the sweet and tangy lemon grass followed by the coconut. There are other spicy aromas in the background, as well. The blend is really colorful – the tiny black tea leaves almost get hidden by the slivers of lemon grass and pieces of coconut, cardamom, and cinnamon.

The liquor is a light orange color. While the tea is brewing, I smell the cinnamon and ginger first then the sweet coconut in the background. The overall aroma has a pleasant sweet and spicy mixture – one aroma doesn’t dominate the other.

When I sip the tea, I get the spicy flavors first, but the aftertaste is the sweet coconut and lemon grass. The slightly spicy ginger dances in and out of the sweet flavors. The tea is not bitter, but a little astringent. I feared an overbearing spicy cinnamon taste, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Adagio suggests adding milk or sugar, but I think this blend is fine on its own. It is hearty and full of flavor so it may be a nice “wake me up” breakfast tea. However, milk would mellow out the harshness of the spices and make it creamy and smooth.