Bird & Blend – Assam House Blend
Bird & Blend’s Assam House Blend is an Earl Grey tea. You wouldn’t know that from the name because “Assam House Blend” doesn’t exactly sound Earl-Grey-y, does it? I knew what it was when I ordered and then promptly forgot. So it was a happy surprise when I pulled it from the tea stash and rediscovered that it was going to be a bergamotty beverage.
Odd naming decision aside, this is a very fine cup of tea. Sadly, I don’t have any Bird & Blend Earl Grey Crème to hand, so I can’t do a side-by-side comparison. Its blurb claims that it’s the stronger brew, and I believe it.
This is a blend of Indian, Sri Lankan and Kenyan tea so it covers all the non-Far-East-Asian tea-producing biggies. The ingredients list doesn’t provide quantities, so I’m not sure what percentage the Assam accounts for in order to get top billing.
Sadly, like Earl Grey Crème, Assam House Blend relies on natural flavourings to get its bergamot taste. This is, to be fair, the way of it with most teamongers, but it’s always much more classy when an Earl Grey uses natural bergamot oil.
But honestly, you have to be some kind of ghastly tea pedant to find fault with this tea. (I suspect I may be a ghastly tea pedant but it’s not one of my most admirable characteristics. I’m trying to be a better person.)
It’s brisk and satisfying and suitably citrussy. If you stick your nose in the packet and inhale deeply, it will calm and compose you as well probably as probably giving your chakras a quick realignment and a swift polish.
I think if I had to choose between Bird & Blend’s two Earl Grey offerings, I’d probably go for Earl Grey Crème over this one. But I’m really happy I live in a world that has both.
(Note: When I wrote the above sentence, I assumed that these were the only two Earls Grey in the Bird & Blend stable. I’ve since done a modicum of research and discovered that there’s also Rooibos Earl Grey, Lady Lavender Earl Grey, and London Fog. Clearly, I have a lot more work to do here.)
Today’s book pairing is the World Atlas of Tea by Bird & Blend owner Krisi Smith.
