All jokes aside... no, I don't actually get Picard's obsession with Earl Grey tea. It was just okay. I'll happily finish the rest of the bags that came in this variety pack, but I will not go out of my way to buy this blend again in the future. Is it just an acquired taste?
this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2025
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Are you getting the bergamot flavor? Some tea brands go real light on the citrus to the point it just tastes like black tea
Honestly, get a small bag of loose leaf tea.
Loose leaf tea is outright superior to bagged tea as it contains the actual whole leaves. Commercial bagged tea is almost always made from the leftover crumbs of the process. Its why the bags have such fine mesh.
Correct me if I'm misremembering cuz its been a while since my last run thru TNG, but hasn't Picard usually been resistant to change? I feel like if found a tea he liked in the replicator and just stuck with it. Or he had it growing up and its a comfort drink, which I suppose is a similar concept. I can certainly relate to either.
Earl Grey is the most glaringly English tea (at least to anyone outside the UK). This is part of the character's trait that the person constantly drinking English tea and obsessed with Shakespeare, portrayed by a Shakespearean actor, is of course obviously French.
There's ya problem, to quote Red Green. All bagged tea is low grade powder from second-rate leaves and therefore, low in flavor. Looseleaf tends to be higher quality from the prime part of the harvest season, not to mention they are processed and handled more carefully, so the leaves keep an attractive shape and color. Try a looseleaf Earl Gray. There are some flavorful brands that are moderately priced. I recommend Vahdam.
Obviously loose-leaf free-range tea is a little better than tea that's been confined to a bag, but what you really want is all the water-soluble compounds synthesized in precisely the right proportions by a properly programmed replicator for that perfect hot cuppa.
He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.
This applies to tea. It's got to be fresh and free-range. But it needs to be confined within the cup for 4 minutes, which is where costs become prohibitive. We've got a tea ball gap. How do we get a tea ball into every home?
Can we fix tea with the handyman's secret weapon?
Yes, just stick the leaves to the sticky side, Harold. Swish it around dere inna cup, you're done, eh?
It depends on the blend and the quality of the ingredients. If you'd like to try a different blend, I suggest anything on this page:
https://www.adagio.com/search/index.html?query=earl+Grey
If you got it from here to begin with, then yeah there's diminishing returns on going any more expensive, you probably just don't like it 😅.
(I really like their teas and generally keep earl grey and mint on hand)
You need proper tea, not that bagged shite.
A good quality Ceylon black with just the right amount of bergamot? With a splash of milk? That's the best fukken tea you can have. Period.
With a splash of milk
Sorry but you're objectively wrong.
Which brand did you use? I just had a talk with someone venturing into black/breakfast teas.
Twinings < Bigelow < Tazo < Harney & Sons < Harney & Sons Historic Royal
If you wanna get absolutely legit good but expensive go Fortnum & Mason. But just getting some loose leaf online will blow away anything bagged in the stores. I got some bags of loose tea from a site called the tea spot and their stuff is damn good.
Like most tea, yes.
Yep.
Tea, gyokuro, 57.4 celsius.
Ironically Patrick Stewart doesn't really like Earl Gray, his preferred tea is Yorkshire Gold.
It's unironically my favorite tea. It has such a strong flavor.
And the smell
I much prefer coffee, but man, Earl Grey has an amazing aroma to it.
You should try and Earl Grey Marteani. It was one of the first revival cocktails intended to be super likeable to get people back into drinking gin.
2oz Earl grey gin .75oz lemon juice .75oz simple syrup 1 egg white/.75oz aqua faba/a few shakes of fee foam/the foaming agent of your choice Shake and serve up. Put some bitters on the foam if its smell bothers you.
Earl grey gin is made by dumping ~5 teabags into a bottle of gin for 2-8 hours at room temp.
.75oz aqua faba
You had my interest in the cocktail, but you get my upvote for this stealth beans post.
I heard him say in an interview that he tried to get the producers to let him use "Lapsang Souchong" (also a black tea), but they didn't go for it. I guess it was about something still ubiquitous enough so people would know it?
Wait until you try some Lapsang souchong
Literally the best tea ever. Smells like a campfire. Which reminds me — I need to order more.
Great when paired with Ardbeg. All campfire, all the time. There's also smoked/roasted oolong too.
I usually have a tea phase once a year. Last one was primarily Darjeeling; it’s pretty good from what I remember. Have you tried it yet?
I'm generally a coffee girl, but when I do drink tea Earl Grey is always my first choice.
Earl Grey every day.
It's so easy to make an unsatisfying cup, but when you get it just right 😍
By the way, who gave my boi Frank two shiners?
It was Frank himself! Though one might argue that it was actually Mac's fault.
“Attempt to calculate answer to your question: Why you want dried leaves in boiling water.”
“Because I happen to like it. That’s why.”
I knew vaguely that Early Grey had something called bergamot in it, but I was fully unprepared for it to be citrusy! Almost "bright" tasting.
Reminds me of fruit loops.
I prefer Lady Grey myself.
Now that you've been initiated into the black tea club, (early grey is black tea is a black tea with bergamot orange rind oil,) you should really try Ceylon (black) tea. It's a tea from shri-lanka and I find them to be quite fruity.
If you shop at a loose leaf tea place you can also get cream of Earl Grey tea which is absolutely worth trying if you like Earl Grey.
David's teas, Murchies, Teas Galore are a few of the places I have found it
Earl Grey is what got me to switch from being a coffee-only to mostly-tea guy. But after a year or so, I got tired of the bergamot and switched to other teas. First to other types of flavored tea, then plain tea. Nowadays, I drink about one pot of tea each day, and it's mostly Darjeeling or an occasional Oolong.
I prefer Assam or Ceylong myself. If you get some high quality Earl Grey and don't screw it up, it can be really good, but it's much easier to end up with it being mediocre in my experience.
1001 night tea. A game changer