Whole leaf black tea, vanilla flavor, bergamot flavor.

Red Leaf Tea company claims to have a "Collection of Exotic and Unique Teas from Around the World". It certainly appears to be true as you browse their huge selection of teas! Type in "Earl Grey" and you get 10 selections! Not only do they carry a huge variety of tea, they have bath teas, gift boxes, tea ware and sugars, honey and more! Wow! A tea enthusiast could spend hours on this website (as I can personally attest to).

I chose to sample their Earl Grey De La Creme, because I had yet to try a creme earl grey tea, and being a black tea lover, I knew I should. I had my doubts though because I didn't think any earl grey could compare to my favorite lavender earl grey!  Well, I was wrong!!! I am so in love with this tea, I think it will be my next purchase!

I brewed it just as I would any black tea, with water that has just come to the boil. I covered it and let it brew 6 min.  The scent let me know that the vanilla was going to be excellent. But the first taste is what really surprised me! 

An "excellent" flavored black tea, must always, in my opinion, have a quality tea base that does not get covered up by the flavors! This is truly a premium black tea. My other concern with Earl Grey is is how the bergamot is used. Too often, even if the tea is high quality, the bergamot covers every trace of the quality tea. Not so with this tea. The addition of vanilla (I just love vanilla bean) was perfect! The bergamot and vanilla compliment each other so nicely, and yet neither overpowers the other, nor the black tea base.

This is a nice sturdy cup of black tea. It is nice black, and in my opinion, even better with some milk to bring out the creaminess, and a bit of sugar that enhances the vanilla. I can't believe I have found another favorite Earl Grey!!!

Melanie - Teaviews.com - Reviewer

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The title for this tea is an example of juxtaposition. Earl Grey - as we know - is about as British as you can get. However, tacked on to this traditional Limey beverage is a little "essence of Frog"; vanilla and a "de la" nom de change. Red Leaf Tea presents a Cream Earl Grey with a French twist in the title. Gotta love it.

Ingredients were threadbare for this blend; black tea, vanilla flavor and bergamot flavor. No pretty additives like cornflower or mallow to whet the eyes. Not that they needed any whetting. That'd be freakish. While it was easy to detect the bergamot on first sniff, the vanilla aspect was a little shy. It took a couple of whiffs to realize it was there at all. I've had a few Cream Earl Greys before, and oftentimes the vanilla bean is quite strong. Not the case here.

Brewing instructions called for 1 flat teaspoon of leaves per 6oz cup of boiling water. To me, a cup is 8oz, so I went with that instead, steeped for three minutes. Yes, as always, a bit on the light side of safe.

Wherever the vanilla had been hiding in the dry leaves, it reared its creamy head in the light-amber infusion. The liquid aroma was all vanilla bean with a slightly sour center contributed by the bergamot. To the taste, though, the citrus profile dominated more, but with a creamy finish. Heavy on the Earl, light on the crème, but definitely worth a sip or several. I can't wait to try this as a latte in the nearish future. With French Vanilla creamer.

Geoff - Teaviews.com - Reviewer