Paris Tea.

 Today's tea is "Paris Tea".  This tea was gifted to me by my brother, David, and sourced from Mecca Coffee Company, of Tulsa Oklahoma.  I reviewed this tea back in December on Facebook, so this is a 2nd review of the tea.

I made 4 cups using the Assam tea press and the black tea setting or boiling, on the smart kettle.  I did a 4 minute brew time.  

This tea seems to be a copy of the Harney and Sons "Paris" tea mix.  According to their website  "Paris is a fruity black tea with vanilla and caramel flavors, and a hint of lemony Bergamot."  Its ingredient list is  "Black tea, oolong tea, black currant flavor, vanilla flavor, bergamot oil, caramel flavor."  I've seen other pages that list lavender as a possible ingredient but I don't think this has any. 

The tea has a fairly strong fragrance of vanilla while being brewed and when poured in to a cup.  It's not an unpleasant smell, just it's noticeable. 

1st sip, black with 1 teaspoon sugar.   Strong taste of vanilla with a fruity undertone.  I attribute the fruity taste more to the black currant than the bergamont.

1st full mouthful.  In addition to the vanilla and black currant, you can notice the bergamot.  As I'm drinking this with sugar the caramel flavor seems to be lost in the sweetness of the tea.  As it cools the vanilla odor seem to fade, or it could be I'm getting use to it.  There is a noticeable aftertaste to this tea.  It's not an unpleasant aftertaste but it's for sure there.

2nd cup, with 1/4 cup whole milk.  This is a delightful tea with milk.  The milk blends near perfectly with the fruit and vanilla. This is my favorite way of drinking it hot.

3rd cup - drank with milk.  Really like it this way.

4th "cup" iced without sugar:  The vanilla flavor really comes to the fore.  It had the astringency expected of a not sugared ice tea.  My least favorite way of having this tea.  It's not bad, but it's just not good as the other ways of having it. 

5th "cup" iced with sugar.  This is good, possibly my 2nd favorite way of having it.  The vanilla flavor is still foremost, but the addition of the sugar mellow it out some what.

Would I drink this if offered by a friend?  Yes, particularly if hot with milk.

Will I drink this tea again?   Yes

Would I buy this tea?  Assuming I can find it at a good price, sure.

Did Explorer the Cat go nuts over this tea?  She sniffed the cup more than normal for black tea.

Final verdict:  8 out of 10, will drink again.  Good variant of Earl Grey.