Carson's Cuppa

Tea Type: Red (called black in the US), blended with herbs

Origin: The tea originates in Pachinoi Village, India

Grower/Producer: Tea grown by The Nath Family, Blended by Steep Valley Tea

This is my answer to an Earl Grey tea. My husband, Carson, drinks a cup of Earl.Grey every morning, and it drove me nuts that I had no offering to supply his favorite tea drink. So I set out to make one. The Nath Family grow a gorgeous Assam in Kanoka, a smooth black tea that was so good, my challenge in blending was actually getting the flavor of the bergamot peel into the drink! A few crazed afternoons later (including a version where the ratio was 1:1 tea to bergamot), I came out with Carson's Cuppa : a gong fu cha-brewable Earl Grey that uses no artificial flavors or oils- just tea and bergamot peel. This is the first in a line of teas in development named for my loved ones who enjoy tea.

Hot Tasting Notes: where a supermarket Earl Grey punches you in the face with bergamot, and the black tea takes a back seat, Carson's Cuppa merges the two flavors smoothly, producing a cup of black tea with light notes of malt, accompanied by the sweet astringency of the citrus peel.