This is my first tea "real" tea review, so I beg your patience as I
fumble all over it, and suggest you get some tea... this is long. Sorry!

After receiving great advice regarding "where to start" from this group,
and wanting to hurry, hurry, with getting some teas, (and the
disappointment that Douglas had with the Adagio sampler) I headed to the
Upton site. Mistake. Big. HUGE. There are, simply put, too many teas
there, with too many options, and too many choices to make. I was
overwhelmed, and thought that even with a personal guide it would be
overwhelming. Keemun, Assam, Ceylon... with sets and subsets and, well,
you all know the offerings. Sigh...

So, I resorted to tried and true. I *know* I like Earl Grey and English
Breakfast, so why not try some of those, narrow it down, and then expand
from there. (Besides, I'm out of the EG that was packaged by ? for
Bodum, and was amazing, and I bought all the Wedgwood tea I could find,
and I was really disappointed in the Dobra shop here, and I *needed* to
get tea - you know the feeling.)

Of course, that didn't narrow it down by much, but I was able to choose,
between EB, EG, "Afternoon teas" and one each of their "most popular"
assam, keemun, and darjeelings, to get 21 samples. I figured that should
keep me busy for a bit, especially the not-so-patiently waiting for
delivery part. Little did I know that life would interrupt tea, but so
it goes.

Anyhoo... back to the review.

Of the eight EG tea samples I received, the first (and so far only) one
I tried is their Earl Grey Original (TE10). Boiling water, 1 tsp/cup, 3,
3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2, 5 minutes. It was... weak. I realized that when faced
with such a little sample, I was really stingy with what I would
normally call a "teaspoon" of tea. I remedied that, brewed for 4
minutes, and it was quite good. I *think* I've discovered that with
very, very hot tea, I like just a touch of sugar - it seems to enhance
the flavor for me. If I let it cool even a tad, I don't need the sugar.
But, well, patience isn't always one of *my* virtues...

This was smooth, flavorful, I could taste the bergamot, but it wasn't
overwhelming. Had a cup, some of a second. Later came back and had what
was left in the pot, which was room temperature (not a warm room, so
rather cool) and it was delicious! Iced tea has always been my favorite
cold beverage, and this could be a constant. I won't know until I try
the others if this is a reorder or not, but so far, it's definitely in
the running.

Bond Street English Breakfast (TE10) was next. I was surprised on
opening it that it looks like, well, like pebbles, rather than long,
thin, leaves since the EBs I've had all looked like the first link
(below). (I was expecting something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3 and it is this http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3

Boiling water, 1 tsp per cup, no skimping this time. Steeped for 3, 3
1/2, 4 minutes. Good, but nothing I would rave about. Yes, I would order
again, it's flavorful, very drinkable, basic. Again, the cold tea I had
later in the day was delicious. Boy, am I finding that GOOD tea makes
GREAT iced tea!

This morning, I hit paydirt, and though I still have a couple to try, I
think I may have found my Holy Grail EB tea. Ceylon English Breakfast
Wilson Select (TB18). Again, pebbly looking, but these pebbles really
unfurled, and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is, I am
rather fond of him now! Boiling water, 1 tsp/cup, 4 minutes. With the
first sip, I was thrilled. This is really flavorful, and I can't help
but think that if I wanted to hit the "snooze" button but thought of
this tea, I'd be jumping right up. I can't believe I will like any of
the others better, but if I do, I won't have to write a review - you'll
hear the yelps of joy. This is a keeper, and reorder, and probably will
be my signature EB. At least so far!

This afternoon, something a little new for me - Finest Blend Russian
Caravan (TB70). Again, boiling water, 1 tsp/cup, ~ 4 minutes. I like
this! It's "softer" than EB, but didn't taste like watered down EB - now
I understand a bit why some teas are suggested for morning, others for
afternoon, etc. I'll have to pay attention to "afternoon" teas, but this
is in the possible reorder category.

This is SO much fun!!

Thank you all again for all your patience, guidance, and advice. With so
many teas, and so many options, it would be far easier (but very
depressing!) to resort to a Lipton teabag.

Resa

"Serendip" wrote in message
...
This is my first tea "real" tea review, so I beg your patience as I
fumble all over it, and suggest you get some tea... this is long. Sorry!

No problem.

After receiving great advice regarding "where to start" from this group,
and wanting to hurry, hurry, with getting some teas, (and the
disappointment that Douglas had with the Adagio sampler) I headed to the
Upton site. Mistake. Big. HUGE. There are, simply put, too many teas
there, with too many options, and too many choices to make. I was
overwhelmed, and thought that even with a personal guide it would be
overwhelming. Keemun, Assam, Ceylon... with sets and subsets and, well,
you all know the offerings. Sigh...

Sorry, I didn't think of that. For myself, I usually start with the more
affordable teas (under $7 per 100/125 g packet) that have
descriptions/reviews that matches my tastes. For example, because I know
that I enjoy delicate teas a whole lot more than robust, I look for words
like "delicate, mild, smooth, sweet, drink/enjoy straight/plain/without
milk" and avoid teas described with words such as "pungency, tartness,
lemony."

So, I resorted to tried and true. I *know* I like Earl Grey and English
Breakfast, so why not try some of those, narrow it down, and then expand
from there.

Sure. Whatever works for you.

(Besides, ...I *needed* to
get tea - you know the feeling.)

Oh, yeah.

Of the eight EG tea samples I received, the first (and so far only) one
I tried is their Earl Grey Original (TE10)....

Bond Street English Breakfast (TE10) was next.

err...TB10. The TE10 is the Original EG.

I was surprised on
opening it that it looks like, well, like pebbles, rather than long,
thin, leaves since the EBs I've had all looked like the first link
(below). (I was expecting something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3 and it is this http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3

The links are the same. I don't know what the first link was supposed to
show, but a picture of TB10 is he

http://www.uptontea.com/index.asp?ho...pe=new&begin=0

or, http://tinyurl.com/6sb24.

This is SO much fun!!

Thank you all again for all your patience, guidance, and advice. With so
many teas, and so many options, it would be far easier (but very
depressing!) to resort to a Lipton teabag.

I'm reading a book copyrighted in 1981 that says there are over 3,000
varieties of tea. So, while you may be overwhelmed by the options, you
certainly should never have to resort to a Lipton teabag ever again.

Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're having fun .

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...

How interesting - according to Google, Robert Wilson lives in Tea, SD.

(Ahem!)

Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...

How interesting - according to Google, Robert Wilson lives in Tea, SD.

(Ahem!)

Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...

How interesting - according to Google, Robert Wilson lives in Tea, SD.

(Ahem!)

Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

On 3/2/2005 4:20 PM, Bluesea wrote:
"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...

How interesting - according to Google, Robert Wilson lives in Tea, SD.

(Ahem!)

Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

Thanks! I would have gotten to google... eventually. That is, after I
found any other teas "he" selected for Upton!!

Resa

On 3/2/2005 4:20 PM, Bluesea wrote:
"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...

How interesting - according to Google, Robert Wilson lives in Tea, SD.

(Ahem!)

Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

Thanks! I would have gotten to google... eventually. That is, after I
found any other teas "he" selected for Upton!!

Resa

On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 15:20:36 -0600, "Bluesea"
wrote:


"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...


Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

I've just returned from a 2 week trip with Robert and his friend
Manthi Delwita to Sri Lanka. I have seldom met two men more
knowledgable and passionate about tea than Robert and Manthi.

Robert's teas are always specially selected and sometimes even made to
his specifications. If you are a Ceylon tea lover you just can go
wrong with his teas. Just be aware that he can't be held responsible
for how the US importers treat his teas.

By the way, did you know that the word serendipity comes from Arabic
'Serendib', their name for Sri Lanka meaning 'gem island'?

Lars
(Bergen, Norway)

On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 15:20:36 -0600, "Bluesea"
wrote:


"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...


Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

I've just returned from a 2 week trip with Robert and his friend
Manthi Delwita to Sri Lanka. I have seldom met two men more
knowledgable and passionate about tea than Robert and Manthi.

Robert's teas are always specially selected and sometimes even made to
his specifications. If you are a Ceylon tea lover you just can go
wrong with his teas. Just be aware that he can't be held responsible
for how the US importers treat his teas.

By the way, did you know that the word serendipity comes from Arabic
'Serendib', their name for Sri Lanka meaning 'gem island'?

Lars
(Bergen, Norway)

On 3/2/2005 3:31 PM, Bluesea wrote:
After receiving great advice regarding "where to start" from this group,
and wanting to hurry, hurry, with getting some teas, (and the
disappointment that Douglas had with the Adagio sampler) I headed to the
Upton site. Mistake. Big. HUGE. There are, simply put, too many teas
there, with too many options, and too many choices to make. I was
overwhelmed, and thought that even with a personal guide it would be
overwhelming. Keemun, Assam, Ceylon... with sets and subsets and, well,
you all know the offerings. Sigh...

Sorry, I didn't think of that. For myself, I usually start with the more
affordable teas (under $7 per 100/125 g packet) that have
descriptions/reviews that matches my tastes. For example, because I know
that I enjoy delicate teas a whole lot more than robust, I look for words
like "delicate, mild, smooth, sweet, drink/enjoy straight/plain/without
milk" and avoid teas described with words such as "pungency, tartness,
lemony."

That makes perfect sense, and once I figure out what I like, I will do.
Since almost all of the Upton samples are $1, I didn't pay attention to
the "real" price, wanting to see what I like without looking at price.
(That is, except for a site I found in/around Chicago, I think, where
the teas are in the $25++ range per 125 grams. Even if the teas could
possibly be THAT much better - I'll never know.)

I tended to look at teas that were described as "clean" - I don't know
what "malty" tea is (yet) and I *think* I like hearty teas, but - I
don't care for milk in my tea, so I would tend to avoid anything that
"required" it.

Of the eight EG tea samples I received, the first (and so far only) one
I tried is their Earl Grey Original (TE10)....

Bond Street English Breakfast (TE10) was next.

err...TB10. The TE10 is the Original EG.

Thanks. I think I may have confuzzled that in my notes as well - I will
check.

I was surprised on
opening it that it looks like, well, like pebbles, rather than long,
thin, leaves since the EBs I've had all looked like the first link
(below). (I was expecting something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3 and it is this http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3

The links are the same. I don't know what the first link was supposed to
show, but a picture of TB10 is he

http://www.uptontea.com/index.asp?ho...pe=new&begin=0

or, http://tinyurl.com/6sb24.

Oops. That was supposed to be TB30 - the first link, that is.

This is SO much fun!!

Thank you all again for all your patience, guidance, and advice. With so
many teas, and so many options, it would be far easier (but very
depressing!) to resort to a Lipton teabag.

I'm reading a book copyrighted in 1981 that says there are over 3,000
varieties of tea. So, while you may be overwhelmed by the options, you
certainly should never have to resort to a Lipton teabag ever again.

So many teas, so little time!

Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're having fun .

I am!! A bit obesssed, but having great fun.

On 3/2/2005 3:31 PM, Bluesea wrote:
After receiving great advice regarding "where to start" from this group,
and wanting to hurry, hurry, with getting some teas, (and the
disappointment that Douglas had with the Adagio sampler) I headed to the
Upton site. Mistake. Big. HUGE. There are, simply put, too many teas
there, with too many options, and too many choices to make. I was
overwhelmed, and thought that even with a personal guide it would be
overwhelming. Keemun, Assam, Ceylon... with sets and subsets and, well,
you all know the offerings. Sigh...

Sorry, I didn't think of that. For myself, I usually start with the more
affordable teas (under $7 per 100/125 g packet) that have
descriptions/reviews that matches my tastes. For example, because I know
that I enjoy delicate teas a whole lot more than robust, I look for words
like "delicate, mild, smooth, sweet, drink/enjoy straight/plain/without
milk" and avoid teas described with words such as "pungency, tartness,
lemony."

That makes perfect sense, and once I figure out what I like, I will do.
Since almost all of the Upton samples are $1, I didn't pay attention to
the "real" price, wanting to see what I like without looking at price.
(That is, except for a site I found in/around Chicago, I think, where
the teas are in the $25++ range per 125 grams. Even if the teas could
possibly be THAT much better - I'll never know.)

I tended to look at teas that were described as "clean" - I don't know
what "malty" tea is (yet) and I *think* I like hearty teas, but - I
don't care for milk in my tea, so I would tend to avoid anything that
"required" it.

Of the eight EG tea samples I received, the first (and so far only) one
I tried is their Earl Grey Original (TE10)....

Bond Street English Breakfast (TE10) was next.

err...TB10. The TE10 is the Original EG.

Thanks. I think I may have confuzzled that in my notes as well - I will
check.

I was surprised on
opening it that it looks like, well, like pebbles, rather than long,
thin, leaves since the EBs I've had all looked like the first link
(below). (I was expecting something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3 and it is this http://tinyurl.com/4wjp3

The links are the same. I don't know what the first link was supposed to
show, but a picture of TB10 is he

http://www.uptontea.com/index.asp?ho...pe=new&begin=0

or, http://tinyurl.com/6sb24.

Oops. That was supposed to be TB30 - the first link, that is.

This is SO much fun!!

Thank you all again for all your patience, guidance, and advice. With so
many teas, and so many options, it would be far easier (but very
depressing!) to resort to a Lipton teabag.

I'm reading a book copyrighted in 1981 that says there are over 3,000
varieties of tea. So, while you may be overwhelmed by the options, you
certainly should never have to resort to a Lipton teabag ever again.

So many teas, so little time!

Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're having fun .

I am!! A bit obesssed, but having great fun.

On 3/2/2005 5:31 PM, Lars Mehlum wrote:
On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 15:20:36 -0600, "Bluesea"
wrote:


"Serendip" wrote in message
...

...and though I don't have a clue who Robert Wilson is...


Robert Wilson is a U.K. business that imports, stores and distributes their
own "Select" teas. The first Robert Wilson was a tea planter who arrived in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1895 with his brother, Charles. The first Robert died
in 1954 and the co. is now managed by a later Robert. For more info:

http://www.wilstea.com/history.htm

http://www.wilstea.com/company.htm.

I've just returned from a 2 week trip with Robert and his friend
Manthi Delwita to Sri Lanka. I have seldom met two men more
knowledgable and passionate about tea than Robert and Manthi.

Robert's teas are always specially selected and sometimes even made to
his specifications. If you are a Ceylon tea lover you just can go
wrong with his teas. Just be aware that he can't be held responsible
for how the US importers treat his teas.

By the way, did you know that the word serendipity comes from Arabic
'Serendib', their name for Sri Lanka meaning 'gem island'?

Lars
(Bergen, Norway)

If the Ceylon English Breakfast is indicative of how Upton treats his
teas, I don't think Mr. Wilson needs to worry, but I appreciate the advice!

I don't know enough yet to know if I favor Ceylon teas, but I already
have noted the other Wilson Select offerings at Upton - I may have found
my niche.

Yes, thanks, I do know the background of "serendip" but until your post,
I didn't connect it at all to tea - maybe this all was, well,
serendipity! Thank you!

Resa

I would say that was a rather serendipitous find! :-D

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 22:31:04 GMT, Lars Mehlum
wrote:


Robert's teas are always specially selected and sometimes even made to
his specifications. If you are a Ceylon tea lover you just can go
wrong with his teas. Just be aware that he can't be held responsible
for how the US importers treat his teas.

That should be just *can't* go wrong, of course!

Lars
(Bergen, Norway)

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 22:31:04 GMT, Lars Mehlum
wrote:


Robert's teas are always specially selected and sometimes even made to
his specifications. If you are a Ceylon tea lover you just can go
wrong with his teas. Just be aware that he can't be held responsible
for how the US importers treat his teas.

That should be just *can't* go wrong, of course!

Lars
(Bergen, Norway)