"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~~
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