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