Arya FTGFOP1

Here is one from Upton's Tea called Arya FTGFOP1. The discription on Upton's site states:

Description:
The rich amber liquor has a robust flavor, with a characteristic Darjeeling pungency. The flavor has intriguing nutty notes, with nuances of ripe apples and red grapes.

As a Darjeeling Tea lover all I have is praises for this single estate tea. This tea is also organically grown which is something I am coming to like more and more of and search for the organic label on the teas I purchase for I can tell in the taste if there were any foreign substances used in the growing of the tea or not.

The pungency of this tea is very classic in Darjeeling style, and has a clean finish.

So I'm off to steep another pot.

Tindharia Estate FTGFOP Second Flush Blend

Can I say, "Yummy, yummy, yummy"?

Now this tea I just bought last week and to tell you the truth, wow! Tindharia Estate FTGFOP Second Flush Blend really is a good tea for the cost that I paid for this. I'm not much on "blended" teas because I prefer single estate teas, but this is well "thought out" in it's blending to create a taste that has the Darjeeling characteristic that I love so well.

From the Upton Tea web site the comment for this tea is as follows:

Description:
We are pleased to offer this value blend from one of our preferred gardens. The well-made leaves produce a smooth and flavorful cup. The aroma has sweet, fruity hints which complement silky smooth liquor.

Yes, I agree with this comment, and would like to add the clean finish and the brightness of the liquid that is produced.

Season's Pick Dharamshala Estate TGFOP1

Here is my review for Season's Pick Dharamshala Estate TGFOP1, from Upton Tea.

Upton Tea's web site gave this description for the tea:

Description:
Produced in Kangra Valley (Valley of the Gods), this well-made tea has uniform, dark green needle-like leaves. The cup has medium body with a pleasing, vegetal aroma and fine floral notes. The finish is robust, and the character is much like that of a Darjeeling.

This tea happen to be a great buy for me. This buy happened to be in the Upton's Tea "Season's Pick" line which offers to the public teas that are normally reserved for their wholesale customers and the Food Service industry.

I bought a 250 gram package of this tea for $6.80, and because of the price and the bulk amount I got it for everyday drinking. I was really surprised on how good the quality of this tea was.

The description above is very accurate and I can not add to the description but to say that I'm going to check out the other teas in the "Season's Pick" line at Upton Tea's web site.

Golden Nepal (Kanyam Estate)

Golden Nepal (Kanyam Estate) is my next review.

Upton Tea's web site gave this description for the tea:

From the high Himalayan mountains, this tea is somewhat reminiscent of a Darjeeling. Bright amber liquor.

I find this description very modest for this tea. Even thought I agree this tea is somewhat reminiscent of a Darjeeling Tea, I would also say it has a more traditional taste that most people are familiar with in tea. The quality is excellent, the leaf is very pleasing to look at, both before and after steeping and the taste is moderate to bold with a clean and almost nutty finish.

The label that describes the tea states that this tea is a second flush (second picking of the season), which I did not find in the description of the tea on Upton Tea's web site. Most teas are a second flush tea that is sold in the United States (from what I have been told), and I have a few first flush teas in my stash, but this second flush tea here almost reminds me of a first flush quality and should not be overlooked when choosing a tea to buy.

Season's Pick Risheehat Estate

Season's Pick Risheehat Estate is the first pot I steeped out of my new order listed below.

Upton Tea's web site gave this description for the tea:

This tea has a pronounced floral aroma, a well-balanced nutty flavor, and a warm, sweet-floral finish. An outstanding value for premium Darjeeling Tea.

My favorite teas are grown mostly in the Darjeeling region of India, and as you can tell from my order in the blog post just below this one that the teas I ordered have been grown in the Darjeeling region or close to the region (all grown at a high altitudes) for the similar characteristics that I enjoy.

The description that Upton Tea gave about this tea is very accurate except for the sweet-floral part. I am missing the muscatel notes that I really enjoy from Darjeeling Teas.

The main reason I ordered this particular tea was due to the lower cost of this tea and that I could order it in bulk (I drink more tea in any given day than water alone) to keep my supply here at my home up for a while. Tuesday night I almost had a fit when I realized that I had only three kinds of Black Tea left in my stash (the tins were hidden in between all of my White Teas and Green Teas), so I went to my computer and ordered six Black Teas real quick.

I'm glad I ordered this tea, although it will not be a favorite, but it will give me some more variety in my Black Teas to choose from everyday.

Harney & Sons: Hot Cinnamon Spice Black Tea

I received this little beauty for a birthday gift just awhile back.

As I have stated before, I'm not much of one for flavored teas, there are only two or three that I can think of that I do like. This tea adds to my disliking of flavored teas. I do like a tea that has a cinnamon flavor to it sometimes. Sometimes I just add one stick of cinnamon to a cup of hot tea while it steeps for a bit. But sad to say in this tea I can not taste any tea at all! All I can taste is the cinnamon oil added to this tea plus with all of the broken cinnamon stick pieces added to the tea (maybe for looks).

Looking at the side of the tin there is a "PRODUCTION:" label (ingredients) that says that there is in the blended black tea three kinds of cinnamon (maybe the broken pieces of cinnamon stick and two kinds of cinnamon oils), orange peel and sweet cloves.

Now having taste buds of a master chef, I can honestly say that I don't taste any orange peel or sweet clove (both of which I use in making my holiday hams). And also sad to say that the after taste of this tea lasts for hours and is to overpowering for other things you may eat or drink in those hours later.

If you use any kind of YiXing teapot, DO NOT USE THIS TEA! You will ruin the pot forever!

But I must say a nice word or two about Harney & Sons' Teas, their selection of Black Teas are among some of the best you can buy, so I would not write off these people for good quality tea, but I have not tried their Green or White Teas as of yet.