dasurber Send Message

I have never been much of a fan of Earl Grey teas, but now I learn it was just that I hadn’t found the right Earl Grey. The citrus flavor on this one is a little stronger than others but it has a much more “clean” flavor than others I have tried. I think the fact they use the Golden Yuunan as a base probably appeals to me as that is one of my favorite plain teas. A co-worker I shared this with grew up in the UK and his mom and family had never been able to find Earl Grey here in the US they really liked. They now buy this one on a regular basis and consider it a “treat” when they have it. I steep for 4.5 to 5.0 minutes with boiling water using a Chatsford type teapot and have very good results.

I like this keemun style tea and have been drinking it for about 4 years now. It’s not widely available from anyone other than Upton here in the US or it wasn’t there about 2 years ago when Upton ran out of this tea for a few months. Some lots will have more smoky flavor notes than other lots. I actually prefer less of those flavor notes. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t heavily smoky but has some of the mild notes of it. It does have a complex flavor I actually use this to make hot tea and then whatever is left in the pot is the sweetened slightly to make iced tea and it’s great that way also.

This has been my favorite tea for over two years now, its malty sweetness cannot be matched for this type of tea. I haven’t found any other Yunnan black tea that has a similar flavor. It also makes a WONDERFUL iced tea. I mix with a natural cane sugar (Florida Crystals) not the darker the lighter sugar. Everyone who has tasted this at my place is just struck at how good of iced tea this is compared to anything they have ever tried. I make a pot in the morning and then use it for iced tea later in the day. This is a dark infusion and gets sweeter as it cools. While they say you can do multiple infusions a lot of the complexity is lost in a later infusion.