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teabird drank TB20: River Shannon Breakfast Blend by Upton Tea Imports

412 tasting notes

I took a better look at the leaves this time – it’s and interesting mix of broken black leaves and golden tips. I love the color of the liqueur, a really vibrant red. The taste isn’t wowing me this time though; the malty baked assam flavor is trending a little bit towards… sawdust. Sadly :( Even with a generous dollop of milk it’s drying my tongue out a bit. I have enough left in the sample for another cup or two though, so I’ll have to play with the steeping parameters (less leaf, maybe?) and see if it was my fault.

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205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 15 sec

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Some notes on ratings:

I’d have separate rating scales for tea types if that were possible (probably Black, Flavored Black, Darjeeling/Dark Oolong, White/Green/Light Oolong, and Herbal) because the flavors and quality markers are just too different. A flavored black rated 100 isn’t better than every oolong I’ve ever drunk, just delicious for a flavored black.

Ratings are a combination of my enjoyment and the perceived quality – I do often demote teas a few points for artificial flavorings, small quantity of steeps supported, or weakness of flavor (requiring extra leaf).

I pay less attention to the number than the order of my ratings; I don’t necessarily keep a stock of everything rated 80+, but if two breakfast blends are rated 82 and 84 I consistently enjoy the 84 more.

And in case it’s not obvious? I am not an expert. I don’t even know what I like until I taste it sometimes, but I’m ok with that :) I like learning to like new teas, as well as enjoying the comfort of familiar ones.

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