Day: May 25, 2017

As I’m down to my last tin of tea, other than my large tin of Iranian Ceylon, it is time to do another tea order. My last order was in July 2015, so it has almost been 2 years. Again, the bulk of the order is from Upton Tea (who has great varietals), except for one tea that they are out of. Here’s what I’m ordering this time (as before, teas shown with 🍵 are new this year; ☕ indicates repeats from 2015; ☕☕ indicates repeats from 2013; ☕☕☕ repeats from 2012):

1. TD06: Orthodox BOP Darjeeling.  🍵 The best value in Darjeeling tea. Broken leaf Darjeeling is often overlooked, either because the price is so reasonable or because too much value is placed on a more stylish leaf. This flavorful BOP blend offers a great cup at a very attractive price. $8.25/125g.
2. TD50: No.1 Tippy Orthodox GFOP Darjeeling. ☕☕ An exceptional golden tip Darjeeling blend. We first introduced this tea in 1990 and it continues to be our most popular Darjeeling. $9.75/125g.
3. TA20: Tippy Orthodox FBOP Assam. 🍵 A uniform, broken-leaf tea with bold character and strong, malty flavor. This tea is a great choice for breakfast and throughout the day. $6.50/100g.
4. TA27: Halmari CTC BOP. 🍵 A bold CTC style tea with rich flavor. The dark liquor will readily take milk. Especially suited as a bracing morning tea. $6.25/125g.
5. TP12: Premium China Keemun. ☕☕ Often called the burgundy of China teas, this North China Congou is rich, flavorful and appropriate for any time of day. We offer this as our basic Keemun, although it is in the middle range of the standard series. $6.50/125g.
6. ZG20: First Grade Gunpowder Green. ☕☕☕ Superior grade of green tea in the style of gunpowder teas (tightly rolled tea leaves resembling gunpowder pellets). $5.75/125g.
7. ZG14: Young Hyson Imperial Organic.☕ This organic tea has the bold flavor of a high-fired tea, yet it has a pleasing smoothness with delicate sweetness. The thin, well-twisted leaves produce a liquor with a pale green color. This is a very popular style of China green tea with a bolder leaf. $6.00/100g.
8. ZM44: Osmanthus Oolong Se Chung. 🍵 Se Chung Oolong, naturally scented with osmanthus flowers. The flavorful, aromatic cup has a full body, with hints of ripe fruit. The finish is sweet and lingering. $7.60/125g
9. TB49: Darjeeling-Ceylon Iced Tea Blend. ☕☕☕ Half whole-leaf Darjeeling and half OP Ceylon. A great hot tea as well! The brewing information provided is for making an iced tea concentrate. $7.00/125g.
10. TB15: Java Blend. ☕☕ A rich breakfast blend especially suited for those who enjoy a powerful cup in the morning. This also is a great choice for iced tea. Java teas are never expensive, so you get the best produced for a few cents a cup. $5.75/125g.
11. TK12: Rukeri Estate Rwanda BOP Organic 🍵 The cup has a full flavor and aroma, with a medium body. May be enjoyed plain, but it is strong enough to accommodate a touch of milk. Longer steepings yield a robust cup with notes of rose and peppery hints. At briefer steepings, the liquor is sweeter and more delicate. $6.50/125g.
12. TC05: Ceylon BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe). ☕☕ A choice blend of regional Ceylons. [Note: Both TN05 ☕ and TN10 🍵 were out of stock]. $6.00/125g.
13. TC88: St. James Estate BOP. 🍵 This broken-leaf tea yields an aromatic, bright-coppery cup. The full-bodied liquor is pleasantly pungent and is accentuated with mellow wintergreen notes. $6.00/125g
14. TB02: Leadenhall Street Breakfast Blend. ☕ A tribute to the famous London tea auctions, our Leadenhall Street Breakfast Blend is a blend of two classic British teas: a brisk Ceylon and a thick, malty Assam. The result is a flavorful mixture which lends itself to the addition of milk. $6.50/125g.
15. TB05: Mincing Lane Breakfast Blend. ☕☕☕ For this blend, we paired a hearty Assam with a smooth and flavorful Yunnan, for a cup that is highly enjoyable. The invigorating liquor has a full mouth feel, subtle spicy notes, and a lingering aftertaste. While milk is recommended, it is enjoyable plain. $8.75/125g.
16. TB14: Scottish Breakfast Blend. ☕☕ Blended to appeal to those who favor an eye-opening experience in the morning, this tea yields a cup with a round, full flavor, malty notes, and brisk character. A perfect choice to start the day. $6.25/125g.
17. TB30: Kensington Breakfast Blend. 🍵 A bit lighter than our River Shannon Blend, this English Breakfast style tea is a rich blend of Assam, Ceylon, and Keemun. Best with milk. $7.00/125g
18. TB75: Baker Street Afternoon Blend. ☕☕ A bit of Lapsang Souchong is blended with Keemun and Darjeeling, yielding a mildly smoky tea. Perfect for an afternoon uplift. Another special (whole-leaf) blend from our London source of fine teas. $8.25/125g.
19. TB86: Richmond Park Blend. ☕ A mellow, whole-leaf blend of Keemun, Ceylon, and Darjeeling. An exceptional tea which is smooth enough for drinking plain, and sturdy enough to take milk or lemon. From our London blender. $8.25/125g.
20. TE85: Creme Caramel. ☕☕ Pieces of caramel are added to a black tea from Sri Lanka to create a delicious blend with a mild, creamy aroma and sweet caramel flavor. Enjoyable on cold days, and throughout the seasons. This is a bolder leaf version of our former TE86.This product contains dairy. $6.25/125g.

A number of teas that I wanted — TF25/Wild Cherry 🍵, TF90/Vanilla ☕, TE45/Midsummer Dream ☕☕, and TE21/Monk’s Blend ☕☕☕ — were unavailable. I’ll find another source for those. Additionally, I ordered the following for my wife:

1. TC64: Victorian Brew BOP1. 🍵 This uniquely named Ceylon offering produces a liquor that has a mildly spicy, sweet aroma with citrus hints. The flavor is rich and smooth with notes of honey and biscuit as well as a hint of cherry. The lingering finish has refreshing citrus-like hints. $6.80/100g
2. TE13: Chocolate Earl Grey. 🍵 A premium black tea combining the popular tastes of bergamot and chocolate with a hint of lemon. Decorated with flower petals and lemon peel for a delightful presentation.This product contains soy.
3. TE94: Mélange de Chamonix. ☕☕ Fine India tea is blended with cocoa, cardamom, and a hint of cinnamon to produce a balanced and warming cup. A delicate treat for any chocolate or tea lover. $10.75/125g.
4. TE90: Christmas Tea; Mélange Noël. 🍵. A blend of black tea with cloves, vanilla and cardamom. Decorated with citrus peel, rose petals and almond pieces.This product contains tree nuts (almonds). $7.25/125g.

Again, we had some out of stocks: TE35/Hearthside Chai Tea.

For the missing teas, I searched around and found Pittsburgh Tea, from where I ordered:

1. Monk’s Blend Tea loose tea. Medium bodied and flavoury with piquant Ceylon character. Blended with natural flavor oils of vanilla and grenadine, which impart a smooth and unique heavenly flavor. $6.99/.25 lb
2. Vanilla Black Tea. Black tea, Calendula & Sunflower petals, and Natural flavors. $6.99/.25 lb.
3. Cherry Black Tea. This premium Ceylon tea flavored with summer cherries is treat for any Chekhov fans musing in their cherry orchard. Lovely candied cherry aroma, juicy flavor and slightly dry finish. If you’ve never read Chekhov, it doesn’t have a happy ending. If you’d never tried our Cherry Black tea, it’ll make up for it. $6.99/.25 lb.

Hopefully, Pittsburgh Tea is just temporary and the needed items will come back into stock at Upton. For reference, here are some links to even older tea orders: 2012 (Franklin Tea (which, alas, closed in 2015), Stash Tea, Upton Tea), 2011 (Franklin Tea, Stash Tea), 2010 (Special Teas (which was owned by, and later merged into, Teavana, and of course Teavana was later purchased by Starbucks), Stash Tea, Franklin Tea), 2009 (Stash Tea), 2008 (Franklin Tea, Stash Tea, Surfas, Lupicia, Teavana), 2007 (Stash Tea), 2006 #2 (Stash Tea), 2006 #1 (Stash Tea, Adagio Tea), and 2004 (Stash Tea).