Cheryl

Scottish Breakfast Blend (TB14) from Upton Tea Imports

Cheryl drank Scottish Breakfast Blend (TB14) by Upton Tea Imports

Sample 4 in my breakfast blend quest from Upton. Truthfully, by now I am wondering if I’ll be happy with any (to the point of “love” that is). Negative attitude = not fair, so while it’s cooling a bit, I’ll adjust : )

First off, disclaimer: a wimp size amount of honey was added while brewing (tbsp).

First sip: hmmm, wow, this is not bitter at all (like the others)… shocked.
This tea is definately on the strong side, but liking it so far. Being sensitive to bitter, getting beyond that hurdle is most important. Looking back at the description, it does seem to fit: brisk, malty and definately “full flavor” (not a wimp, like me…umm, me as a tea drinker that is, not in general, lol).

This is my favorite so far. Baker Street yet to go (that one scares me).

2012-03-12 07:10:17 -0400

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ashmanra 2012-03-12 10:14:14 -0400

I LOVE Baker Street, and so does my youngest daughter! It does smell scary, but it is really quite sweet! I do hope you like it!

ScottTeaMan 2012-03-12 11:16:36 -0400

Baker Street is a good blend.

Cheryl 2012-03-12 13:35:59 -0400

Ash: does your daughter like coffee too? (I don’t and that’s what the aftertaste is reminding me of… did tealog, but not sure.
Scott: maybe, maybe : )

Amy oh 2012-03-12 13:42:25 -0400

often I find I’m not a huge fan of black tea “blends” I’d rather drink a single tea by itself. I have no idea why…

ashmanra 2012-03-12 14:23:57 -0400

Cheryl: my daughter tried coffee once or twice and she said it tried to kill her! LOL! I was really surprised when someone so young had an affinity for smokey teas. There are several that she likes. She is fond of See’s Mocha chocolates, though.

Cheryl 2012-03-12 14:35:32 -0400

You may have a point Amy… that’ll be next route to go.

Ash: Not liking coffee at all, I steer clear of mocha too … maybe the coffee she tried was just too strong. For me, it’s the bitterness that bothers me. I never grew into it (but was the picky eater growing up…and remain one).

ashmanra 2012-03-12 16:22:19 -0400

I grew up smelling coffee every morning because my parents drank it, but I just can’t. My oldest daughter loves the smell of it because she said it reminds her of bookstores and she loves books, but she only drinks “foofy girly coffee drinks.” Her words!

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Originally started testing teas, to replace a lifelong Coke (Coca-Cola) habit. Now I’m just amazed at all the choices. Still in beginner stage of tea education. Until I get really good at iced/cold tea, the Coke habit remains, but is down to a minimum.

My cupboard here on Steepster was ridiculous, containing each and every sample size that I have been accumulating. It now only contains non-sample size teas. Loose leaf outweighs the bagged teas, but it doesn’t look that way by the list (over 100 samples).

I started my tea journey testing flavored teas. My favorites are chai and mint flavored teas, along with Earl Grey. Also like chocolate, caramel, coconut, almond, vanilla, cinnamon, clove and some others. Most flavors are better with a nice black tea base. The mint ones seem best paired with greens. I’m branching out now to unflavored teas and it is way more overwhelming then the flavored category. Phew.

My (grown) son has decided that he wants to try to find tea that he likes too, so I’ll be passing along the ones I don’t care for to him (with instructions to then pass them on to his sister…evil plot? yes!). So I’ve removed my shopping list from Steepster and moved it to a spreadsheet (swaps are out for now). My shopping list had grown to 197! By going through each one, I was able to split that in half (since many were added in beginning, before I knew what I like/don’t like).

While not swapping, if there’s something in my cupboard that you’d like a sample of, please feel free to ask : )

Ratings (for now):
90s: Must have in personal rotation. Crave it.
80s: Makes me a happy tea drinker. Very good. Unsure of long term relationship.
70s: Like this. Will drink what I have (sample/tin/box), but unsure of whether I’d buy again.
60s: Probably a good tea for what it is. Just not to my personal liking.
50s and below: Do not like…at all. Either poor quality, yuck flavor or … (see tealog).

Old (and still current) obsessions: books, music and fragrances. ~~Hopefully my tea collection stays much more “normal” then those.~~ (too late)