Cheryl

Cheryl drank Darjeeling de Triomphe by Teavana

Picked this up during their 75% off sale, but hadn’t been inspired to try it until this morning (continuing a theme). The only other darjeeling that I’ve tried is from Adagio, and I liked that one (Darj. Sungma Summer #22), so I have at least one other experience to compare this with.

Brewed at the low end of their recommendation, my first sip impression is that this seems more like a green tea, or at least a combination of black/green. Very pleasant taste. Having added my usual T. of honey, there is a sweetness to this that meshes well and has me thinking that I need to do a side by side testing with the Adagio one (will rate the same for now).

I’m not sure I’d spend the regular price of $20 for 2 oz. for this, but am pleasantly surprised that I’m enjoying this cup of tea this morning. This is a SFTGFOP-1 … anyone have any experience with Darjeelings from Upton to give a recommendation? (did anyone see that Upton added a Wishlist function this past week? Yay!).

2012-03-19 08:16:21 -0400

175 °F / 79 °C

3 min 0 sec

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momo 2012-03-19 12:50:15 -0400

I want to go on a Darjeeling ordering spree from Upton sometime soon lol..that of course doesn’t help right now. I do have a couple from another company and I see Upton has a Castleton like I have, and it’s my absolute favorite. Theirs is a second flush.
I am now going to make use of that wishlist.

Cheryl 2012-03-19 15:00:11 -0400

Thanks for the suggestion (Castleton). I really need to show some restraint, and drink down some of what I have, which is why that wishlist feature was extra appealing (rather than having stuff sitting in the cart, tempting me each time I went there, lol). Will be on the lookout for your Upton reviews : )

momo 2012-03-19 19:58:07 -0400

Just ordered eight different samples to try out :D I’ve been wanting to order from them for a long time now, and my sudden obsession with Darjeeling seemed like a good push.

Cheryl 2012-03-20 00:16:56 -0400

They will ship out tomorrow (USPS) … Upton is super fast. Hope you find some winners : )

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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)