Autumn Hearth

122 Followers / 113 Following

Richmond Park Blend TB86 from Upton Tea Imports

Autumn Hearth drank Richmond Park Blend TB86 by Upton Tea Imports

This is such a well balanced cup, I get a bit of sweet cocoa from the Keemun, there’s a winey buzz from the Darjeeling, but mostly I get the high cider note from the Ceylon that unites the two. I don’t know where I get this cider Ceylon association, but I just finished my second steep and it was like a mulled cider, with just a bit of spice at the end. Going for a third! (Edit: didn’t translate well into a third, or a fourth, :shrug:)

2012-04-12 11:05:34 -0400

I Like This

8 likes

1 comment

People who liked this

Comments

Autumn Hearth 2012-04-17 22:58:05 -0400

Husband brewed this tonight, while I had my Sacher blend, and took it with a bit of sugar and milk, he got weirded out as it reminded him of “chai”. He poured a bit for me, eventually giving me the whole cup. Oh my yum! It wasn’t a bold spice or anything, but it did remind me of a chai latte at Borders (now gone). We did a second steep plain and he found it to be watered down, I thought it was mild but enjoyable, little bit of rock sugar and I get the cider again. Weird.

Profile

Bio

Druid, artist, poet, mum, lover of tea, ritual and myth. I grew up on Celestial Seasons herbals but fell in love with straight loose leaf tea working at my local Teavana for a year. I am grateful for the introduction and the experience, but have moved on.

I see tea as an experience for the senses, I like to imagine tasting the land and the weather as well as the effect of sun, air, fire and the human hand. I have a soft spot for shu pu’er, yabao, scented oolongs, wuyi oolongs, taiwanese tea as well as smooth naturally sweet blacks, creamy greens and surprisingly complex whites.

I began ordering lots of samples from Upton to educate myself on different varieties of tea we didn’t have at work and have fallen head over heels for the unique offerings from Verdant Tea. I am learning things I like: buttery mouthfeel, surprising sweet or spice notes, woodiness, mineral notes, depth and complexity and things I don’t: astringency, dry and sour notes.

I collect tea tins and am in danger of collecting pots, though I am trying to restrain the urge due to current lack of space. I brew mostly in a glass infuser mug or a tea maker, only using cast-iron for company now (still need to get a gaiwan) and tend not to sweeten my teas unless they are British or fruity and iced, which is not often.

As far as ratings, I lack a definite system and haven’t been assigning numbers lately, wanting to spend multiple sessions with a tea first. I usually only log a tea once, unless it is a new harvest or I have significantly different observations, but will go back and edit or comment if I find something interesting or new.