Scott B Send Message

Scott B drank Risheehat Estate SFTGFOP1 First Flush (DJ-11) Organic (TD67) by Upton Tea Imports

109 tasting notes

I still have about 5 or 6 FF Darjeeling samples that I haven’t tried yet. I got pretty discouraged when I didn’t really like my Thurbo. I enjoyed a FF Thurbo from RtR earlier this year, so I expected to like the new crop. Maybe the flavor changes that much 9 months after picking and I only like it as it gets a little older. Maybe the drought affected the flavor. I don’t know.

Anyhow, this has been the best of the ones I have tried. It’s beautiful collection of green, light brown and dark chocolate colored leaves. Dry leaf aroma is less floral and more fruity. I don’t love it, but it’s not unpleasant. The liquor is a nice golden yellow.

There is something fruity in the flavor-perhaps pineapple-and that helps. One thing I have noticed in all the Darjeelings I’ve tried is a type of weedy flavor. Maybe like a dandelion-not sure. It’s hard for me to overcome that flavor, though this tea does better at that than the others.

I tried this about 3 days in a row and thought I was really coming around to it, but I didn’t have any over the long weekend, and now today, I am not sure how much I like it. I have been constant with brewing parameters. I still have a couple more brews worth in my sample, so I will try some more to see how it goes.

I’m not going to give a number rating to any FF Darjeelings unless I find some that I am sure that I like.

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Started drinking tea for health benefits maybe 5 years ago-exclusively bagged tea. Usually went for various Celestial Seasonings type of stuff. I bought a tea infuser at a gourmet shop once and then I realized there was almost no loose tea available. Eventually tiring of bags, I started ordering loose tea online and I have never gone back. Initially, I was exploring all the wild and exotic flavor combinations, but now I mostly drink straight teas. I still enjoy blended teas-but prefer those without “flavoring”. Hope to learn here and find some new teas I might not otherwise find. Am a vegan, so “milk” generally means “soymilk” to me. If it’s almond, rice, or coconut, I will mention that fact.

I am new here, and new to reviewing tea. Many of my initial reviews will be from memory and may not be very detailed at all. I hope to write more informative reviews on current and future teas.

I won’t let external factors affect my rating of the tea-such as slow shipping, too expensive, etc. I’ll mention any customer service problems in my reviews. I also won’t let my mistakes in not following the seller’s recommended parameters affect a rating. I can’t believe people who say “I forgot about it and oversteeped it” and then give it a rating. If I brew outside the parameters, I will wait until I brew it right before I give it a rating.

TEMPORARY RATING SYSTEM- Don’t hold me to these numbers and descriptions-like George Bluth, I like to tweak.

90+ It’s awesome, right?? I’ll probably try to keep it on hand.

80-89 – I really like this and will buy it again at some point, but there are so many teas to try!

70-79 – This is a pretty good tea and I may buy it again based on my mood, what tea store I am buying from, and what kind of deal I can get.

60-69 – This is okay. I finished the bag. I would drink it again if offered, but would not buy it again.

40-59 – IF I finished the bag, I recall this tea thinking “Why in the hell did I finish the bag?”

1-39 – Did not finish the bag. Maybe not even the cup. Tea was given away or discarded.

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Usa

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