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Green Tea by Upton Tea Imports
The Kandy district of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) yields flavorful teas which are influenced by the same dry winds between monsoons that blow through Uva, and the prime picking season runs from December through early Spring. Dumbara Green Curls is a medium-bodied green tea with a robust character, refreshing pungency and gentle peach-like notes. We recommend a 3 minute infusion using 180° water.
Tried this one chilled without having a cup hot first, but it makes a good plain summer cooler… poured into glass bottles, cooled, straight into the fridge. I’m never very precise with my water temps, but I must have accidentally hit the butter zone on this one—no bitterness or strong veggie taste at all.
(Sorry, wombatgirl … this does deserve a limerick, but a have a post-lousy-night’s-sleep headache that’s even making full sentences a stretch. Maybe next steep.)
You all would be proud of me – I took my tiny cheesemaking thermometer (smaller than a pen!) to work so I could make greens and oolongs! It wasn’t any trouble at all. This was my first one (and I do mean first one – I’ve never brewed green tea myself!).
It brewed to a beautiful golden color. It’s not very vegetal or very smoky. It’s not bitter. It’s a very solid tea :) but it’s not blowing me away. I would drink it again but probably not go out of my way to repurchase. I’ll be able to give better reviews once I’m familiar with more greens.
The dry leaf smells slightly smokey, the steeped leaf smells seaweed-ish. The brew is browny-green, and it smells.. not really seaweed-ish nor really green. A mild scent of green tea with a hint of something more, and a hint of seaweed.
The flavor is on the bitter side, and vegetal. I need to try this again with a thermometer – I just used the pouring cooling method to get it close. As it is, I’m not fond of this tea.
This Ceylon Green is small curls, not as tight as gunpowder. 10 oz 180F (guesstimated) 3 min as recommended turned out brisker than I wanted. Serious existential question: “Will a green tea ever inspire me to get out the thermometer?”
