Robert Fortune Blend 41: Darjeeling & Yunnan (TB84)

This is a nice tea.
I get some apple fruit notes in it along with the honeyed sweetness.
Some malt, and some smoke but not overly smokey.
I am far too tired to do a full review on this one so I am just going to enjoy it.
Passing the rest of this sample along to Yssah – working on her box this weekend to send out Monday.
While I could see this being worthwhile to have in a daily rotation due to a good flavor I don’t think that I will as I just have already have a good supply of excellent black teas already.
I may add this to the shopping list though just in case I ever make an upton’s order. Its worth getting again.
The sweetness is light but present. I like that.
The fruit notes are lovely.
The mouthfeel is full and just ever so slightly creamy.
Would be an excellent iced tea as well.

You know I love a good Yunnan and I know my Sororitea Sister Liberteas LOVES Darjeeling…so that is why I got this sample when I re-ordered. It’s very different and I don’t think I can compare it to anything else I have tried. But I really like it!

It smells malty but with a spec of smoke. It also has just a little bit of fruit goodness trying to hide underneath!

The flavor is incredible malty with a fair amount of ‘crustiness’. There is a bit of smoke, a little fruit, and a hint of bitterness – but in a good way.

This offers a a roller coaster of flavors and a unique and conversational tasting experience!

This is a very unusual tea for me. It tastes like a light yunnan with some fruity notes. It really leaves my mouth dry and does have some bitterness with a light astringency. As it cools I get a kind of medicine aftertaste. I usually like yunnan teas but I really don’t like this one. It may be the darjeeling. I’ll try some diferent parameters to see if I can make it drinkable.

This was our morning tea at work today.

Malty, sweetish, fruity, smooth, little smokey. Definitely a Yunnan and also definitely a Darjeeling. Little hit of astringency at the end, but not much.

This was another sample I purchased ten plus years ago, along with the Baker Street Blend. I am reviewing this tea, based on my memory ten years ago, so please bear with me. OOPS….I almost posted “bare with me”, in which case I would have been asking you to get naked with me (while drinking tea?!). Hehehehehe…..

First let me say that I used to always use sugar in my tea, until around 1998-1999, when I first tasted a FF Darjeeling from the Pussimbing tea garden. Ever since, only on rare occasions, will I add sugar to lesser tea bags, and iced tea. So no sugar or milk was added to this tea as it would spoil the flavor. I really can’t remember enough to comment on the aroma, leaf, or cup color.

Darjeelings are my favorite black tea, so I ordered this thinking the Yunnan would pair well. I love it when my tea expectations are met, and this was the case here. I would say the Darjeeling is somewhat more prominent of the two teas-but not overly so.The Darjeeling lent a bright, crispness to the tea, perhaps slightly flowery as well. The Yunnan tea added a peppery spiciness. Together the two teas shared the stage very well, playing off of one another, neither tea stealing the the show.

Another great blend from Upton Tea Imports, and better than the Baker Street Blend. I may post another review of the Robert Fortune Blend, paying closer attention to aroma, leaf, and cup color. Until then fellow steepsters, this is my review and I am sticking to it!

CHEERS!! :)

Been doing Upton Imports sampler thunderdomes, two teas at a time, sometimes with comparison qualities obvious (same flush or estate darjeelings, say), sometimes less so, like here where I compared Upton TB84, Robert Fortune Blend (darjeeling and yunnan), with Upton TE22, Sacher Blend (scented darjeeling).

This has a more roasted, grassy aroma dry, sort of salad-y. Both teas smell nice in the cup. This one’s slightly paler, less red, bit more gold. Bit tannic and astringent, but still not as much as Sacher, smoother but also a little more bitter. Was a little worried ‘cause normally I am very meh about yunnan—don’t find it bad, just unremarkable in every way—but this isn’t bad. Can take some milk and sugar. Definitely a drinkable blend, but there are so many high quality blends out there (just think of all the earl greys and caravans alone!) that I doubt I’d rebuy.

This is a nice blend. It’s full bodied with a whisper of red wine beneath a dark tea flavor. I was nervous because it smelled like salad when dry, but the brewed tea is nothing like the dry smell and the aroma in the cup is fresh and sweet and lemony.