I remember my obsession with tea beginning back in winter of 2008. I came down with a severe case of strep throat and it literally felt like I was swallowing razor blades, and I was just miserably sick. Besides getting antibiotics, I also got some lozenges and a pack of Tetley green tea to help soothe the pain. At that time, I was completely ignorant of how to properly brew tea, let alone green tea, so what I did was I boiled a pot of water and just dumped the tea bags in there for it to brew. After that I added heaps of honey because I just could not appreciate plain tea back then. The tea, although sweetened to the point that it barely seemed like green tea at all, turned out to be a life saver and I could forget the pain during the short moment I was drinking it.
This green tea from Upton kind of brought back that memory, and along with it the fondness I once had for green tea. It has very little if any astringency or grassy taste and is just really smooth from start to finish. The name of this tea “Temple of Heaven” is very fitting, since I feel like it cleanses my soul while it rests in eternal bliss.
195 °F / 90 °C
3 min, 30 sec