Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

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Oct 17th, '12, 20:11
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Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by teanovice78 » Oct 17th, '12, 20:11

Hello,
I have been trying black teas at my local tea shop; tea smith in omaha. After trying several I really liked their Assam Sessa estate and the Golden Monkey.
I'm new to tea so I am not sure how to describe their flavors. I also tried a china breakfast which I thought had little aroma or flavor compared to the 2 I mentioned above. I also tried a blacksmith blend and also thought it was average flavor but also seemed dull to me and was a bit bitter.
Based upon the Assam and the Golden Monkey, what are other teas that would be along those lines or better? I can't really explain what I like about them as much as saying they have a smell and flavor that I really enjoy. Thanks and sorry for the vagueness.

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Oct 17th, '12, 21:53
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Poohblah » Oct 17th, '12, 21:53

Try Yunnan black teas (Yunnan dianhong or Yunnan hongcha), also sold as "Golden Needles" or "Yunnan Gold", such as this, this, or this from Adagio, this from Rishi, or, my personal favorite source of dianhong, Yunnan Sourcing.

Golden Monkey is possibly a Fujian black tea. Adagio sells this as well. Assamese tea is very common and you should be able to find it almost anywhere, often sold as something like "English Breakfast Tea".

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Oct 18th, '12, 00:03
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Tead Off » Oct 18th, '12, 00:03

Yunnan black/red teas are usually on the sweet side, very pleasant. Taiwan black teas are also flavorful but not as sweet, closer to Assam. Darjeelings more fruity and lighter than all. Korean black teas also offer a very interesting mix of flavor and body.

To single out one type of black tea as being a favorite would be very hard for me to do. The variety of Chinese teas is enormous with selections of black teas from various areas giving different flavor profiles. This is simply a world that you have to explore slowly and get to know. That's the fun of it.

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Oct 18th, '12, 06:50
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by sherubtse » Oct 18th, '12, 06:50

Tead Off wrote:This is simply a world that you have to explore slowly and get to know. That's the fun of it.
Any vendors in particular that you favour for blacks/reds?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Oct 18th, '12, 10:46
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by teanovice78 » Oct 18th, '12, 10:46

Tead Off,
I agree; it is fun to explore and try new kinds. I wish I could find something to do with the ones I don't like so much! :)

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Oct 18th, '12, 11:46
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Chip » Oct 18th, '12, 11:46

teanovice78 wrote:I wish I could find something to do with the ones I don't like so much! :)
There is TeaSwap ...

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Oct 18th, '12, 11:55
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by teanovice78 » Oct 18th, '12, 11:55

Chip, Thanks for the great idea! I posted them on there. Dan :)

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Oct 19th, '12, 07:39
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Tead Off » Oct 19th, '12, 07:39

sherubtse wrote:
Tead Off wrote:This is simply a world that you have to explore slowly and get to know. That's the fun of it.
Any vendors in particular that you favour for blacks/reds?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
For Yunnan teas, yunnansourcing.com
Darjeelings, teaemporium.net
Korean blacks I've had sent by friends in Korea.

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Oct 19th, '12, 18:55
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by sherubtse » Oct 19th, '12, 18:55

Tead Off wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
Tead Off wrote:This is simply a world that you have to explore slowly and get to know. That's the fun of it.
Any vendors in particular that you favour for blacks/reds?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
For Yunnan teas, yunnansourcing.com
Darjeelings, teaemporium.net
Korean blacks I've had sent by friends in Korea.
Thanks for the suggestions.

What about vendors for Assams & Ceylons?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Oct 20th, '12, 01:23
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Tead Off » Oct 20th, '12, 01:23

sherubtse wrote:
Tead Off wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
Tead Off wrote:This is simply a world that you have to explore slowly and get to know. That's the fun of it.
Any vendors in particular that you favour for blacks/reds?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
For Yunnan teas, yunnansourcing.com
Darjeelings, teaemporium.net
Korean blacks I've had sent by friends in Korea.
Thanks for the suggestions.

What about vendors for Assams & Ceylons?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
Neither of these teas hold that much interest to me. Someone just gave me 1/2 a kilo of Ambagasdowa Ceylon tea upon returning from Sri Lanka. It's a decent tea and I can get pleasant flavor out of it but nothing on the level of good Darjeelings/Nepali and Nilgiri Hills teas. Same with Assam, but many people do enjoy Assam teas. Sorry, can't help you with these two types.

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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by sherubtse » Oct 20th, '12, 05:03

Tead Off wrote:Someone just gave me 1/2 a kilo of Ambagasdowa Ceylon tea upon returning from Sri Lanka. It's a decent tea and I can get pleasant flavor out of it but nothing on the level of good Darjeelings/Nepali and Nilgiri Hills teas.
Last question: Do you have any suggestions for vendors of Nilgiri & Nepali teas?

Thanks for your help.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Oct 20th, '12, 09:55
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by MIKE_B » Oct 20th, '12, 09:55

Years ago I used to get all my black tea from http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/home.asp
I think they have gotten mixed reviews here, but they have a massive selection.

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Oct 20th, '12, 13:27
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by gingkoseto » Oct 20th, '12, 13:27

MIKE_B wrote:Years ago I used to get all my black tea from http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/home.asp
I think they have gotten mixed reviews here, but they have a massive selection.
I just got my first order from them a few months ago, with all Indian and Ceylon tea samples, since I replaced half of my morning coffee with milk tea (coffee is too time-consuming for the morning...)
I think most unsatisfactory reviews I saw about upton is that they are not good enough. But overall I don't think they have major flaws as a vendor, and I think their tea is surely good enough for the price. The $50-60 samples of my last order would probably last me for a whole year, if not longer. And I'm using them wastefully with one infusion only, something I had almost never done before :P
May Chinese tea drinkers would say Indian and Ceylon black teas are short of aftertaste. On the other hand, I feel many of them stand out better through milk than Chinese black tea. Especially the uprising floral type of flavor (possibly due to anthocyanin) that I usually can't bear with in regular tea drinking, I feel it sort of blends well with milk!

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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Chip » Oct 20th, '12, 14:38

Heh, the Upton site is very retro, like out of the 90's. I remember 10 years ago, one of their officers told me they were working on a new site and at that time they would add my requested harvest info ... still waiting (for the most part).

Upton is a decent source for India region black teas and other blacks. The biggest problem with Upton is that greens do not store well (which Gingko just mentioned in a green tea topic post), and they do not source particularly good ones to begin with. Often it seemed they were quite stale. Part of this is also likely due in part to the humungous selection they offer in many types of teas.

I eventually walked away ... no ran away from Upton since I drink mostly greens, their failure to offer harvest info, and very mediocre greens compared to what I began to find elsewhere.

But blacks ... go for it.

How is that for a mixed review? :lol:

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Oct 21st, '12, 00:53
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Re: Help with black teas w/particular taste profile.

by Tead Off » Oct 21st, '12, 00:53

sherubtse wrote:
Tead Off wrote:Someone just gave me 1/2 a kilo of Ambagasdowa Ceylon tea upon returning from Sri Lanka. It's a decent tea and I can get pleasant flavor out of it but nothing on the level of good Darjeelings/Nepali and Nilgiri Hills teas.
Last question: Do you have any suggestions for vendors of Nilgiri & Nepali teas?

Thanks for your help.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
The source I have for Nilgiri is in New Delhi and doesn't have mail order. I would also like to find a good Nepali source for Nepali teas. I know some of the Czech sites like darjeeling.cz and others were carrying good Nepali teas.

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