Upton's strength is supposed to be Darjeelings. So many are listed that it may be too many to chose from. If the year & season are not mentioned, I would inquire what they are before buying. the cost is somewhat of a guide--the cheapest may easily be the worst.
Personally for Darjeeling style, I have been drinking tea from Nepal.
Jan 16th, '16, 06:53
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Jan 16th, '16, 07:21
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Re: Favorite Black Tea
Seconded. No date (year or plucking date) and invoice number - no deal. More often than not vendors try to sell their old stuff that way, and from what I've seen and tasted, not too many folks know how to store (and pack) them correctly or don't take it seriously enough.ethan wrote:Upton's strength is supposed to be Darjeelings. So many are listed that it may be too many to chose from. If the year & season are not mentioned, I would inquire what they are before buying. the cost is somewhat of a guide--the cheapest may easily be the worst.
Personally for Darjeeling style, I have been drinking tea from Nepal.
If you're new to Darjeelings and/or Nepali teas you might want to get your hands on some samples first but make sure you get the real stuff - single estate teas rather than blends, even though a blend isn't a bad tea per se.
Re: Favorite Black Tea
The unsmoked version is nice toojanet11 wrote: Do you know Lapsang Souchong?It's famous for its smoky aroma and flavor.
Re: Favorite Black Tea
Qimen black tea and Lapsang souchong are my favorite black tea.
Maybe you could have a try. But if you like strong tea, Assam is a good choice. 


Re: Favorite Black Tea
The first black tea I was into was Earl Grey which I would drink with added lemon and sugar
After learning other much better teas and moving onto loose leaf my first real bulk purchase of a black tea was JinJunMei, so I have to say it is one of my top favorites.
Golden Monkey from Verdant Tea was one of the first blacks I couldn't stop coming back to when I would visit their old retail location in Minneapolis, and another old favorite would be Ruby 18.



After learning other much better teas and moving onto loose leaf my first real bulk purchase of a black tea was JinJunMei, so I have to say it is one of my top favorites.
Golden Monkey from Verdant Tea was one of the first blacks I couldn't stop coming back to when I would visit their old retail location in Minneapolis, and another old favorite would be Ruby 18.
Re: Favorite Black Tea
I love the complexity of the unsmoked version, not fully sure of the truth but I was told by my supplier that China has limitations on the amount of Lapsang Souchong that can be smoked.