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Equusfell drank TP40: Rose Congou by Upton Tea Imports

122 tasting notes

Had this for the first time last night before bed (silly me! I wanted some tea and this was all I had at home that was looseleaf!), and cooled the rest of the pot for lunch today. It is probably one of the nicest black teas I have drank. I didn’t find it that floral (maybe I’m expecting perfume flavors, like a jasmine tea?) but the rose was present. Overall it was like a less strong English Breakfast with very little sweetness, the sweetness it did have coming from the rose. I know it was ‘mixed’ specifically for me on 10/17 because the package says so, so maybe the the floral factor with go up as the tea ages. And age it will, the package is gigantic!
I’m actually concerned, given that I just bought this tea and thought I would be in love with it, that I just may be having a falling out with black teas. I’m just so obsessed with the silkiness of oolongs lately, black seems so thick and cloying. I still think I will drink this one up for the caffeine boost in the mornings, since it is way better than the standard supermarket black or cheapie-cheap ceylon I usually turn to for a caffeine hit.
Cooled, it has bittered significantly. Definitely needs sugar now, but the rose has come more to the forefront. I think I would make it stronger, and try cold brewing it next time for iced tea. The current cooled state is a result of me realizing how late it was to be drinking a whole pot of black tea!

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Floral, Rose

Preparation

Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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I started drinking something other than Sleepytime in my first year of grad school, 2011. Enabled by a few decent local tea shops in a big city, I amassed a small cupboard of teas that I now find harsh and bad (haha, I’m getting in too deep!). With my move back to the US and subsequent geographic isolation from tea shops, I recently discovered the world of online tea vendors.
My cupboard is slowly growing but still small. Regardless I am interested in swaps, if you find something in my collection that you would like to try, ask away! I just can’t guarantee yet that I have a lot of it!
I’m very into Jade oolongs and anything that has a floral character (especially jasmine, rose, violet, and lychee scented things!). Most green teas, excepting the extremely bitter, are good in my book, and again I seek sweeter, fresher, greener types, though nutty/savory teas have their place (as long as they don’t tip over into salty!). I then to shy away from smokey or overly roasted teas and for this reason and the fact that I am not a fan of chocolate, everyone’s favorite blacks and wuyi oolongs tend to fall flat for me. White teas are alright but I don’t tend to reach for them unless they are floral scented. I rarely drink herbals, chamomile and I do not get along, but a basic vanilla rooibos, or some flavored green rooibos’ can be interesting.
In general, it could be said that I tend toward floral and sweet oolong, sheng (as well as moonlight whites and yabaos), matcha, and green teas.

As of now my rating system follows the school grading scale in terms of how well the tea performs and how well I like it (100-90 A, 89-80 B, etc.). Anything above 90 will eventually end up in my cupboard, though it’s fine to keep a B student around for daily drinkers!

Location

Athens, Ohio

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