Buying Fresh/Quality Darjeeling Tea

Hi all,

Before I start, I'd like to say that I'm new to this community, so I
apologize if I breach any rules of etiquette here. I've been searching
for this information using Google Groups and it looks like people can
get touchy when discussion turns commercial. I'm only looking for
information. Also, this post may be a little long winded, but I'm not
sure what information is or isn't important, so I'm erring on the side
of inclusion. Thanks for your patience with a tea novice.

I started drinking good tea a couple of years ago, and late last June,
started ordering from Upton. In particular, I ordered a Risheehat
First Flush that I liked very much. The aroma was very strong at this
point, and probably for the next month or two. I stored the tea in
Upton's tin, put in a cool dark place. By October, however, the aroma
of the tea became less pronounced, and the flavor less complex.

Now, in early February, I ordered a bunch of first and second flush
samples from Upton. I'm pretty happy with some of the second flushes,
but the first flushes seem to have lost potency just as my Risheehat
did. I thought this might be the quality of the tea; luckily, I'd
ordered the Risheehat again as a check. Sure enough, it tasted and
smelled like it did after a few months with me last time. I'm not sure
what to make of this, since the tea itself is around a year old at
this point.

So here are my questions:

1. Is this shelf life the best I can expect, or is there something I
can do to improve my storage? A few months seems a bit short to me.
2. Is this level of freshness what I can expect from all vendors, or
does Upton have a freshness issue?

I really loved the tea when it was fresh (or at least fresher), so I
was thinking of buying all my Darjeeling tea this year direct from
India.

3. Would this get me fresher and/or better tea than careful selection
from Upton or another (please recommend) US vendor?
4. If so, can anyone recommend and talk about their experience with a
particular site or distributor? I've seen Thunderbolt Tea, Tea
Emporium, and Lochan's sites. All of them look nice enough, but I'd
like to get some consumer opinions. I do know that their proprietors
(as well as Upton's) occasionally show up here; their input is very
welcome even if I'll take it with a grain of s

I'd also be interested in similar information for Assams or Nilgiris
if anyone has it. I have family in Bangalore so if anyone knows a good
Nilgiri, even if it's only sold locally, I'd appreciate the tip.

Thanks so much for your help!

Omkar

Forgot to add - I standardized my brewing procedure so the multiple
Risheehat tastings should be comparable.

Omkar

On Mar 20, 7:27 pm, Omkar <omkarmuralidha...@> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Before I start, I'd like to say that I'm new to this community, so I
> apologize if I breach any rules of etiquette here. I've been searching
> for this information using Google Groups and it looks like people can
> get touchy when discussion turns commercial. I'm only looking for
> information. Also, this post may be a little long winded, but I'm not
> sure what information is or isn't important, so I'm erring on the side
> of inclusion. Thanks for your patience with a tea novice.
>
> I started drinking good tea a couple of years ago, and late last June,
> started ordering from Upton. In particular, I ordered a Risheehat
> First Flush that I liked very much. The aroma was very strong at this
> point, and probably for the next month or two. I stored the tea in
> Upton's tin, put in a cool dark place. By October, however, the aroma
> of the tea became less pronounced, and the flavor less complex.
>
> Now, in early February, I ordered a bunch of first and second flush
> samples from Upton. I'm pretty happy with some of the second flushes,
> but the first flushes seem to have lost potency just as my Risheehat
> did. I thought this might be the quality of the tea; luckily, I'd
> ordered the Risheehat again as a check. Sure enough, it tasted and
> smelled like it did after a few months with me last time. I'm not sure
> what to make of this, since the tea itself is around a year old at
> this point.
>
> So here are my questions:
>
> 1. Is this shelf life the best I can expect, or is there something I
> can do to improve my storage? A few months seems a bit short to me.
> 2. Is this level of freshness what I can expect from all vendors, or
> does Upton have a freshness issue?
>
> I really loved the tea when it was fresh (or at least fresher), so I
> was thinking of buying all my Darjeeling tea this year direct from
> India.
>
> 3. Would this get me fresher and/or better tea than careful selection
> from Upton or another (please recommend) US vendor?
> 4. If so, can anyone recommend and talk about their experience with a
> particular site or distributor? I've seen Thunderbolt Tea, Tea
> Emporium, and Lochan's sites. All of them look nice enough, but I'd
> like to get some consumer opinions. I do know that their proprietors
> (as well as Upton's) occasionally show up here; their input is very
> welcome even if I'll take it with a grain of s
>
> I'd also be interested in similar information for Assams or Nilgiris
> if anyone has it. I have family in Bangalore so if anyone knows a good
> Nilgiri, even if it's only sold locally, I'd appreciate the tip.
>
> Thanks so much for your help!
>
> Omkar

On Mar 20, 9:27 pm, Omkar <omkarmuralidha...@> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Before I start, I'd like to say that I'm new to this community, so I
> apologize if I breach any rules of etiquette here. I've been searching
> for this information using Google Groups and it looks like people can
> get touchy when discussion turns commercial. I'm only looking for
> information. Also, this post may be a little long winded, but I'm not
> sure what information is or isn't important, so I'm erring on the side
> of inclusion. Thanks for your patience with a tea novice.
>
> I started drinking good tea a couple of years ago, and late last June,
> started ordering from Upton. In particular, I ordered a Risheehat
> First Flush that I liked very much. The aroma was very strong at this
> point, and probably for the next month or two. I stored the tea in
> Upton's tin, put in a cool dark place. By October, however, the aroma
> of the tea became less pronounced, and the flavor less complex.
>
> Now, in early February, I ordered a bunch of first and second flush
> samples from Upton. I'm pretty happy with some of the second flushes,
> but the first flushes seem to have lost potency just as my Risheehat
> did. I thought this might be the quality of the tea; luckily, I'd
> ordered the Risheehat again as a check. Sure enough, it tasted and
> smelled like it did after a few months with me last time. I'm not sure
> what to make of this, since the tea itself is around a year old at
> this point.
>
> So here are my questions:
>
> 1. Is this shelf life the best I can expect, or is there something I
> can do to improve my storage? A few months seems a bit short to me.
> 2. Is this level of freshness what I can expect from all vendors, or
> does Upton have a freshness issue?
>
> I really loved the tea when it was fresh (or at least fresher), so I
> was thinking of buying all my Darjeeling tea this year direct from
> India.
>
> 3. Would this get me fresher and/or better tea than careful selection
> from Upton or another (please recommend) US vendor?
> 4. If so, can anyone recommend and talk about their experience with a
> particular site or distributor? I've seen Thunderbolt Tea, Tea
> Emporium, and Lochan's sites. All of them look nice enough, but I'd
> like to get some consumer opinions. I do know that their proprietors
> (as well as Upton's) occasionally show up here; their input is very
> welcome even if I'll take it with a grain of s
>
> I'd also be interested in similar information for Assams or Nilgiris
> if anyone has it. I have family in Bangalore so if anyone knows a good
> Nilgiri, even if it's only sold locally, I'd appreciate the tip.
>
> Thanks so much for your help!
>
> Omkar

About six months ago, I gave my personal 5 stars to two Nilgiris from
Upton-TN68 and TN96. The Assams and Ceylons I liked are now sold
out. I keep my teas in their original envelope, then sealed with a
clip, then put in a small metal cannister. That seems to work for
me. Toci

On Mar 21, 11:00 am, toci <gina...m> wrote:
> On Mar 20, 9:27 pm, Omkar <omkarmuralidha...@> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hi all,
>
> > Before I start, I'd like to say that I'm new to this community, so I
> > apologize if I breach any rules of etiquette here. I've been searching
> > for this information using Google Groups and it looks like people can
> > get touchy when discussion turns commercial. I'm only looking for
> > information. Also, this post may be a little long winded, but I'm not
> > sure what information is or isn't important, so I'm erring on the side
> > of inclusion. Thanks for your patience with a tea novice.
>
> > I started drinking good tea a couple of years ago, and late last June,
> > started ordering from Upton. In particular, I ordered a Risheehat
> > First Flush that I liked very much. The aroma was very strong at this
> > point, and probably for the next month or two. I stored the tea in
> > Upton's tin, put in a cool dark place. By October, however, the aroma
> > of the tea became less pronounced, and the flavor less complex.
>
> > Now, in early February, I ordered a bunch of first and second flush
> > samples from Upton. I'm pretty happy with some of the second flushes,
> > but the first flushes seem to have lost potency just as my Risheehat
> > did. I thought this might be the quality of the tea; luckily, I'd
> > ordered the Risheehat again as a check. Sure enough, it tasted and
> > smelled like it did after a few months with me last time. I'm not sure
> > what to make of this, since the tea itself is around a year old at
> > this point.
>
> > So here are my questions:
>
> > 1. Is this shelf life the best I can expect, or is there something I
> > can do to improve my storage? A few months seems a bit short to me.
> > 2. Is this level of freshness what I can expect from all vendors, or
> > does Upton have a freshness issue?
>
> > I really loved the tea when it was fresh (or at least fresher), so I
> > was thinking of buying all my Darjeeling tea this year direct from
> > India.
>
> > 3. Would this get me fresher and/or better tea than careful selection
> > from Upton or another (please recommend) US vendor?
> > 4. If so, can anyone recommend and talk about their experience with a
> > particular site or distributor? I've seen Thunderbolt Tea, Tea
> > Emporium, and Lochan's sites. All of them look nice enough, but I'd
> > like to get some consumer opinions. I do know that their proprietors
> > (as well as Upton's) occasionally show up here; their input is very
> > welcome even if I'll take it with a grain of s
>
> > I'd also be interested in similar information for Assams or Nilgiris
> > if anyone has it. I have family in Bangalore so if anyone knows a good
> > Nilgiri, even if it's only sold locally, I'd appreciate the tip.
>
> > Thanks so much for your help!
>
> > Omkar
>
> About six months ago, I gave my personal 5 stars to two Nilgiris from
> Upton-TN68 and TN96. The Assams and Ceylons I liked are now sold
> out. I keep my teas in their original envelope, then sealed with a
> clip, then put in a small metal cannister. That seems to work for
> me. Toci

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to change how I store my tea,
but also buy this years Darjeelings direct from India. Does anyone
have experience with Tea Emporium, Thunderbolt, or Lochan?

BTW - I also really liked TN68. It really is a great tea, isn't it? I
liked the TA90 Assam (Nahorhabi) quite a lot; I found it pretty
similar to how Upton described it (not my experience for all teas in
the samples that I'm working through).

On Mar 24, 10:51 am, Omkar <omkarmuralidha...@> wrote:
> On Mar 21, 11:00 am, toci <gina...m> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Mar 20, 9:27 pm, Omkar <omkarmuralidha...@> wrote:
>
> > > Hi all,
>
> > > Before I start, I'd like to say that I'm new to this community, so I
> > > apologize if I breach any rules of etiquette here. I've been searching
> > > for this information using Google Groups and it looks like people can
> > > get touchy when discussion turns commercial. I'm only looking for
> > > information. Also, this post may be a little long winded, but I'm not
> > > sure what information is or isn't important, so I'm erring on the side
> > > of inclusion. Thanks for your patience with a tea novice.
>
> > > I started drinking good tea a couple of years ago, and late last June,
> > > started ordering from Upton. In particular, I ordered a Risheehat
> > > First Flush that I liked very much. The aroma was very strong at this
> > > point, and probably for the next month or two. I stored the tea in
> > > Upton's tin, put in a cool dark place. By October, however, the aroma
> > > of the tea became less pronounced, and the flavor less complex.
>
> > > Now, in early February, I ordered a bunch of first and second flush
> > > samples from Upton. I'm pretty happy with some of the second flushes,
> > > but the first flushes seem to have lost potency just as my Risheehat
> > > did. I thought this might be the quality of the tea; luckily, I'd
> > > ordered the Risheehat again as a check. Sure enough, it tasted and
> > > smelled like it did after a few months with me last time. I'm not sure
> > > what to make of this, since the tea itself is around a year old at
> > > this point.
>
> > > So here are my questions:
>
> > > 1. Is this shelf life the best I can expect, or is there something I
> > > can do to improve my storage? A few months seems a bit short to me.
> > > 2. Is this level of freshness what I can expect from all vendors, or
> > > does Upton have a freshness issue?
>
> > > I really loved the tea when it was fresh (or at least fresher), so I
> > > was thinking of buying all my Darjeeling tea this year direct from
> > > India.
>
> > > 3. Would this get me fresher and/or better tea than careful selection
> > > from Upton or another (please recommend) US vendor?
> > > 4. If so, can anyone recommend and talk about their experience with a
> > > particular site or distributor? I've seen Thunderbolt Tea, Tea
> > > Emporium, and Lochan's sites. All of them look nice enough, but I'd
> > > like to get some consumer opinions. I do know that their proprietors
> > > (as well as Upton's) occasionally show up here; their input is very
> > > welcome even if I'll take it with a grain of s
>
> > > I'd also be interested in similar information for Assams or Nilgiris
> > > if anyone has it. I have family in Bangalore so if anyone knows a good
> > > Nilgiri, even if it's only sold locally, I'd appreciate the tip.
>
> > > Thanks so much for your help!
>
> > > Omkar
>
> > About six months ago, I gave my personal 5 stars to two Nilgiris from
> > Upton-TN68 and TN96.  The Assams and Ceylons I liked are now sold
> > out.  I keep my teas in their original envelope, then sealed with a
> > clip, then put in a small metal cannister.  That seems to work for
> > me.     Toci
>
> Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to change how I store my tea,
> but also buy this years Darjeelings direct from India. Does anyone
> have experience with Tea Emporium, Thunderbolt, or Lochan?
>
> BTW - I also really liked TN68. It really is a great tea, isn't it? I
> liked the TA90 Assam (Nahorhabi) quite a lot; I found it pretty
> similar to how Upton described it (not my experience for all teas in
> the samples that I'm working through).

Ordered from Tea Emporium. Will let you all know how it turns out in a
week or two.

Omkar