I'm back, and cleared by the docs to drink more tea!

Heeeello! It feels great to be back here. I have had quite a rough week with a few very uncomfortable hospital visits. But I am now free to stay away from them for a while, and free to drink more tea! Cheers!

I have been enjoying my latest order from Upton Teas. The first package I opened was a sample of Tippy Yunnan Select. I steeped my first cup at work (where the water is good) and reacted to the aroma about like Toucan Sam sniffs out a bowl of Fruit Loops. It was like my nose just followed that sweet Yunnan tea scent of maple,caramel and nutmeg right down to the top of the pot. It had been several days since I had sipped a good cup of tea you see, so I may have gotten a little excited. Also exciting was the layer of thick malt resting atop the tea leaves, which were very intriguing to look at both when wet and dry. The word "tippy" in the name of this tea is not to be underrated.

Yunnan tea is different to me because it has so much flavor for having such a light body. Maybe not that light, but compared to a lot of other China black teas I think it does. This tea has a very nice array of flavors to ponder. My tongue flipped through them like a rolodex, discovering a modest bit of mocha, chasing a hint of hazelnut, and digging at other flavors lying underneath the ever present honeysuckle maple top. This is a very clean, easy sipping tea. There is not much of a mention of briskness in this cup, which I find common with 'tippy' Yunnans. I gave these leaves close to five minutes of steeping time, and a minimal amount of additives. It's not a terribly expensive tea, and I think its quality makes it a very good value. This is something I would like to have stocked in my tea shelf often. My next order from Upton will probably have to include a larger quantity of this tea.

I have opened a nice Assam and Ceylon BOP to share next time. Need to give them further review tomorrow so... see ya then!!