Upton Tea Imports

Despite being a Chinese black, this tastes very similar to an Indian black tea. It’s a medium amber color and brews up cleanly will little debris at the bottom. I get cherry notes when I smell it and it has a good amount of tanins but not overwhelming. There’s also a slight acidity.

I tried the blending trick with the China Black again this afternoon, and the results were again delicious. The steep time is a little tricky, since the China Black is supposed to steep for 3 minutes and the Mao Feng can soak for up to 8. I settled somewhere around 5 minutes. I used a bit more of the Mao Feng this time; perhaps I am (very) slowly building up a tolerance for smokiness!

I was struck this time by the mouthwatering aroma of the dry leaves. I stuck my nose into the bag and inhaled deeply, and felt compelled to do it again and again. The scent reminds me of chocolate licorice (those brown Twizzlers that are sold in the disappointingly smaller bag than the other flavors).

I think I am going to make up a little bag of my special blend and take it to work with me so I can enjoy it any afternoon I choose.

I’m kind of wimpy when it comes to smoke notes in tea. I want there to be just the slightest suggestion of smoke, if any … like the trace of tobacco you’d barely detect in the elevator after getting into it an hour after your pipe-smoking neighbor had gotten out. So this tea by itself is a bit too smoky for me. However, yesterday I made a two-cup pot of Organic China Black FOP and blended in just a pinch of this, and it was a revelation. Those few leaves of Keemun Mao Feng elevated it from a satisfying brew to a sublime one.

Drank hot instead of iced for breakfast. Deep copper color, palate-cleansing astringency, mellowed with a touch of milk. A surprisingly delicious welcome to the morning!