Upton Tea Imports

Very astringent, but not bitter. Definitely a tea for milk. Nice beginning to the day but not destined to be a favorite.

Wow, talk about an unusual looking tea. Just look at the picture of the leaves, or in this case, maybe stones is more appropriate. It’s a dull green color, and looks exactly like the foam that florists use to make arrangements. It has a chalky (not shiny) appearance and each stone is the size of a large pea. When you brew it, you expect it to unfurl right? Well it doesn’t! The tea is named Oolong but obviously looks green.

How does it taste? Like a very very light oolong with a hint of ginseng but also some green tea attributes. It has a hint of spiciness (the same way ginger is spicy) that rubs the back of your throat. I normally don’t think tea has much of a smell or at least anything to write about but this one has a nice floral aroma!

A must try!

Not loving it as much today as before. I don’t know if I am just not in the mood or what. Bumping down a bit. I did have this with stir-fry a few nights ago and thought that the food overwhelmed the oolong.

I love this oolong. It’s the kind of oolong that reminds me of sitting in a Chinese restaurant drinking cup after cup of tea. I was worried what it was roasted and thought it would be smoky verging on bbq but it is not all. There might be a little smokiness in the background but it is not a big component. There is a bit of peach and jasmine flavors. There is no grassiness in the taste. The smell is a little smoky and a little vegetal. Really a nice oolong.

I’m gonna save the rest of this sample for stir-fry dinner later in the week (and I’ll pull out the chopsticks too).

I got this as a sample when I ordered some supplies from Upton. I think I will order more of this one.

I didn’t realize I had tasted this about a year ago but here’s a new harvest/batch. The leaves are quite large so it brews exceptionally clean/clear. Color is a light molasses or a dark honey, depending on your experience. Pleasing aroma but it’s very faint. There’s a slight acidity at the back of my tongue. Little to no aftertaste. I am really enjoying how approachable this is. Would be a good tea for people getting into Darjeelings.

4.5 grams for an 8-10 oz cup of boiling water. This is an intense tea. Dark and malty with heavy tanins on the back of the tongue. Medium viscosity, good coating. Definitely a morning wake up tea, that’s why I am having it right now (1030A). The color is dark caramel but almost red in hue. Great Darjeeling.

I love Moroccan mint tea. I can’t deny it. I have to admit I think it’s very suspect of Upton, whose tea I drink almost exclusively, to source their mint tea from Germany. I am sorry but what does Germany know about tea? Anyway, this is actually a good tasting tea. It’s a blend and my feelings about tea blends are similar to my feelings about Scotch blends, though I am easing up on both. This tea brews up very cleanly – little to no residual leaves or “dustings” at the bottom of the mug. The color is a light golden and there’s a hint of acidity on the front of the tongue. There is an underlying tone of tanins but nothing like you’d get in a darker tea. The mint is very subtle but is definitely present. This is an extremely relaxing tea and I wish I could on a comfortable sofa right now instead of my office chair.

Backlog:

There are two listings for this tea here on Steepster, but since I’ve already written about this tea on this listing, I went with this one.

I like this tea quite a bit. Yeah, it’s on the smoky side, but the smoke notes are soft and don’t interfere with the bergamot notes. A slight malty note to the tea as well, with hints of chocolate. Notes of grapefruit are slightly stronger than the bergamot notes. It’s a really nice medley of flavors.

Finishing up the last of this sampling that Doulton sent me. Thank you! You are so kind!

I really like this tea – I think I may even like the smoky quality to it! And that’s not an easy feat. I notice that the smokiness is more in the aroma than in the flavor though. If I smell the tea before I sip (which I normally do) the taste is much smokier than if I sip without a deep inhale. But… I don’t find the smoky flavor here unpleasant – quite the opposite, actually.

I use a little extra leaf and steep a little less time than the brewing parameters suggest… and the tea comes out perfectly for me.

Another gift from Doulton – What a great package she sent me!

I was a little concerned when I first read on this tea, as it is a “Russian” Earl Grey – and that typically communicates to me “smoky.” But, after smelling the tea I could detect no strong smoky scent – a slight smokiness, yes, but, not a strong smoky scent – I decided to go ahead and brew some and give it a try.

I’m glad I did! This is delightful. As the company description reads on this tea – it’s a departure from traditional earl grey. I can taste the grapefruit notes, which are in perfect harmony with the bergamot! The slight smoky scent translates into the brewed liquor as well, but again, it is not a strong, smoky flavor.

Pleasantly robust with a bright, vigorous flavor – this would be an excellent tea for one of those mornings that I’d rather not be awake, but have to be! (Kind of like this morning was! haha) A dry astringency to the tea, but not unpleasantly so.

I did not brew it as long as the steeping suggestions recommend – and I’m glad I didn’t. I feel that at 2 1/2 minutes, this tea is strong and flavorful, but, I fear that at 5 minutes I would have had a bitter tasting cup.

This is one that I would consider buying – but you know what? It’s not one that I would have considered buying before this tasting. I MUST get over my predisposition to automatically dismiss a Russian blend. Russian blends are good!

A white tea with a hint of vanilla in the background. The vanilla is very very subtle. The smell is a little grassy. The aftertaste is a bit sour. I thought I would like this one more. Glad it is only a sample size.

I was worried since there are rose petals in the tea, but those don’t seem to add any flavor and just look pretty in the mix.

A truly black black Chinese tea. According to Upton, less than 40kg of this tea was produced. The price certainly reflects it. It’s a very dark caramel flavor. Not the kind you’d find in a supermarket candy bar, but one you’d make on a stove. Maybe close to the hard crack stage. Very strong initial taste but since it’s a fairly thing tea, it dissipates quickly. Not much lingering around after swallowing. I like this but to be honest, don’t really see why it’s supposed to be so special. It’s high brew temp and thinness intensifies the need to swallow it quickly which does not leave much time for enjoying it. I’d recommend pairing with some sweets (cookies or pastry) and letting it cool down 15 degrees before enjoying.

I ended up with another sample of this.

This time I cold brewed it for more like 36 hours and it made quite a difference. Much more flavorful and round.

It’s also really nice with food. Better, I think, with food than as a stand alone drink. I had it with pasta and marinara sauce and it went very nicely.

Bumping up a few points as I enjoyed it more this time around.