Upton Tea Imports

So I was directed to the Upton Tea site, recently, where, noticing that they have $1 samples and possessing no self-control, I promptly bought something like 15 different samples of tea. This is the first of them that I’ve tried and I really like the blend. Just the right amount of smoky. I’m not that into smoky teas so not exactly something I’ll be drinking on a daily basis, but certainly a nice break from the norm.

This is the last tea in the Upton sampler, and the only one that is a China Oolong rather than a Formosa Oolong. I’ve really enjoyed all of these and I’m looking forward to comparing Oolongs from other companies as well as some of the pricier ones at Upton to see if pricier equates to that much better.

I don’t know whether it is psychological or whether I read this somewhere, or both, but I expected this one, since it is last, to be the most complex, fullest, heartiest and perhaps even best of the bunch. It’s been a while since I had enough time to feel as though I could enjoy this without rushing through it, as I knew I’d want to put it through multiple steeps. Of course, since it has been so long between my note on the third sample, the Jade Oolong, and this one, I don’t have a clear memory of what that one was like. So I’m going to do a side by side taste test of those two. (I don’t think my bladder could handle doing multiple infusions of all four samples, and I’d probably be bouncing off the walls all night. I may be too caffeinated for this hour now as it is.)

However, I will comment on the dry leaves of all four. These do in fact look the fullest and heartiest. They’re big and and curly and greenish brown. They have the most in common with the Formosa Amber leaves in terms of color and the intriciacies of their curl, but they’re uniformly large whereas the Amber’s vary in size. The Fine Grade looks a little mulchy by comparison, and the Jade’s curls are smaller and the leaves greener. The aroma comparison is pretty interesting as well. The first three teas each seem to have a dominant note in the aroma of the dry leaves. The Fine Grade is toasty, the Amber is white-winey (champagny), and the Jade is “green.” This one is richer and deeper than all of the others. It’s got both the toasty and champagny notes, but they’re smoother and without the tang the others have.

I steeped these in identical glass mugs, using identical amounts of tea (1 tsp) and identical amounts of water (about 7 oz, I think — I forgot to measure the mug’s capacity first). Either there’s something wrong with my eyes, or the liquor of these is indistinguishable in color. They’re both a golden yellow color with maybe a little twinge of green. I’d love to be able to say one is greener or oranger than the other, but I really can’t.

The Se Chung’s aroma in the cup is bolder and has the toasty/champagny overtones of the dry leaves. The Jade is more delicate and more floral.

On the first steep at 3 minutes, the Se Chung is less silky in the mouth than the Jade, but bolder, deeper, and less green in flavor. Very pleasant, though the Jade is as nice as I remember it, too. (Did I mention that I’m finding this side by side tasting thing hard? I’m trying to clear my palate with crackers between tastes, but I’m wondering if the crackers are affecting the taste in their own way…. Any tips from those more experienced greatly appreciated.)

Second infusion, 4 min.+ The Se Chung’s mouth feel got creamier, and the flavors opened up some and became rounder and more buttery. There’s something else, too, that is more noticeable this time which could be a floral note. (I am particularly bad at identifying floral notes when I’m not told that the tea has jasmine, rose, or whatever in it.) The Jade is much as I’d said in my first note about it. On this steep the two seem to be converging toward a tawny/floral middle ground.

Third infusion, 5+ minutes. And they diverged again. The Jade took a very subtle turn toward the vegetal, though it was still silky and buttery. The Se Chung remained much where it had been in terms of flavors, on the toasty/woodsy side of things. But the flavors seemed to become more varied and more interesting, though I am having a failure of imagination trying to find comparisons for these more varied flavors.

Fourth infusion, 6 min.+ Though they were both pretty mellow and starting to fade by this time, the Se Chung had more of a nutty perkiness to it while the Jade was rounder and continued its subtle drift toward the vegetal.

The infused leaves of the Jade are significantly lighter and a fairly uniform green, and those of the Se Chung are darker, more varigated in color. And as could have been anticipated by the appearance of the dry leaves, they were generally longer and broader than those of the Jade.

So where do I come out? I’m not sure. It’s pretty close to a tie, and I think the question of whether one is better than the other really boils down to which I’d be in the mood for at the time. I can see keeping both on hand, potentially, and drinking the Jade when I’m looking for something mellower and the Se Chung when I’m looking for something more “Oolongy.” I’m giving the Se Chung a slightly higher mark, only because I do think it has more in common with the Formosa Amber, and I enjoyed it more.

I’ve been conserving the precious few leaves of this I have left, now that it’s “currently unavailable” and it may be months before I can get more. But today is Easter, so I celebrated by brewing up 12 ounces of PBS, which I am savoring a small cup at a time. It’s a bigger treat than a chocolate bunny or a marshmallow Peep!:)

I’m almost out of my beloved Bohea, but I’m able to enjoy it nonetheless, secure in the knowledge that another 400 grams is on its way (packed immediately and shipped within hours of my ordering — yay, Upton, for so clearly understanding the nature of tea dependency!). I’ve settled on five minutes of steep time and a heaping tablespoon of dry leaf per cup. Soon I’ll be able to measure it in grams with a pocket scale that’s also on its way (yay, Amazon!) and be sure I’m not wasting a single precious leaf.

Yesterday I attempted a second steep with the wet leaves left in my French press — not something I normally try with black teas, and, as it turns out, not something I’d recommend with this one. All the cocoa-y flavor went into the first steep, and the liquor from the second tasted rather flat. Oh well … you can’t blame me for trying to get a little extra mileage out of my favorite!

Sunday morning and a French press full of Bohea Supreme … what could be better? Although I confess I’ve gotten so attached to this tea that I haven’t been reserving it solely for weekend use, and the level in my 200-gram bag is already getting distressingly low. This morning I’m getting a honeyed note from this, more than a cocoa one, maybe because I measured out a little less of the dry leaf. It’s nice to know my favorite tea still has unexplored dimensions.

Nailed it!:) This morning I’m finding this tea so satisfying that I haven’t even gotten around to eating breakfast yet. (Note to self: Approach Upton with book proposal for “The Bohea Supreme Diet.”)

Ah, what a pleasure to share a quiet weekend morning with Bohea Supreme again! This mellow tea calls for a generous measuring hand and a longish steep, but in my enthusiasm I might have gone a tad overboard with both today. There was still no bitterness, but the cocoa flavor was a little less prominent than before. No worries; I’ll get it right tomorrow!

The Bohea Supreme has the same round, incredibly mellow character as its sister, Bohea Select, sans the slightly funky tinge of wet leaves. The delicious cocoa note is stronger in this one, and I found that a little unsweetened vanilla-flavored almond milk really brings it out. This tea is the perfect choice for a laid-back Sunday morning when I want to be wakened gently and start my day with a satisfied smile. My only complaint is how quickly I’m using it up!

On weekends at home I fall into an unfortunate habit of overcaffeinating myself. That’s the inevitable result when a lover of “hard-core black teas” [tm SimplyJenW] is close to the kitchen all day and repeatedly thinks, “You know what would be great now? A(nother) pot of tea!”

I just brewed my third pot of the day. I ended up second-guessing my choices for Pots 1 and 2 — which involved four different Ceylons, as it happens — but I know that won’t happen with Pot 3, good old Organic China Black FOP. Rich and mellow, a little cocoa, a little vanilla, and nothing I could possibly regret … well, except for the extra dose of caffeine.

Lately the heat has been so beastly that I’ve been drinking hot tea only at breakfast (one of my customary Assams) and quaffing gallons of decaf iced tea (made from Trader Joe’s decaf Irish Breakfast, which I just learned is 100 percent Kenya — it pays to read the back of the box!) the rest of the day.

But today when I got home from the supermarket, I was tired from toting bags and damp from a sudden thundershower. And when I looked up at the kitchen clock, it was a little after four. Clearly, it was time for a nice pot of tea. The organic China Black played its role of Perfect Afternoon Tea … well, to a tee! It was comforting and reviving and, with the addition of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, even revealed a hint of chocolatiness that it had never shown me before. (I must also acknowledge the rice cake with peanut butter and the perfectly ripe peach, both of which performed their supporting roles admirably.)

This was a very good teatime indeed!

I don’t usually drink my black teas in the evening, but today I made an exception. I hadn’t had any caffeine since breakfast and was really looking forward to a satisfying cup when I got home from work. I chose this reliable tea, and it didn’t disappoint.

This tea seems “just right” on so many occasions. Sometimes it replaces my usual Assam at breakfast, and it’s often my first choice for afternoon tea. It has both strength and clarity of flavor. As Upton’s notes say, it’s like an unsmoky Keemun, which I have come to recognize is my favorite kind.

I like this tea. I would describe it as a mellow chai, not lots of cinnamon and not lots of cardamon flavor but really nice. I only purchased a sample of this but I think I would be willing to purchase a tin.

This is still not my “perfect chocolate” tea – maybe Florence will be the one?

I took a better look at the leaves this time – it’s and interesting mix of broken black leaves and golden tips. I love the color of the liqueur, a really vibrant red. The taste isn’t wowing me this time though; the malty baked assam flavor is trending a little bit towards… sawdust. Sadly :( Even with a generous dollop of milk it’s drying my tongue out a bit. I have enough left in the sample for another cup or two though, so I’ll have to play with the steeping parameters (less leaf, maybe?) and see if it was my fault.

Got a sample of this from JacquelineM, like everyone else it seems :) This is a good breakfast blend: strong, dark (nice dark red color in the cup), takes milk well. There’s a bit of a chocolate-y aftertaste, and it’s fairly smooth relative to the strength, but I do like it better with a little milk. Without, there’s a bit of a harsh bite, though that could probably be avoided through steeping conditions. As is, this is just right for a kick in the morning, and I may be buying more when the sample’s gone.

This is a very nice tea with citrus notes. It has no bitterness that I can find and only a slight astringency. The tea has plenty of tips in it. While this is not a brisk robust tea, it would make a very nice afternoon tea.

This is a smooth, mellow, aromatic tea. The smell is like sugary raisin and sweet smelling. I don’t get any bitterness and only light astringency. Lots of tips in this tea.

This is a very nice tea whose flavor reminds me a little of Lifeboat Tea. Its much more refined as it is whole leaf and has nice citrus notes. You can even smell it in the dry tea. The tea has a nice flavor and a mellow taste. Lifeboat would be considered harsh compared to this tea. Very light astringency and just a touch of bitterness on the back of the tongue.
Easy to drink and I like it.

I logged this one pretty early on and have learned more about teas since then so I thought I’d log it again. I have gone from loving this tea, to being disappointed after discovering pure Lapsang and craving that, to appreciating this tea again. I’ve begun tasting the different dimensions of this tea. The Lapsang is pretty easy to pull out but the Darjeeling and Keemun are there too. For the last two, I can detect 2 other teas presence but right now I’m still unable to definitely say “yes, that it the Darjeeling or Yes, that is the Keemun”. I did want to note a discovery I had with this tea. It seems to be possible, depending on the steeping process, to make one of the teas come out more strongly. A couple days ago I brewed this and was impatient so used water a touch under boiling and brewed for 2 minutes. The Lapsang was stronger. Today I used boiling water and brewed about 3 minutes (I was busy when the timer went off) and one of the others is stronger (still can’t separate them very well yet). I remember always liking this tea better with shorter steeps. I think because the Lapsang came out more. Interesting… I’d really like to learn to differentiate Keemun and Darjeeling better though.

This tea is different today. I’m not sure what I did. It has more of a vegal smell (thankfully that hasn’t appeared too much in the taste…) Hmmm.

I loved this tea from the first time I tried it. There is a distinct smoky quality (especially if not left steeping too long. It’s not the smokiest I’ve tried but rather leaves me feeling relaxed as if I’m sitting next to a fireplace.