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Black Tea by Upton Tea Imports
An excellent, modestly priced Darjeeling for everday consumption. The aroma is fresh and fragrant with hints of fruit. A well-balanced, medium-bodied selection with refreshing pungency. Crafted in the old “soft wither” style prevalent a half a century ago.
Part of the Upton Imports Darjeeling Sampler I purchased recently since I am trying to broaden my horizons. :)
I steeped this for 3 minutes with boiling per the instructions on the tin. I am finding it to be very fragrant with the spicy notes and it is a nice medium amber color. It has a lot of fruit but also a lot of tannins so pungent is definitely the word of the day and I’m not sure I’m truly a fan of this although it is growing on me a bit the more I sit here and sip on it.
After watching a Wuyi documentary last night I had to try this free sample from Upton. Scottish botantist Robert Fortune stole or acquired tea seeds and plants for India from China. Darjeeling was the first plantings. The dry leaf smelled of pepper. The brew was decent. Subtle Muscatel. I am sure this is not a top flight Darjeeling. I am enjoying it but it’s not one of those teas where I go immediately to the website to order.
This was a free sample provided by Upton with my last tea order. Steeped 2 heaping tsp. in 500 ml. water in the Breville.
First off, I am soooo glad that I decided to follow Upton’s steep parameters on this (which is about 1 minute shorter than what I normally would do). Although when it was piping hot the flavor was thin and watery, as it cooled a stronger, more astringent taste came out that would have been too tannic with an extra minute of steepage.
This is bolder and heavier than the other Darjeeling I tried from Upton – it’s reminiscent of an Assam, definitely. The texture is perfect for a black tea, and there is a pronounced astringency that is characteristic of Assams that I didn’t get with either Ceylons or that one Darjeeling (I really need to try more of them!).
I like it, and I liked being able to try a second flush. It’s fun learning about all of these flavor nuances!
This was my first darjeeling tea and I must say, I liked it. The taste was strong, for lack of a better word, especially when I didn’t drink the tea immediately, but not as strong as assam or some chinese teas I liked.
This is another second flush Darjeeling from Tindharia Estate. Compared to the other tea, this one is a lot less astringent and more well-rounded. Interestingly enough, there is quite the scent and taste of maltiness, which one would expect to find in an Assam, not so much a Darjeeling. A light, fruity note finishes up the sip.
so far my favorite tea from the sampling I got from Upton – mild but with some fruit notes.
This had very little taste for me. The packet says to steep for 3 minutes, but I’m wondering if it needs longer. The brew was a lighter amber color than most black teas, more in keeping almost with an oolong. There are no discernible distinctive notes in it to me.
