Upton Tea Imports

I ordered the organic version of this tea rather than my usual Kenilworth and I’m quite pleased with the selection. Whereas I find the Kenilworth to be a classic Ceylon, the Greenfield surprised me with an Assam or Yunnan-like richness that I wasn’t expecting. 4-4.5 minutes seems spot on for this tea and I’ glad to see the tea doesn’t break down or get bitter after sitting in the cup for a while.

Update: I bumped up the score because it actually turns out quite good if you mix a little (1:4 to 1:3 depending on preference) into a strong assam.

Old review:
I’ve had good artificial flavors, and this is not one of them. Very overpowering and one-note, like cheap perfume. Stands out even when mixed with other leaves. It can be saved with milk, but only to the point of being “alright”.

Not very supreme. The Bergamot is very light, and the tea base is quite subtle as well. It’s fairly pleasant on the first go, but if I try to steep it again – something I can always pull off at least once with high quality teas – it becomes dull and wooden all the way through. I’ll probably use this for blending down harsh stuff, or the occasional single pot.

Tea of the morning (thanks to the recent review from Jim Marks…)

I had nearly forgotten about this one. But it is the perfect version of lapsang souchong for me. The smoke is light and homey, and it really warms me up on a cold morning. I did notice my tin getting low, so I had better add it to my Upton list!

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the morning…..

I have not had this one in a while. It is warm and toasty with is notes of sweet smoke. And I will be needing more soon….I am down to about an ounce in the tin….. Definitely remains my smokey tea of choice.

Steeped the usual way….

Another note….I have my slider function back. Mostly because I quit using IE9 and went with Google Chrome. So much better!

Tea of the early morning…..

This one is so unique in my cupboard. The more I drink it, the more I like it. It is lightly smokey and sweet, and just gives off an air of coziness.

Happy Friday!

Tea of the morning….. I finally ordered some! This is really good. A Lapsang Souchong for discerning beginners, if you will…. The smoke is light, the base is smooth and comforting. The silver tips just make it…well…..fancy. It is the only Lapsang Souchong in my cupboard for now. I really would like to credit the great reviews on this one as being the nudge to get me to try it. Thank you!

24 oz teapot, 4 1/2 actual tsp tea, freshly boiled water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

I got a sample of this is my last Upton order, and am finally getting the guts to try it. I have not really had good experience with lapsang souchong tea, but then my sources were not one of my now favorite vendors. Also, I have read some really good reviews on this one from Daulton and mrawlins2, so I figured this was the one to try.

Definitely smokey, but it is also sweet. This is a lapsang I rather enjoy! I am not sure it is an everyday tea for me, but I need some in my cupboard. On the shopping list it goes……

24 oz teapot, 4 actual tsp tea, freshly bolied water, 3 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

One of the many things I like about Upton Tea besides their high quality teas, is the ability on their site to see ALL of my past online orders. So, once again steepsters, I found this gem I ordered in September 2000! Sadly, it is no longer available- for nearly ten years now. :(( Upton’s often retires or reuses item numbers. Luckily, this item number was not retired, so this is the actual item number, description, and picture of the tea!

I am reviewing this tea because it is very memorable to me. It was my first Kenyan tea. Excuse me while I hit my recall button and dust off those memory cells. This tea had very large black leaves, and some white tips-a beautiful leaf! Very nice leaf aroma. A tea with a nice aroma in the cup, and a unique, smooth, full bodied flavor, that was never overpowering. A very delicious tea that was truly excellent in every respect! If I could just have one more cup {sigh}.

An absolutely excellent tea: I brewed and steeped mine for four minutes, which is a minute longer than the recommendation, but it was very well-rounded. I couldn’t taste the notes of raisin and molasses as such, as they were quite subtle, but there was a depth to the tea, no bitter aftertaste that sometimes comes with black teas; there was a definite pleasing aftertaste that reminded me of raisins.

This tea is rather strange. A decent but not spectacular Darjeeling lightly scented with bergamot flavouring and vanilla. This unusual pairing ends up like a faint version of the strange taste of orchid tea, a little reminiscent of powdered coffee creamer or dry meringue cookies. With a touch of milk, the aftertaste instead reminds me of white chocolate. The tea is overall mild without complicated flavor notes or progression; something I would rather gulp than sip and contemplate. It does a good job of warming me up. However, I am not a fan of this flavour profile, so I will not be ordering any more once I run out. That said, while it does not impress me, Sacher Blend is certainly not “bad”, and I won’t have any trouble finishing my current batch.

NOT TOO SHABBY. This was a very decent morning tea. nothing extraordinary, but nothing really wrong with it either. It was a little malty, but not too much. A very decent breakfast tea and very nice with milk.

Upon opening the bag, I was greeted with a deep spearmint aroma. I have tried this both hot and iced and while I wanted this to be for iced tea, the flavor just did not come through as well for iced tea (maybe I need to add even more tea?). As a hot tea this spearmint really comes through, full flavored, clean, and very refreshing. A truly good spearmint.

I can’t say it’s great because I haven’t tried another pure spearmint tea, so I have nothing to compare it to. Spearmint has a more subdued flavor, than say, peppermint. My mistake was drinking so much of Upton’s Peppermint tea. So when I started drinking the spearmint, it didn’t pack the punch I expected. That being said, spearmint is not supposed to be as strong as peppermint.

This is a really good spearmint tea offered by Upton Tea, from the dry leaf aroma to the flavor in the cup-on my tongue. A very round, full flavored Spearmint tea.

Any other spearmint teas out there I should try?

A nice Yunnan. Delicious fruit tones, a hint of bittersweet chocolate, and a very pleasing spiced tone to the overall cup. A good, solid cuppa that is just what I need today!

This was another sample I purchased ten plus years ago, along with the Baker Street Blend. I am reviewing this tea, based on my memory ten years ago, so please bear with me. OOPS….I almost posted “bare with me”, in which case I would have been asking you to get naked with me (while drinking tea?!). Hehehehehe…..

First let me say that I used to always use sugar in my tea, until around 1998-1999, when I first tasted a FF Darjeeling from the Pussimbing tea garden. Ever since, only on rare occasions, will I add sugar to lesser tea bags, and iced tea. So no sugar or milk was added to this tea as it would spoil the flavor. I really can’t remember enough to comment on the aroma, leaf, or cup color.

Darjeelings are my favorite black tea, so I ordered this thinking the Yunnan would pair well. I love it when my tea expectations are met, and this was the case here. I would say the Darjeeling is somewhat more prominent of the two teas-but not overly so.The Darjeeling lent a bright, crispness to the tea, perhaps slightly flowery as well. The Yunnan tea added a peppery spiciness. Together the two teas shared the stage very well, playing off of one another, neither tea stealing the the show.

Another great blend from Upton Tea Imports, and better than the Baker Street Blend. I may post another review of the Robert Fortune Blend, paying closer attention to aroma, leaf, and cup color. Until then fellow steepsters, this is my review and I am sticking to it!

CHEERS!! :)

I love steeping this in a large jar as sun tea. Refreshing but not overbearing.

Kitty reviewed this one just right. It’s just kinda “blah”. The only advantage of this tea might be the short CTC steeping time.

Wow, I had to go into my previous orders from Upton, and was surprised to see that the sample I ordered was placed ten years, one month ago!!! I remember being hesitant placing the order for this sample. Why? Well, because I don’t like Lapsang teas. Straight Lapsang teas are very smokey, and to me, overwheming. Maybe, ten years later my appreciation for Lapsang Souchongs would be improved.

Luckily, this blend was mainly a balance between Keemun and Darjeeling teas, with a touch of Lapsang. A really good blend with no tea overpowering the other, but nicely complimenting each other. The touch of Lapsang was noticeable, leaving the tea mildly smokey. I learned a couple things a decade ago. First of all, I like mildly smokey teas, and Lapsang can be enjoyable. Lastly, a well balaced tea such as Baker Street, can be very enjoyable. Much like a well balanced life can make living more enjoyable!

Hey Steepsters!

I’ve always loved Peppermint tea, but surprisingly had only a few different brands. The only peppermint tea I’ve had that rivals this is Stash’s Peppermint which I had quite a few years ago.

The aroma upon opening the bag is AWESOME! I just inhale deeply…yes, I do inhale people. OH WAIT…I’m talking tea here! Anywho, the leaf, and aroma are top notch. The cats are drawn to the smell as well.

This is first quality Peppermint. The flavor is not weak, it is so fresh. Brewed hot I use less tea than for iced tea. I do tend to use more leaf for iced tea, maybe as much as twice the amount of tea. While most of my cups this Summer have been iced; whether you drink this tea hot or iced it is has a smooth, strong peppermint flavor. There is no bitterness, no mudddy (earthy) notes, that some lesser peppermint teas can possess. For example Upton’s Organic Egyptian Peppermint #27, #BH42, while not bitter is more earthy than minty, and nowhere near as good.

This is my favorite peppermint tea, and cannot imagine a peppermint tea any better. However, I have left a little room, for a higher rating should a better peppermint tea dare show its’ taste. 97

OH MY GOSH THIS IS REALLY GOOD TEA! I was not expecting this to be so delicious! It’s so wonderful. Buy this tea. Buy this tea. Smoky goodness. Nom. Nom. Nom.