Upton Tea Imports

Still trying to decide if I really like Earl Grey tea. At first, I did not care for the black tea base, but as this cools it is better. Would I buy this tea again, the jury is still out on that note. The bergamont is not too much, but it is there. I can taste the grapefruit notes and can’t decide if I really like it…

Sipdown no. 45 of 2018 (no. 401 total). Sample tin.

In the time between when I first tried this and now (an amazing number of years) I still haven’t had occasion to try another chocolate Earl Grey. So I still have nothing to compare this to.

And really, I’m not sure I need to try another one or to have this as a staple. It was an intriguing idea, but it I think I’m good with a solid, no frills chocolate flavored black.

But knowing me, if I was ordering from a new place and they had a chocolate Earl Grey, I’d probably just try it anyway. LOL.

Tea no. 3 in the Upton Earl Grey sampler. It’s called Earl Grey Chocolate on the sampler label but has the same catalog number as Chocolate Earl Grey.

I’ve been looking forward to this, as I am at least a 200 on a scale of 1-10 in terms of chocolate fanaticism.

I must admit to being somewhat baffled by the all the variations on the Earl Grey theme. Seems to me at some point it ceases to be Earl Grey and starts being something else, but perhaps I’m just old school. Of all the variations, this is the most puzzling to me so far. But that’s probably only because I haven’t come across marzipan-halvah-cookies-’n-cream-melba-toast-pineapple-lime-spaghetti-mutton flavored Earl Grey yet.

This is a very colorful, pretty blend: yellow, green, blue, tan and brown/black. I love anything with cornflowers in it as that shade of blue is so calming and beautiful. It smells strongly of cocoa, and the cocoa has a mint-like lilt to it which defies explanation by the ingredients. The undercurrent of the tea, by contrast, smells almost coffee-like. I am getting nothing in the bergamot or lemon department.

But after steeping, there is both lemon and bergamot in the aroma, along with unsweetened cocoa (that still has that interesting minty-upswing). The taste is very strongly of the cocoa. As with the creme vanilla variety, the bergamot’s role seems mostly to be to corral the cocoa to some extent. The lemon actually seems to be the stronger citrus note here, and seems to be helping the bergamot with the task of keeping the cocoa from turning this into a single note tea. Interestingly, the bergamot hopped onto my tongue a few minutes after my last sip and sat there for about a minute before scurrying away.

Fortunately I have more of this so I can play with it some. Right now I’m in that place where I like the idea of this tea more than I probably like the tea itself. But the idea is so interesting, I really want it to knock my socks off. Right now it’s not doing that; it’s not striking me as that much different from a pretty standard chocolate flavored tea. I’m wondering if steeping 4 minutes would make a difference. Perhaps milk and sweetener would as well.

That said, I haven’t tried any other Chocolate Earl Greys, so there isn’t one I’d choose instead of this. Nor can I say this is signficantly better than any others. It’s either this one or nothing for me right now, and for that reason I’m giving it a default very good rating.

One of my tea traditions includes always buying one Darjeeling first flush from Upton’s every year. This year I tried the Sungma, but I also got a sample of this Castleton Estate.

It’s hard to make a choice to buy a tea when the description is only 1-2 sentences long, and there are 10+ first flushes to choose from! I wonder how other people make their choices. For me, I usually look at price (not too cheap, not too expensive), leaf size, and keywords like “fruity” or “sweet” :)

I love the smell of a fresh Darjeelings. That unique biscuity smell is worth the ticket price alone! And this tea is both fruity and sweet. I would’t say “pineapple” like the description indicates, but it has a nice sweet/savory balance, like plum or peach cobbler, or shortbread cookies with plum jam. Yum!

Well, I can proceed with the month of May, now that I’ve had a taste of first-flush DJ. This is a tea tradition I’d highly recommend!

Sipdown no. 8 of September 2019 (no. 99 of 2019 total, no. 587 grand total). A sample.

The last of my backlogged sipdowns from September. Alas, I missed the mark again, but only by two this month. Now that it is getting cooler, we’ll see what happens.

It really is quite nice for a flavored earl grey, but it isn’t my favorite creme version. Hence the rating. I can’t really improve on the original note except to say that while it remains a solid earl grey creme, I have had others since the original note that I liked better.

Ah. There we go. This is the first in the series of Earl Greys in the Upton sampler. In my zeal to taste the lavender one, I didn’t see the little number that indicates this is the first in the group.

In the can, this smells like vanilla, then tea. The vanilla isn’t a pure, beany vanilla smell. It’s more the ice creamy/cream soda variety of vanilla, which makes sense given the word “creme” in the name. It does make me wonder whether anyone has done a pure vanilla Earl. (Note to self to be on the lookout.) Thinking back on it, I’ve mostly seen Earl Grey cremes, with or without the word vanilla included. I can smell a citrus note toward the end, which is where the bergamot seems to be hiding.

The tea’s aroma is very pleasing, creamy and citrusy, with an undercurrent of sweet black tea. I think I’m already noticing a trend here in the Upton Earls, which is that the bergamot and whatever else is flavoring the tea sit above the tea base as a foundation more than interacting with it.

V. nice flavor. Much better than the only other Earl Grey Creme I have had, which was by The Necessiteas. The bergamot is not strong at all, perhaps not even strong enough, though it does give a citrus accent to the creme that keeps the creme from running away with the tea completely. The primary flavor is the creme vanilla sitting on top of the tea.

I think I will try this at four minutes next time and see what that does to the flavor.

Sipdown no. 5 of April 2019 (no. 54 of 2019 total, no. 542 grand total).

A surprise sipdown, courtesy of the BF’s sore throat which caused me to make a bigger pot than usual.

Nothing really to add to the original note on this. I did think about whether its rating should stay the same and decided it should.

Updated to add the number of this tea in Upton’s catalog as I was confused initially. In the Upton Earl Grey sampler it is named “Organic Earl Grey Lavender” but it has the same catalog number as Lavender Earl Grey (which also has a mark showing it is organic). So mystery solved, at least to my satisfaction.

This blend smells great dry. I love the smell of lavender, and that is the main thing I smell. It’s a deep, full lavender smell, which may be somewhat intensified by citrus. But I don’t smell bergamot here, or tea, really, for that matter. The addition of water tones down the lavender in the aroma, and seems to bring out a mild citrus note and a sweet black tea one.

The flavor is very nice, not too strong on the bergamot (which is how I like it) and the lavender is nicely balanced. The tea base is mild and unobtrusive.

It’s something I’d definitely drink again, though given the choice of a single Lavender Earl Grey, I’d pick the Samovar. The main reason is the tea base. The Samovar’s is delicious with a lot of character and depth. It’s far more present, but not in a distracting way; the lavender and bergamot are still clearly there. The Samovar is built more like a three-legged stool, where each of the three main components is equally important to the flavor. In the Upton the tea plays more of a foundation role, and the stars are two non-tea flavorings.

I just noticed that this was labeled no. 2 in the Upton Earl Grey sampler. Eeek, I’d better backtrack and taste no. 1!

Sipdown no. 15 of 2023 (no. 673 total).

Perhaps this mellowed with age, as its stint as this past week’s take it to work tea didn’t leave me with even a hint of Assam throat grab. I had forgotten how tiny the leaves were which was something of a shocker when I opened up the tin after a long time.

An enjoyable breakfast tea that has a fair amount of boldness and depth, even after being significantly past its sell by date.

Yesterday was River Shannon’s first trial (Assam + Ceylon), today this (Assam + Ceylon +Yunnan).

All I have time for now is a pretty rushed note, as I have to get to the office, but I wanted to put at least something down before I forgot what I was thinking. ;-)

That depth I remarked was missing from the River Shannon? The +Yunnan changes that. There’s a balance, too, that tones down the Assam a bit at the same time it gives the tea some heft. There’s more sweetness, more maltiness, more yum. It has a fuller body. It’s closer to what I’d consider an appropriate coffee substitute.

Pretty sure I prefer this one for most mornings. Pretty sure I’m a Yunnan fan, not so sure about Assam yet. I don’t have a firm reference point in my mind for it yet as I’ve mostly had blends so far. (I’ll have to try Thomas Sampson soon!)

One thing I have to figure out about this one is whether I need to add milk to it. It is pretty strong even when brewed at 3 minutes. If I’m not careful, it can grab me in the back of the throat when I’m not looking.

Although not particularly pleased, at least I was kind of entertained with this tea. Its long, thin and wiry leaves smelled surprisingly of milk chocolate and it was a pretty strong aroma like the one coming from a freshly unwrapped milk chocolate bar. Not exactly what I would expect from a Darjeeling, even a green one, but it smelled tasty nevertheless so intrigued, I brewed some right away.

The brew is disappointing, the chocolaty goodness is mostly gone and what is left is lightly sweet aroma without any distinguishing characteristics. The taste again has nothing in common with Darjeelings and is mellow and vegetal instead, with sweet buttery notes. Overall it reminds me more of Chinese greens, without smokiness.

Photo-report: http://tiny.cc/vgd8j

Sipdown no. 52 of 2018 (no. 408 total).

Drank much of this tin as cold brew, since this tea managed to be the lowest rated plain black tea in my cupboard. Which makes me think I’m pretty much a softy when it comes to ratings.

It’s not a bad tea. It’s a good tea. It’s even a very good tea. It just doesn’t make me do cartwheels and back flips, and given that there are teas out there that do, I don’t see a reason to put this on the must have list.

My first taste of this, made in the Breville.

The dry leaves have a rich, dark smell and I’m thinking “coffee substitute.” Good. Pretty, clear, red-tinged liquor, reminds me of the color of the GM Sinharaja. I definitely get the Assam in the aroma, but it’s fairly mild under the influence of the Ceylon. Once you get past the strength and pungency of the Assam, there’s a malty sweetness.

It tastes pretty much like it smells, with one pretty significant difference. It’s smoother than I would have expected based on the aroma. There’s some briskness and bite right at the beginning and again at the end, but in between it has no sharp edges. It sweetens up on the tongue in the minute or so after sipping leaving a mildly sweet aftertaste. It’s not sugary, but it is tasty. I’d call it medium-bodied.

There’s not a lot of what I think of as depth to the flavor, but I’m not sure it’s necessary that every breakfast blend be deep. Sometimes you’re having an omlette or a Belgian waffle, and sometimes you’re having cold cereal or toast. Seems like having the ability to mix and match is a good thing.

Although I’ve been resisting additives I am tempted to try this with milk, or maybe milk and sweetener next time.

Oh — this was an awesome surprise! I had several cups two days in a row, and really loved each and every one. I wish that I could describe it better (it’s been several days since I had it), but it seems like this would be my ideal breakfast blend. Complex without being obnoxious. This is another one that (if made available again), I’ll be tempted to purchase a larger tin. TG

♫ The best part of wakin’ up — is Sherlock Holmes in mah cup!♫

I had the last of my sample this morning :( But it’s on the “I should invest in more of this the next time I order from [insert name of tea company]” list. NE with benefits.

I do like this at 205 vs. boiling. Not a huge difference, but it does allow me to drink it much faster and I got more of the warm fuzzy feeling. It also pairs well with Lucky Charms. I discovered this since my little niece and nephew are visiting my parents and I had breakfast with them. I’m getting closer to feeling like I want to keep some of this on hand after I finish my sample, but I’m not quite there yet. Still NE with benefits ;)

Goodness. This is a wonderfully masculine tea. I’m getting more Keemun, then the Darjeeling, and then just the teensy-tiniest hint of Lapsang Souchong. I must try lowering the temp next time I make some and see how that changes the flavors. Mmmm…yeah…this is a nice blend. I think that “Afternoon” fits the feeling of this tea: it’s bold, but not in the “helping your soul re-enter your body” sort of way. And lordy is it smooth. The second steep is remarkably similar to the first, but the Keemun has started to get its slightly sweeter aspect. NE with benefits ;)

The last of the Lapsang Doulton sent me. I was feeling the need for this quite acutely this morning. I’ve been up for some 2½ hours and I still feel like I only just rolled out of bed. I believe it has something to do with the way I got out of said bed. Chimney sweeps. They need access to all the flats to clean the air vents and such and they were making a god-awful racket long before I was even remotely finished sleeping. The note that was passed around beforehand just had the date on it, but no estimate as to when to expect them, so I had to get up and get dressed right away. It could be five hours or it could be five minutes before it was my turn. I think it took about half an hour before they got to my door and then they were here for ten minutes or so. But my whole morning has been shot to bits. At least it’s wednesday, so I’m not going to work also.

And then just before someone rang my doorbell again and I have no clue who it was. I’m expecting a package, but it’s too early still to be the postman. The chimney sweeps said they were done when they left. I couldn’t open the door because I was… otherwise occupied. (I was on the throne, okay! Why do people always ring my doorbell when I can’t answer it???)

Anyway, I’m getting off topic there.

I didn’t have enough leaf left to make the cup as strong as I really wanted to, but I’m making do, because I need it. Nothing like a mouthful of smoke to wake you up in the morning (and it seemed kind of appropriate to have a smoky tea what with the chimney sweeps and all).

I can’t really remember my exact thought on it the first time I had it, but this time there seems to be a very distinct underlying sweetness. It’s not the sweet sweet note of the Golden Moon’s Lapsang, it’s sort of buried underneath everything else. Almost milky, actually.

Keeping my Black Powder blend in mind, I’m wondering if I might not have had a nice result on this one if I’d topped the leaves off with some Gunpowder green. I think this Lapsang might have been able to carry that quite nicely. Too late now. No more leaf. I’m not sure my other Lapsangs would be entirely suitable for that experiment, being a little sweeter and a little more subdued than this one.

(Also, I’m not really here. I have found some awesome writing inspiration that I’m trying to concentrate on and take advantage of, so that’s why I probably don’t seem to be paying attention to my Steepsterites. If I don’t go through your posts, I won’t check back all the time for new notifications, you see. I’ve skimmed through all quick-like but that’s it)

Good evening, Steepsterites.

Here’s another one I got from Doulton’s gift. I’m a little unsure about this one. I couldn’t immediately find it in the system so I entered it myself, but I was unsure if it might have been identical to one of the others in the system. There’s a fair chance that I might have made a doppelganger.

Anyway, this lapsang definitely seems to be on the smokier end of the scale judging from the aroma. Just opening the little envelope sent a good whiff of smoke up in my face and when I smelled it after brewing it’s like someone just put out a fire. Lovely! It’s not just smoke and ashes, though. There’s more substance behind it than that. I’m tempted to say coal here just because it would go so well with the ashes, but that is of course not it. It’s something more forest-y. Like big trees and campsites and such. Maybe even a mountain.

Right. Before I decend entirely into mental ramblings about the exact location of aforementioned campsite and what it looks like and the people who lived there (yeah, it’s one of those teas), let’s just move on to the taste. With this one I used a little more leaf and a little shorter steep, and the resulting flavour isn’t actually nearly as smoky as the aroma would have made me think. It doesn’t really have the sweetness that Golden Moon’s Lapsang Souchong tends to have and that I can sometimes find in AC Perch’s ditto. This one is a bit more ash-y and a little bit more wood-y.

I do really like the sweetness of the others I mentioned because I think it goes surprisingly well with the smoke. Without the sweetness the smoke so easily becomes a water-y flavour. As a colleague of mine described it, ‘like standing in a smoke-filled room with a mouthful of water’. The sweet undertone gives it body and substance. This particular one doesn’t have the same kind of sweetness, but it does have some body. It’s just stronger and darker, and with a bit of astringency on the swallow.

I expect it probably has something to do with the way I brewed it. I still have some of Golden Moon’s LS left, so I’ll make a similar cup with that one and see if it changes characteristics this way too.

I like this one a lot. But I prefer the sweeter ones, I think.

Iced with vegan chili for lunch. YUM

Drinking it iced. Yum.

Smells WONDERFUL and lemony in the tin! A light green with a hint of citron. Makes a very nice iced tea, which is why I bought it!

If I was asked to describe this tea in one word – I would say “mind-blowing”. It feels like a mix of different teas and cultures in a cup.

To start with, the leaf looks like bald Silver Needle, it has some hairs on it but they are extremely short and close to the surface, not fluffy at all. The aroma is incredible. When smelling the tea out of the bag it is hard to believe that it was not artificially scented. I mean the scent is natural and very berry-like but too strong to belong to unscented tea, if it makes any sense, because nothing about this tea make sense to me. The flavor is indescribable – there is everything in there one can wish for – fruits, flowers, honey and all of that is blended with easily identifiable black tea taste. To top this off – the brew has the familiar color of Silver Needle and provides four tasty infusions.

Seems like a dream? There is also a catch – the price matches the quality and is quite high… but the experience is totally worth it. It is tea created for indulgent moments, not everyday consumption.

P.S. Upton is almost sold out of this, only 3 bags were left after I snatched one today. I can only hope it will be restocked in the future.