Upton Tea Imports

Very light and mild tea.

I’m giving this another try with the last of the sample so that I can write about it as I’m tasting it. I marginally oversteeped this time around because I was in the other room when the timer went off, and it is also possible I may have used too much myrtle in this brew, which I strongly advise against. The tartness is there, but on a second go it isn’t quite as I initially described. It’s sort of a sour mixed with a slight bitter, and there’s something else I’m tasting that I can only describe as a soapy flavor. In any case, it is pretty unpleasant. In this case, stronger definitely is not better.

In the search for an I Love Lemon successor, I ordered a sample of this. The dry leaves are dark yellow and have a lemony smell that is quite pleasant. It brews to a pretty light yellow color that also has a nice lemony fragrance.

My guess is that this would be far better as an ingredient in other blends than it is by itself. It’s not that it wouldn’t do in a pinch if you needed a lemon fix in a hurry and were willing to put some sugar in it. But I don’t use condiments in my tea or tea-like drinks as a rule (I don’t like the taste that much but mostly I don’t like the additional calories) and by itself, this drink is pretty darn tart. I drank it last night so it’s possible I’m exaggerating it in my memory, but my memory of it is that it was bumping up against sour if not over the line. Though it wasn’t as sour as drinking diluted lemon juice, it wasn’t that far from it either.

So the search continues….

Was reading last night about Oolong and forgot that I had some left from my last Upton Tea order. Added some honey tonight, which I rarely do. Delicious and relaxing.

This was my first time brewing oolong at home and I am glad that I did not screw it up! I don’t have a thermometer that is suitable for testing water for tea brewing, so I had to guess with this tea, which is supposed to be brewed at about 190F instead of boiling.
I was not impressed with the appearance of the dry leaves, which included a lot of stems. The catalog photo looked nothing like what was in the pouch. Fortunately, this did not appear to have a negative effect on the tea when it was brewed.

Not excellent, but very good for the price and no sour aftertaste like some cheap teas.
The leaves have a light fruity smell. The closest I can get to describing the smell is the earthy smell that permeates the cardboard in which bananas have been shipped (without the “banana” part, just the leafy/earthy smell). The leaves also look rusty.
Strangely, the tea does not smell or taste fruity (although it does have a mildly earthy/peaty in flavor). The rusty color of the leaves didn’t transfer to the brewed tea, either, which paler in color and weaker in flavor than I expected. I think I might have to put in an extra teaspoon of leaves next time. With a splash of soymilk, it was a comfortingly mild early-afternoon cuppa. I’m not sure about the company’s assurance that it is a “powerful cup” because I took a 90-minute nap right after drinking it, but then I’m not very sensitive to caffeine.

Tasty and naturally sweet so no need for extra sweetener

Sipdown no. 54 of 2017 (no. 335 total).

Upton no longer carries this, and since it’s the only apple herbal that I’ve had that isn’t basically a vehicle for cinnamon and other apple pie spices to be delivered, I had hoarded it.

It’s just apple. Which is awesome, because sometimes you don’t want cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, etc.

I wrote to Upton to ask about its not being on the web site, and they explained they’d discontinued it because it had artificial flavors.

Hey Upton — can you find a Turkish Apple that doesn’t have artificial flavors? Or create one?

I was relegated to sleuthing for another source on the web, and eventually ended up on Amazon. It turns out that Turkish Apple is not the same to everyone who sells it. The only place I could find that had a fruit tisane with the same ingredients was a company called Teaf in Germany. It cost about as much to ship my order as it did to buy it, but I ordered from them.

My guess, frankly, is that Upton was sourcing from Teaf because their Turkish Apple said it was from Germany. But this is just me drawing a conclusion. I have nothing to base it on.

Anyway, at least I have another Turkish Apple. So I can continue with the project of clearing out aged tisanes now that I have a bunch of fresh ones.

I have not had this in a very long time but I find it really enjoyable. It’s apple juice for grown ups—not sugary, not sticky, not thick—but sweet enough without adulteration and an aftertaste like the aftertaste of fresh apples.

I used a lot of the mix, about 2 teaspoons per 250ml of water, which made for a really flavorful drink.

The peanut gallery was persuaded to try it and both gave it a thumbs up, though given the recent track record of “I like it, I don’t like it” I’m not holding my breath on this one.

I’d been hankering for an apple flavored herbal and so I ordered a couple of alternatives. (Thanks Steepsters, for the suggestions.) This was the first to arrive.

The apple bits are chunky and pretty in color, ranging from brownish red, which I take it are the parts of the apple with the skin, to a yellow, almost neutral color, which I take it are the parts of the apple sans skin. They look sort of like chopped walnuts, but more colorful. I chewed on a piece just for laughs, and it’s basically… dried apple. And yummy. Who would have thunk it? ;-)

The aroma prior to steeping is very apply and a little on the tart side. Once infused, it’s a pretty, light golden-yellow color, reminiscent of the skin of golden delicious apples, and slightly dusty-looking. Some browner fruit residue sifts to the bottom of the cup.

I didn’t find the infusion itself to be overly tart. I was steeled for tartness, and pleasantly surprised to find it more neutrally apple-tasting than I expected. If anything, it leans more toward sweet for me though not as sweet as baked apple. I’d describe it as ripe apple sweet. It’s not an incredibly strong flavor, which is part of its charm. It’s very obviously apple, though — you can’t miss it.

The thought crossed my mind that it could even be something kids might be convinced to try, and might even like, as an alternative to the sugar-laden apple juices they tend to favor if it could be made strong enough to withstand icing. The thought of iced tea today is incredibly unappealing given the cold and rain outside. Note to self: try an iced version when the weather turns hot.

But until then, enjoy the apply warmness.

Looking to expand my black-tea repertoire, I ordered this tea based on Carolyn’s tasting notes. Sure enough, it’s sweet and smooth, a nice change from more stimulating teas like my usual Assams. It also takes a bit of milk well, although it’s so mellow that it doesn’t need it. The only negative is that it has a hint of a dank, wet-leaves note that reminds me of the way my tea used to smell by lunchtime after sitting in my thermos all morning (ah, memories of second grade and my lunchbox with the pink French poodle on it!). But once I get past that and begin sipping, it’s pure pleasure. This was my first experience with a Bohea and has motivated me to explore these teas further — I just ordered Upton’s Bohea Supreme with high hopes!

Adawatte is a classic Ceylon and all that. Steep it less than four minutes and you’ll get an excellent cup. This one and Kenilworth OP are taking turns in my mind as the characteristic Ceylon, and lately Adawatte is impressing me slightly more.

The one non-standard taste I’m picking up in this one is Necco wafers. You know those things. I think this is more like the brown ones, the ones that are supposed to taste like chocolate but really don’t. Upon Googling, it looks like they changed their flavors around last year, so just for the record I’m talking about pre-2009 wafers.

Adawatte Estate is a classic Ceylon, so all the standard descriptions apply. I’m mainly a drinker of medium-to-full bodied black teas with milk and sugar, so it starts to feel like most of my reviews of my favorite teas are rearrangements of the adjectives “round”, “smooth”, and so on. As usual, they apply here.

This one distinguishes itself with its strong honey and more subtle thyme notes. I don’t usually like spicy teas. Fortunately, despite the thyme, I wouldn’t describe this as a spicy tea at all. It’s quite smooth and not very astringent. If the flavor were an emotion, it would be a quiet joy, content but hopeful. The liquor is not as thick or robust as an Assam, but it offers a nice break from my Mountain Malt addiction. I like it very much.

Sipdown no. 4 of September 2019 (no. 95 of 2019 total, no. 583 grand total). A sample.

Wow, this was one of the very first loose leaf tea samples I acquired about 10 years ago! I am not sure how I never got around to drinking it all before, particularly since the tin is so small. My only explanation is that I likely hoarded it because I thought it was good.

Believe it or not, it was still good. I took it to work a couple of days last week, brewed Western, and that was enough to polish it off. It was toastier than my initial description seems to indicate, but nutty was still an apt adjective.

Feels nice to clear the decks, even though I’m nostalgic about this one.

This is the second in the Introduction to Oolongs sampler and an interesting comparison to the Formosa Fine Grade. The dry leaves are very different in color and texture. Much bigger and formed into curls, whereas the Fine Grade ones are much smaller and less formed. They smell less toasty than the Fine Grade; actually the smell reminds me of champagne. The liquor, too is reminiscent of champagne; a lighter, yellowy-amber than that of the Fine Grade with a more delicate aroma that is warm and slightly fruity. The taste is more delicate, too, and I have a feeling there is a lot more to be discovered here on subsequent tastings. The flavor is pleasant and mild, and as noted by others, nutty. The leaves uncurl during steeping until they are surprisingly long and pretty. I can see myself spending quite a bit of time with this one.

Sipdown no. 12 of March 2019 (no. 47 of 2019 total, no. 535 grand total).

This was the very first loose leaf tea I experimented with after I joined Steepster 9 years ago. So it’s a nostalgic moment to sip it down.

I took this to work last week. After all this time, it’s still a solid, though basic, dark oolong.

This is the first loose tea I’ve tried since I started my tea adventure, and I’m thoroughly amazed at how much of a difference I’m seeing between this and just about anything else I’ve been drinking these past weeks, even the whole leaf bagged teas. And I realize it’s pretty basic as oolongs go, so I can only imagine what’s in store when I graduate to higher grades.

This is the first in the Introduction to Oolong (Oolongs 101?) sampler and I’ve been enjoying it yesterday and today. I would not have thought it could add so much to the experience to examine dry leaves prior to steeping, but it does. These are a dark, chocolatey brown, with flecks of lighter brown. They have a warm, toasty aroma. The liquor is a rich, dark amber/burnt orange. It smells very similar to the dry leaves, and the flavor is in turn very true to the aroma, warm and toasty, with a very subtle note I can’t put my finger on — very slightly floral, perhaps? The aftertaste is slightly sweet and pleasant. I used two teaspoons rather than one after the first try and preferred it stronger. I did not notice much change over multiple steepings (I lengthened the steeping time from 3 minutes to 4 after the first, and to five on the last).

Just made a pot and shared it with a friend. While I have enjoyed drinking Pu-Erh for a while now, this was her first taste. And I believe she was pleasantly surprised! I don’t heat the water to boiling , probably closer to 200-210. Personally, I think it gives the tea a softer taste, making it enjoyable rather than a functional tea. If that makes sense.

In need for a cuppa, and my stash is dwindling. Hoping this tea helps settle the day down.

Although I do like this tea, I tend not to care for teas that taste grassy. Or as the company’s description states, “vegetal.” Although Upton recommends, 180/79 deg, I steep at a slightly lower temp.

This is one of my favorite teas to have at the end of the day. Strong bold flavor and great aroma. For me, the texture is often creamy.

I grabbed a sample portion from the Traveling Tea Box only because I haven’t tried this specific kind before.

It’s not memorable…it does taste like dark leafy green spinach…I couldn’t drink it alone so I am pairing it with my lunch which happens to be Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna. It fits well and brings out the cheesy and sauce flavor of the Lasagna more – LOL – Honestly, I doubt I would try the Sencha Special Grade from Upton again…sorry…

But I am grateful to have tried it…rather than to never have tried it at all, I suppose. :)

Figures…this is my last serving of this…sigh…I am really liking this today…apparently more than I did the last time I had it…not that I gave it a bad rating…it was a fairly good rating…but this seems to be hitting the spot today.