Upton Tea Imports
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A wonderful tasting tea, that just gets better with each infusion. In the first infusion the tea has a slightly earthy mild smooth taste, but after an additional infusion the tea took on a slightly sweeter flavor. I was able to infuse this tea 3 times without losing any of the beauty of the flavor.
Preparation
Not even a cup of this bold, delicious, malty, full flavored tea rounded out with a splash of milk and a dash of sugar could keep me awake for a complete viewing of the film Che!
Preparation
I’m kinda torn on this tea.
Both the dry leaf and the brew seriously lack in the aroma department. I can catch very light Darjeeling notes but they are hardly prominent. Also the leaf is very fluffy and I have to use a lot of it to extract the flavor.
On the other hand the tea tastes great. It is very pleasant and easy to drink, it would make a perfect everyday tea. The flavor is very mellow and light, fruity with Darjeeling background. I’m not sure if it’s close to the first flush or the second, if i had to make a call I’d say it’s something in-between.
Second infusion – 5 mins @ 190F. Less enjoyable. The initial sweetness is gone and the flavor is definitely drier and more astringent now.
Photo-report: http://tiny.cc/Sn2i0
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Happy last-day-of-2009! It took me a couple pots to realize that this actually tastes closer to a keemun than what I’m used to from other golden monkeys. As such, it becomes a late-morning/early-afternoon tea for me. The liquid is bright reddish-orange and I can smell hints of cocoa. It’s really smooth too—I find myself wanting to lick the front of my teeth every time I take a sip.
Upton is 2 for 2 so far and quickly winning me over.
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We have decided that we don’t like to go out to movies anymore. First, there are no cuddly dogs and cats at the theater. Second, too many people talk in the theater! And third, they do not serve stovetop chai at the concession stand!
Even though this is not my favorite chai by itself, it’s very good mixed half and half with Golden Moon’s Kashmiri chai. The resulting chai has a bit more oomph, and that little bit of chocolate is delightful. This tea can have flavor and astringency issues on its own, but the mixture helps tone them down. I don’t think I’ll repurchase this when it’s gone, but mixing it is a tasty way to use it up :)
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I will go occasionally to a “hoity toity artsy fartsy” movie theater (generally there are respectful audiences). It’s extremely rare for me to go to the movies nowadays for many of the reasons that you’ve given. I morph into a grumpy old lady and mutter “I won’t pay $10 to listen to other people talk or use their cell phones to either talk, text, or take video clips/pictures during the film.” I loves me some Netflix.
We had probably our worst “talker” ever at an art house when we saw Bela Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies. He pontificated about Tarr and the Hungarian cinema for a good third of the film – glares didn’t work, excuse me didn’t work, finally my husband had to say something to him! He was such a jerk that after the movie he came up to us and almost started a fist fight! Astonishing! We think we are “talker” magnets – they always sit near us!!!
We love Netflix too!
Doesn’t everyone have Netflix? My wife says that the more people I meet, the more I love my dogs.
Dan, you wife is a very wise woman!! (and dogs are a lot for us humans to live up to with their sweetness, cuddly lil cuteness, unconditional love, funny antics, and complete excitement when you get home!!!)!
I love watching movies with my dog he doesn’t talk and he’s too old to get up and down too much. Sometimes he does snore a little too loudly though!
we usually go to the firs showing, weeks after release, to a huge theater, and get the place mostly to ourselves
i don’t think we go too often though, once a month or less?
SoccerMom – my dog is an old snorer too!!!
AmazonV – we try and go to the first showing too – so much less $$!! We are talker magnets tho – even in an almost empty theater we get talkers!!!! We are also uncanny about getting in the slowest line at the market – ALWAYS the slowest line even if we get into it when there is only one person before us and the other lines have a bunch of people. Aaaaaahhh!!!
remind me not o go out to the grocery store with you! :) that is bad luck, perhaps the universe is telling you your home grown food is much yummier and it’s silly to go out to the market? :)
I made 3 teaspoons of this tea with a cup of milk, a cup of water, a teaspoon of Scharffen Berger cocoa powder…
…simmer 7 minutes…
…put a teaspoon of Tupelo honey in each cup…and strain into 2 cups.
It didn’t come close to Golden Moon’s Kashmiri Chai! It was very good but not nearly as good as that Magic Elixir!!! Gotta lower the rating on this one. Husband agreed.
We’re having a cold snap here on the East Coast. Tonight, I wanted something warm and spicy. I’m not getting any cocoa notes this evening! I used pure maple syrup instead of sugar for a bit of sweetness – could that be the reason why? Maybe honey would have been a better choice? I want my cocoa notes back!
Preparation
Upton’s description of this tea talks about “Burgandy nuances” and “hints of oak.” Mmm, no, not tasting any of that.
I knew I was going to like this Keemun better than some of my recent tastings of this genre just by looking at the leaves. While they were dark, they didn’t look like they were covered in creosote, which at least showed promise that this tea wouldn’t taste tarry like some other Keemuns I’ve had recently.
The liquor is dark and the taste has hints of dark chocolate, obscured somewhat by that incessant smoky thing so many Keemuns seem to have. Is there a perpetual forest fire in An Hui Province? What’s with the damn smoky overtones? And if you oversteep this stuff, it taste like tobacco, which isn’t something I necessarily seek in my teas or in any other aspect of my life. Overall, this tea isn’t bad, but I’d love to taste more of the chocolate thing and less of the smoldering fire.
From what I understand, most of the black tea made (if “made” is the right verb to describe tea) in China is for Western consumption since the Chinese themselves prefer greens and oolongs. So, if that’s the case, I’m wondering if there are really that many westerners who are really into these smoky teas. Keemun grades like Mao Feng, which I think of as being less smoky, command a higher price. Is there a correlation there?
I’ve got two more Keemun samples in the pantry, an organic OP and an organic FOP. But I’m kinda Keemuned out at the moment. Plus I just got a shipment in from Rishi that has a Yunnan bud tea in it (Ancient Tree Golden Needles) that seems to be calling my name — in some strange Midwestern accent, no less. “Rahb. Rahb.” I think I’ll leave the Keemuns alone for a while.
Keemun Dao Ming available for purchase at…
Preparation
Actually, Chinese do not prefer Green tea. Pu-erh (watered down) is generally the main choice of tea served in Chinese restaurants. I’ve never been to a restaurant where they’ve served green tea. It’s either that or sweetened chrysanthemum tea. For Oolong, Ti Kuan Yin, is very popular, but if I recall you know that already.
Green tea adheres to westerns for the health benefits, the same goes for tea blends. Chinese is more about keeping the tradition. As for smokey tea, Golden Monkey is popular among Chinese, but it’s considered high end. Err, there as another tea that was pretty popular that I can’t recall at the moment. Oh, yeah Jasmine flavored teas are pretty popular too.
I have wondered myself if the Keemun growing area is excessively smoky from wood-burning stoves. I had not thought that there was a perpetual forest fire but now that you suggest it…
Nice review.
Carolyn, you know I was kidding about the forest fire, right? I suspect that the tea masters who make this stuff are using smoky fires in the cooking process. I’d prefer, however, to taste more of the leaf and less of the chef, if you know what I mean. More like the teas from India, Sri Lanka, and some areas of Yunnan (although some Yunnans can be smokey, too).
Hi East Side Rob, Yes, I got the humor and enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought I was responding with light humor myself (thus the elipsis) but it is often difficult for me to know when normal prose style will do fine and when one must use an emoticon. (There should be a Strunk & White specifically for the Internet.)
I agree with your expression of exasperation about the smokiness. It often seems to me that there are wonderful notes covered up by that smokiness in Keemun blacks.
This is the most expensive tea I’ve ever bought and came in such a tiny amount (only enough for one cup) that I’ve been reluctant to try it in the course of my normal days. Today is the day I break open this excessively expensive packet of tea and see what the fuss is about.
The dry leaves are very similar to my favorite Upton tea, Bohea Select, which is not surprising since this is Bohea Select’s bigger and more elaborately hyped sister tea. The smell is similar to keemuns I’ve tasted with that slightly book-dry, slightly caramel smell. Upton says that there is a floral note there as well and I can barely smell it. As the tea develops in the cup it takes on greater sweetness. It brews into a paler color than my Bohea, but that just may be because I normally use a lot more tea than I received in this sample.
The taste is complex with the same keemun-like book dry and caramel notes as well as as a sweetness. There is no bitterness or astringency. It is a very enjoyable tea with a great deal of complexity that would be fun to explore. But is it worth $988 a pound to me? Probably not.
Preparation
Sounds like me and the uber-special Pu Ti Cha a while ago. I’ve still got the other half of that lying around and can’t make myself use it.
wow…that’s not a cheap one! at least it scored a 99 in your book!
@Angrboda think it is exactly the same situation.
@LENA Yes, because of the price it will never score a 100 sadly. But it is a very tasty and complex tea. Wouldn’t be wonderful to have all the money you needed to buy any tea you wanted over and over?
When I win the lottery, I’ll buy you a couple of pounds.
I woke last night with an anxiety attack and during my nocturnal research (with heart pounding) I came across the information that gyokura has the highest quantity of theanine (a calming component of tea). First thing this morning I fixed a cup of Gyokura (and ordered more). It has a nice nutty vegetal taste and it worked. I do feel calmer. Now on to something sterner.
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Thanks for the info!:) This is one Japanese green I haven’t tried yet but am definitely looking forward to it.
This was from a sample from Upton. When I ordered more this morning though, I ordered from Den’s because I’m really impressed by the quality of their Japanese green teas. I also used Den’s instructions (15 seconds at 160 degrees) instead of Upton’s.
I think you would like this and, if nothing else, it would give you the calmness to face those bad days you’ve been having. I certainly needed it this morning after yesterday and last night.
(What an endorsement! This sounds like something everyone should have on hand!)
Did you add anything to it?
No, I didn’t add anything to it. It really doesn’t call for anything. The taste is vegetal and wouldn’t match either honey or milk and it’s a fairly mild tea.
I agree, it is something good to have on hand, especially if one is prone to stress or anxiety. (Which I unfortunately am. I should probably meditate more.)
Wow. I’m going to have to keep this in mind. You are just a fountain of information. I mean, seriously.
During a panic attack it’s pretty much a choice of run to the hospital, leave state, or frantically do research on the Internet. I’ve found that running in a panic to the hospital is expensive. My beloved is not amused to be called in the morning from two states away with my explanation that it just seemed like a good idea to drive to Florida at 2 in the morning. So I do the frantic research. Maybe next time I’ll go downstairs and make the gyokura during the panic attack. (Though it may prove to be a bad idea to be that close to the car keys.)
