Upton Tea Imports

Pleasantly surprised by this one! I’ve sampled a lot of apple-flavored teas (apple is one of my favorite flavors), so I’m pretty picky about them. In the bag, this one smelled a lot like potpourri—lots of strong, sharp cinnamon, with a hint of almond. Based on the scent of the dry leaf, I was worried the spices would be way too overpowering. But it steeped into a nicely spiced tea, with a solid apple note to round out the cinnamon. I also appreciate that the black tea base was lighter and smoother than I expected. I think I might prefer this one to Adagio’s Spiced Apple Chai, which is a pretty similar tea (but more aggressive with the spices and has a stronger tea for the base). It’s not my favorite tea with apple that I’ve tried so far, but it’s still a good blend for this time of year.

Needed some caffeine, brewed up 16 oz of this baby. Yum!

Had this for the first time last night before bed (silly me! I wanted some tea and this was all I had at home that was looseleaf!), and cooled the rest of the pot for lunch today. It is probably one of the nicest black teas I have drank. I didn’t find it that floral (maybe I’m expecting perfume flavors, like a jasmine tea?) but the rose was present. Overall it was like a less strong English Breakfast with very little sweetness, the sweetness it did have coming from the rose. I know it was ‘mixed’ specifically for me on 10/17 because the package says so, so maybe the the floral factor with go up as the tea ages. And age it will, the package is gigantic!
I’m actually concerned, given that I just bought this tea and thought I would be in love with it, that I just may be having a falling out with black teas. I’m just so obsessed with the silkiness of oolongs lately, black seems so thick and cloying. I still think I will drink this one up for the caffeine boost in the mornings, since it is way better than the standard supermarket black or cheapie-cheap ceylon I usually turn to for a caffeine hit.
Cooled, it has bittered significantly. Definitely needs sugar now, but the rose has come more to the forefront. I think I would make it stronger, and try cold brewing it next time for iced tea. The current cooled state is a result of me realizing how late it was to be drinking a whole pot of black tea!

Very balanced between floral sweetness and a bit of black pepper spice. Medium strength. Sad I only have a sample.

I’ll tell anyone who listens about the pleasures of Rwandan teas. The ones I have tried have a distinct flavor that I find irresistible. Pleasant notes of tobacco meld into a very balanced black. I bought my first Rukeri tea on a whim from Upton last year and it is something that I have kept in stock ever since.

Upton states you can brew it strong or light and I have to admit to brewing it for a whole 5 minutes pretty much every time so that is what my thoughts are based on. This tea also makes a very nice iced tea. Highly recommend this Rwandan tea.

I only had a sample of this, but I enjoyed it a lot. However, the potency of the vanilla tended to vary; sometimes it was strong and very noticeable… other times it was weak and nonexistent. Sometimes this tea was flavorful, other times neutral. I’ll be ordering more of this with my next Upton order and updating this review when I taste more of this tea.

This tea has a very nice flavor.. perfect light mix of rose with a black that does not overpower. This tea tastes a little more “thin” than I would like though, but the flavor is so on point that I could easily see this becoming one of my go-to teas. Sorry for the brief review, but I only tried a sample of this. I will definitely be picking up more of this with my next Upton order and will give this a more proper review at that time =)

Mmm, I enjoyed this one! Steeped a big cup of it this morning, and it was wonderfully strong. I almost couldn’t detect the smoke, it was so subtle. The bergamot was subtle too, and I didn’t notice any grapefruit flavor, but I was in a hurry so I probably just overlooked it. There was some astringency, pretty typical of a black tea. But it was smoother than I might have expected, given the thick mouthfeel. I’m anxious to try this tea again in the near future, when I can take more careful notes. I suspect I might be stocking up on it, once I’ve finished the sample.

As a side note, I’ve been curious to try Russian-style teas like this one for a while now. Between this and Upton’s Finest Russian Caravan, I think I might be a fan! They’re strong and dark and have a slightly smoky depth. No overwhelming campfire taste, just nice black tea that I bet will taste even better when winter comes around.

I’ve been searching for a chocolate-flavored Earl Grey for a while. It seems like it would be an interesting flavor combo. I finally purchased a sample of this one, and I’m liking the mix of flavors. The chocolate in this tea is pretty subtle; it mostly adds a nice creamy sweetness. But the bergamot is great, not too strong or too sharp. I like to have this tea with sugar, to help bring out the chocolate note even more. Overall, this is a decent Earl Grey. I’m not sure I’ll repurchase it, since I’d like to try one with a stronger chocolate note in the future. (But I bet this one would taste great blended with a chocolate tea, like Lupicia’s The Au Chocolat or Adagio’s Chocolate Chip!)

I’ve sampled this tea twice, but I’m not sure what to make of it… It’s supposed to be an Earl Grey with a base of black and green teas, plus a hint of vanilla. I can definitely smell some bergamot in the dry leaf, but not much vanilla, maybe a slight hint of something creamy.

Once it’s steeped, though, I only taste the base (which seems to be more green than black). There’s maybe a little bergamot here, but it’s very subtle, compared to the flavor of most Earl Greys I’ve tried. It’s a nice blend, as far as the base teas go, so I’ll drink the rest of my sample. Maybe I’ll try using more leaf, and see if I can taste more bergamot and vanilla in future cups.

I may need to try another cup of this one, before I write up a full tasting note… Today, the flavors seemed a little overwhelming, kind of sweet and artificial? I’m not sure. I don’t usually mind artificial flavors, so that seems odd. My taste buds were still waking up, so that could have been a factor. I noticed a lot of cinnamon (which tasted like cinnamon candies to me, and not like the plain spice, maybe because of the clove?). I tasted orange too, but it struck me as kind of syrupy. That said, this was still a tasty cup! It reminded me of Cinnamon Heart from David’sTEA, which I enjoy when I’m in the mood for it. I also like that they added vanilla. It made for a smoother tea, especially considering that this is a spice blend. I’ll have to try this one again!

Side note: This is my 50th tasting note. Hurray! :)

Whoa! I was not expecting this tea to have such a distinct lime scent. To me, it smells exactly like key lime pie, both the dry leaf and after it’s steeped. I’ve had Earl Greys with vanilla before, but I don’t remember them smelling quite like this. (I went and sniffed my sample of Adagio’s Earl Grey Moonlight, just to be sure… Yup, that one smells more like a traditional Earl Grey, with a very faint note of vanilla.) Maybe it’s an effect of the “cream flavor” Upton mentions on their site? It’s a delicious smell, though, so I’m not complaining!

Taste-wise, this is more what I expected… A bright black tea with mild astringency (Ceylon?), coupled with the crisp citrus of bergamot, and softened by cream/vanilla. I don’t find the cream flavor dominant, but it’s certainly present. It smooths out the citrus, and gives this tea a sweet aftertaste. (I also detect a bit of that “key lime” note in the aftertaste. Interesting!) Not my favorite Earl Grey with vanilla, but a pleasant blend worth sampling. If you like both Earl Grey and key lime pie, I would definitely recommend it!

This is my second time trying this tea, and I think I might have under-steeped this particular cup. It still tastes good, just a little on the light side… Like other Steepster users have said, this tea doesn’t have much smoke to it. I think I can detect some in the aftertaste, which is nice and spicy. But overall, this is pretty tame, at least as far as smoke goes.

Otherwise, it’s a strong black blend. I can taste something that reminds me of certain Ceylon teas I’ve tried (kind of bright, maybe a citrus note?), as well as the darker taste I’ve started to associate with Keemun blacks. I have no idea if that’s accurate, though! Mostly I just taste a strong black tea, nothing too out of the ordinary. It’s the kind of blend I could see myself enjoying as an everyday cup, especially in cooler weather.

I don’t know anything about pu-erh, but I like this one. The first few times I brewed according to the package: 5-7m, 212F. This made a dark, coffee-like cup that smelled like leaves and dirt in the fall, but in a good way. Even brewed this long, it wasn’t bitter or astringent.

Now I’m trying short steeps at lower temperature and it’s much better. Still the same basic earthy taste, much lighter though.

This is one where my experience of the tea and the description don’t match at all, but I still really like it. Upton describes this with words like buttery, winey, and walnut. Nope, didn’t pick up on any of that. To me, it was classic smooth oolong with a lovely subtle sweetness. Not hit-you-over-the-head honey or shocking sugar, more like the sweetness you’d get from sucking on clover blossoms. I’ll be drinking this when curled up on my couch on weekend mornings.

Backlog:

This is a really long overdue backlog, I just came across my notes on this one and didn’t log it here. On the one occasion that i had this tea, I oversteeped it a tad and it was a little bitter. (Don’t oversteep it!) But, beyond the bitterness I could taste a robust, rich flavor with a fruity, wine-like note. This is one of those wine-y type Assam teas rather than a malty Assam. I did get some notes of malt but it’s not quite as malty as other Assam teas I’ve had.

A good Assam that would have been better if I hadn’t oversteeped it, I think. For that reason, I won’t rate it.

Of all the Upton black teas I sampled, this one stood out. It brews to be crystal clear, makes for an amazing iced tea. Refreshing, brisk, no bitter, lush. I actually bought it with the intentions of making Hong Kong milk tea, but brought it to work to drink up. This is my first Uva Ceylon, I am very interested in what else the area provides.

Lewis & Clark Traveling Teabox – Tea #4
A solid Moroccan mint! Very minty… almost so minty I can’t taste the smoky gunpowder but it is always a great combination. There are some refreshing and sweet qualities too. This is one of the better I’ve tried. I should have saved this one for a headache!
Steep #1 // 30 min after boiling // 4 min

Another black tea for me this morning! :D This one came from KiwiDelight. I haven’t had many broken-leaf teas, so I’m not sure what to expect here aside from strength of flavor. The leaves are very broken and dark chocolate brown in color. They smell of malt and wood with a slight sweetness. I followed Kiwi’s instructions and did a 1 minute steep.

The brewed aroma is rather sweet and strong with lots of malt and wood. Oops, I accidentally dipped my nose in it… XD The taste is pretty much the same as the aroma. It has a strong woody presence, and the sweetness really marries well with it (sounds weird, but it’s good). There’s some malt in the background, and a slight bit of astringency. Overall, a simple tea but a nice one.

Woo, it’s been a while since I’ve had Bai Hao! The lovely Blodeuyn was kind enough to sent me not one, but two different ones, and I am eternally grateful! I picked this one to try first for no particular reason. The leaves have the usual ramshackle appearance, a variety of shapes and sizes in different shades of brown with some silver highlights. Dry scent is sweet honey with autumn leaves and unlit tobacco. I steeped mine for 3.5 minutes at 185 degrees.

Mm, the brewed aroma has super strong honey notes along with the leaves and tobacco from the dry leaf. There are also sweet dried fruits, I would say fig and date. Yum yum, I forgot how good these teas are! It’s funny how I’m so indifferent about almost all types of oolong, yet this particular type is one of my favorite teas period. This tea is lovely and sweet honey paired with tobacco and autumn leaves, along with an amazing dried fig flavor that makes my mouth very happy. I would also say there’s molasses and maybe some raisin here. So good! :D