Upton Tea Imports

Sweet, green, golden, musty, complex.

Depending on the part of the mouth it touches and length of time there this tea shows a lot of different aspects in taste.

Most basic review: when I took my first drink I paused and thought how good it was and how interesting. Liked it right away.

Bleh! all though i love oolong, i don’t like this one…. tastes like heavy iron

an OK tea. although the cherry taste is sub-par and artificial

This makes a very tasty cold brew. The jasmine flavor is very prominent and the green tea base very smooth.

This tea is syrupy sweet! The lychee flavor is very strong in this tea. I would have this tea as a dessert…maybe with some lychee nuts thrown in. Mmmmm…

Regulars know I love Earl Grey. My usual mug has a Ceylon base to offer some bite to my lemony delight. I also love a good Earl Green when I can get it. I despise wimpy bergamot teas IF they call themselves Earl Grey (H&S I mean you) I also get offended if you change anything and still call it Earl Grey.

This one. This one smells so gloriously of bergamot when dry. Beautiful, beautiful bergamot. Once steeped it has some rooibos scent. It does say Rooibos in the name, so I am cool with it.

The taste is so Earl Grey that for a moment I forget it is not my usual cup. I taste no rooibos until the aftertaste. Even then it is covered in glorious bergamot. It is strong and sweet. To those who adore it, this is not overpowering, fake, or soapy tasting.

Earl Grey friends this one I could drink on a regular evening basis. So Good! If I weren’t afraid of upsetting the ratings police, this would get a very high score. Oh, what the heck, get over it.

Edit forgot to say thanks to CelebriTEA for sharing this one.

I am a fan of Nepali teas, and I’m definitely a fan of this one. There is a nice muscatel smell, but the taste is woody with a hint of astringency. As the tea cools there is a light citrus note that pairs well with the wood notes. Really nice.

Since I started lowering the temperature of my water for my Darjeelings I decided to do the same thing for this tea just as an experiment. The water I used was around 200 degrees, and I have to say I’m pleased with the results.

This is another tea I’ll be picking up from Upton. Many thanks to Dinosara for bringing it to my attention!

I forget how good this Assam is. It’s thick and bready with fruity notes and a sweet honey finish. It’s a great breakfast tea, but I think it’d be just as pleasing in the afternoon. I wish I would have purchased more of this in my recent Upton order. It deserves a spot in my cupboard.

Tea of the morning. I wish I would’ve made a pot of this instead of a cup. It is absolutely delicious. Very malty with a honey finish. I added a little sugar but skipped the milk. This one is a keeper. I’m thinking I’m going to blow through my sample bag of this in a day or two because – yum.

Tried a 30 second steep after a 30 second rinse because of all the comments about it being strong. Seemed pretty mild to me. Wil try a longer steep for the next cup.

First cup I had put a little milk and honey into. For the second and third cups, I drank it plain after steeping for 45 seconds. The color is still dark, but I have to dash off to work. Taking the other cake with me to sip all day.

The flavor is very mild to me. Slight earthy tones that are pleasant. No bitterness or acidity, so no need for me to have doctored it in the first place.

Thank you to Shmiracles for the two cakes I get to sample!

This BA10 South African Rooibos from Upton Tea Imports is their entry-level rooibos. I’m no connoisseur of this herb, and truth be told, I rarely drink it. However, I found the remnants of a large envelope dating from years ago and thought that I’d brew it up to determine whether or not rooibos goes stale.

Guess not! This tastes as fresh as new rooibos to me! Bright red liquor—just as I remembered it—with a very light flavor of vanilla (not added, but a tasting note).

My order just came in! Decided to brew a cuppa of this Mao Feng and I was completely surprised. I’ve had some Bai Mudan and indulged with Silver Needle in the past but this tea was a first. Mao Feng did not disappoint, the sweet nectar aftertaste is my favorite. I’m sure this is one I’ll be ordering again.

This one came in the vast amounts of samples that MissB shared with me in order to take advantage of already paid for shipping weight when she supplied me with some Sleepytime Vanilla. I gave Husband a choice of two different samples and he chose this one that neither of us knew what was. I don’t speak any French and I think he’s got a little, but it didn’t suffice to translate the name of the blend further than ‘blend of dot-dot-dot’.

Turns out it’s a chai-ish thing with cardamom, cinnamon and cocoa. Probably not super-suitable for this part of the day then. Oh nevermind.

Chai and chai-ish blends are my one concession to the principle that any tea that requires additives in order to shine is not a good tea, because slightly milked is part of the very definition of chai, and so this is how we had it.

To me it tasted mostly like cardamom and with a cardboard-y Assam-y aftertaste. I couldn’t really pick up any cinnamon at all. The cocoa was also evident but in a funny way seemed to attach itself more to the milk than anything else. It felt like a cardamom blend with slightly cocoa-y milk added to it. I would not have thought that it was even possible to have such an experience, but apparently it is.

I thought it was quite nice. A chai light, nearly, since it didn’t have the large selection of spice in it that most chais have. I believe this is part of why it’s difficult for me to be interested in chai. There is too much going on and it sometimes testes like something that should be in food rather than drink. The fact that this had just a couple made it easier for me to fully enjoy it.

Husband is also not super-keen on chai in general, but he reported that he thought this one was very delicious and seemed to be a little disappointed that we only had a sample. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly why this one appealed to him so much though.

I’m thinking it should be worth a try to add a few cardamom pods (we always have some of those) next time I’m steeping an Assam for him and see how he takes to that.

It’s almost 5:00 in the morning. I’ve been awake since 3:30 thinking about the coming months. It’s looking more and more like the school buildings will stay closed and kids will have classes online. I am all for public safety, and if that’s what needs to be done so be it. I’m also exhausted at the thought of working full time (or trying to) and teaching my son full time. The idea of everything that will need to happen is overwhelming, and so I’m doing what so many overwhelmed souls have done for years and years before me, making tea.

Earl Grey is a comfort tea for me. It helps to soothe wounds and smooth away rough edges. This tea in particular has a nice amount of bergamot along with vanilla and lemon. There’s no astringency from the base tea, even with a five minute steep. It still reminds me of lemon pound cake, and that’s not a bad thing in my book.

This is also a sipdown, but this is going back on my wishlist. I have one other Earl Grey to enjoy, but then I’m repurchasing this one. That said, I’m also bumping my rating up (it was an 87). This is a true favorite.

A few sips in and I’m already feeling better.

Also, to any teachers who might read this, thank you. Thank you for doing an already difficult job under impossible circumstances. I appreciate you.

This is my reward to myself for a full day of house cleaning. It’s possible that I’m a wee bit high on bleach fumes, but I’m still enjoying this EG immensely. I like the lemon-y flavor combined with the vanilla and bergamot. It taste like grown up vanilla pudding. I like.

This tea was a HUGE hit at the tea party I hosted on Saturday. Several of the older ladies commented on it, as did one of the five year old girls. She called it, “the bestest”. A few minutes ago one of my closest friends texted asking for the name of the company that sells this, so I’d definitely serve this at future parties.

After my friend’s text I decided to make a cup of this for myself. It really is a nice twist on Earl Grey. I still think it has a lemon pudding flavor to it, but the bergamot is still there. Yum.

Since I still have over 200g of this I think I’ll tell my friend she can have half the bag. Even though I love it, and I’ll definitely drink it, there’s no way I’m going to get through all of this tea before it starts to lose its lovely flavor.

Another tea from this morning. I continue to be a fan of the lemony note added to this Earl Grey. Between the lemon and vanilla notes this comes close to being a dessert tea. It reminds me of lemon pudding with a bergamot-y kick. Yum.

I’m a big fan of both Earl Grey and lemon, and this tea combines the two in a unique and delicious way. The bergamot is present but it’s not super strong which allows the lemon flavor really sparkle and shine. Then, there is the vanilla note which isn’t a flavor as much as a creaminess added to the tea. The result is a lemon custard-y Earl Grey, and I throughly enjoy it.

In fact, I enjoy it enough that I purchased 250g of it over the holidays. Yeah. If you’ve ever been curious about this tea let me know. I have enough to share. :)

Also, bumping my rating up. The previous rating was 82

Love this EGC. There’s a hint of bergamot, but it’s mostly lemon with a smooth creamy note. So, so good.

Although I’m happy to have another sipdown, I’m really sad to see this one go. It’ll definitely make a reappearance in my cabinet!

September Sipdowns: 7

This has become another favorite. I really like the lemon pudding flavor this tea has. It’s light but full of flavor while keeping it’s basic Earl Grey feel. Good stuff. I realized I’m starting to get a set of favorite Earl Greys in my cupboard, and I am very happy with my selection. I have everything from Twinnings Lady Grey, to this lovely, to Zen Tea’s EGC, and I adore each one for different reasons. This tea I like because it has a great EG and lemon flavor. It seems like there are a million lemon flavored teas out there, but most of them are too harsh/bitter for me. This one has a softness and a great creamy note from the vanilla that makes it a winner in my book.

Yay for Earl Greys in all their lovely forms!

I’m liking this Earl Grey more and more. The bergamot is there, but it’s not perfumy. The lemon flavor blends so well with the bergamot. Add the creaminess and the vanilla, and this tea is a winner. Really, what’s not to love about a lemon pudding EG?!

I’ve been organizing my tea stash for most of the morning and early afternoon. My new goal is to drink each tea I have at least once a month. I stole the idea from Terri because it’s brilliant and will (hopefully) keep me out of my tea rut. After finally getting everything the way I want it I decided to celebrate with a cup of Earl Grey.

This EG is good, but it’s different. There is a strong lemon flavor, and the bergamot is fairly weak. The vanilla is present in the form of a creaminess to the tea, so the result is a tea that taste like lemon pudding. While this was not what I was expecting I am really enjoying my cup. Good lemon teas are hard to find, and this one is very nice. Next time I’m going to add a bit of milk to my cup. I’m thinking that will make this even better. Also, iced! Oooh, I’m going to have fun with this tea.

Thanks Dinosara for introducing me to this one!