Upton Tea Imports

This is a sample from Boychik’s Darjeeling Sampler. Thank you!

I finally got the opportunity to try compare and try all 4 Upton Darjeelings together. This was the lightest of the 4 and the only 1st flush. I wrote notes of slightly muscky, smooth, not much astringency and I used the word dandelion to describe the taste. I think of the 4 this was my least favorite, but I am finding, at least with this sample set that the more astringent the more I seemed to like the Darljeeling. I am also finding that I tend to enjoy Darjeelings more in the afternoon, as a lighter fruitier tea.

I received a sample pack of this from boychik. Thank you for allowing me to try this one!

From reading the tasting notes I think I am going to try this one again in the morning with a lower water temperature. This was a light fruity tea, but I didn’t taste many of the other notes mentioned in the description. I will come back to this one.

a decent green tea. the first Korean one i have tried. tastes like china green tea with hints of dragon-well tea

still the best ive ever had :) so i ordered a bunch of Pu-ehr from Yunnan sourcing and i thought, “maybe i might have some left.” :) and i had one square left!

The BEST pu-ehr i have ever tried! Really pure and tasty. although it made me feel a little light headed after drinking the first cup. but it was quite relaxing :) its best to steep for at least 5 minutes to get a strong flavor :P little to no Fishy taste!

an excellent tea too! however, the regular Gen-mai cha by Upton’s tea imports is better.

not too good of a tea. :(

Edit: I forgot to put that it was not a roasted oolong :( I don’t really like un-roasted oolongs

An Excellent tea! I love the popcorn/rice like taste :)

I seriously loved this tea. It made my morning! When I first smelled it, I noticed the grapefruit, and then when I steeped it, I noticed the slight smokiness. Really smooth and balanced to taste. Earls are my favorite, and this was a special one. I always can tell if I love something when I cradle the cup in my hands and savor it, even if it’s a styrofoam cup at work. I didn’t want to drink the last of this, because we don’t have any more, but I’ve added it to my wish list. Thanks, Cavo!

from HHTTB2

There was a message on the container for this tea saying it is good iced, so I thought I’d give it a try. I really like passion fruit, so finding a good iced tea before the weather heats up would be nice.

I decided to brew this hot and allow it to cool on the counter before putting it in the fridge. The verdict? So good! The passion fruit flavor is present but not over the top and not overly floral. I really like this one, and it’s definitely going on my shopping list.

I hope everyone had a nice Easter yesterday, or if Easter is not your thing, I hope you had a nice Sunday. I miss the Easter of my youth, it was never a religious holiday for me, more of a celebration of spring and family, a time of crafts and bunnies. Yesterday Ben’s family had a nice get together with food and familial love, the food was good but I was exceptionally homesick and missing my family. I look forward to this late fall and winter when I get to spend time with my peeps.

Today’s tea is a lovely blend straight from London, Upton Tea Import’s Baker Street Afternoon Blend, a blend of Lapsang Souching, Keemun, and Darjeeling. A perfect afternoon tea for sipping it one’s study, at least in my humble (mostly) English opinion. Sniffing the dry leaves transport me to a Victorian gentleman’s library, blending pipe smoke, polished wood, and a comfy leather chair. It is super evocative! There are also faint flora and muscatel notes, the aroma of the blend is quite delicious.

After giving the tea a good steeping and the wet leaves a good nose examination, I notice the aroma of the wet leaves are sweeter and more fruity, a blend of muscatel and dried cherries with smoky notes. It is rich and a bit brisk. The liquid has the aroma of smoke and fruit, it reminds me of the way fruit that has been cooked on a grill, so now instead of reminding me of a Victorian study, the aroma reminds me of a summer cookout.

Ok, time to get my British out, oh who am I kidding, it is always out! The taste is rich, smoky and muscatel with a tiny hint of cherry with an oak wood aftertaste. The mouthfeel is bright and smooth, a very nice afternoon tea. I wish it was a bit smokier, but I am a sucker for smoky teas, the smoke taste is very mild, so if you want a tea that only has a touch of smoke then this is your brew. I decided to add some cream and sugar, it is not bad, certainly more English tasting, but it takes away the some of the more subtle notes of fruit.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/04/upton-tea-imports-baker-street.html

(1st steep; 3.5 min) This tea has an aroma that I have come to associate with black tea. I wish I had a better description, but that the only description I have arrived at. The first flavor that I detect from this tea is a slightly sweet fruitiness like that of a melon. This is quickly replaced by wood and copper. I am curious to see how it changes in additional steepings. There is a drying sensation that quickly removes any lingering flavors once the tea has been swallowed. While a solid black tea, nothing about it stands out for me.

(2nd steep; 4 min) In the second steeping, the aroma is closer to tobacco. Some of that tobacco flavor comes through in the flavor of the tea. There is less of the sweet fruit (melon) flavor than in the first steeping. The wood is still very forward with the tobacco finishing out the layers of flavor. The tobacco seems to have replaced the copper in the first steeping. There is still the drying at the end which is nice which clears away the flavors. I am enjoying the second steep more than the first.

(3rd steep; 4.5 min) The aroma from the final steeping presents a heavier tobacco than the previous steepings. The fruit flavor is now closer to a grape than a melon. There is almost no wood flavor, but the tobacco is present and central. Also, there is a notable lack of the drying in this steeping. That is not to say that this steeping is mellow. I have enjoyed how this tea has changed during the each steeping.

I received this tea in the yarn and tea swap with the Steepsteristas group over on Ravelry. Good tea and good yarn. What more could a girl ask for? :)

This is a really light Earl Grey-ish tea. The bergamot is very subtle. In fact, the orange and orange peel are the more dominant flavors. I’m getting just a hint of smoke. Again, it’s there just subtle. There is also a leather-y tobacco flavor. Everything works together to make this an almost Earl Grey in my opinion. It comes close but in the end it stands on its own with just a nod to the classic tea. Very nice. I’m happy I got to move this one from my wishlist to my cupboard!

I received a sample of this in a swap from bluebelle. Thank you!

I made this tea similar to how I would make a chai. It has a very distinct cardamon flavor with hints of chocolate. This was enjoyable, but given the choice between this and a favorite chai, I will probably always choose the chai. Thank you for allowing me to try this!

I have piles of unread books around my house, but will that stop me from buying the new Collected Poems of Derek Walcott today? No. I have scores of albums I’ve downloaded and barely made it beyond track 1. Will that stop me from downloading the new War on Drugs or Future Islands this week? Absolutely not.

My over-stuffed tea cupboard has also suffered from this unbridled acquisitiveness. And it’s keeping me up at night as I pore over all of my teas that are nearing or over the one year mark. So I’ve made a promise to myself to only buy the absolute jewels of my annual tea drinking cycle until I drink down some of my stash: Shincha from Den’s Teas; a first flush darjeeling from Upton and Imperial Mojiang Yunnan tea from Yunnan Sourcing.
So to make room for my spring Darjeelings, I’m drinking a lot of this quality second flush from Sungma that has delicious honeysuckle sweetness,a citrusy vibe and a mild roasted flavor.

Wow, this is super tasty tea, and definitely needs trying as a cold steep! Juicy peach, or I guess in this case maracuya (passionfruit), reigns supreme, and it’s absolutely divine. I may need to get more of this!

Smelled richly of chocolate as I opened the bag, and then just as much after steeping. It was a beautiful cup hot, but as it cools I’ve lost the chocolate flavor other than the richness of it, and it’s become a bit astrigent for my liking.

An ok sencha…. tastes more like regular china green tea than it does sencha

Beautiful orangy color. Smalls like a perfectly balanced black tea blend. Tastes so too. A bit of sweetness, a bit of bitterness and a bit of smokeyness. Smooth and gentle yet very flavored. And the flavor last for a while. It’s a delicious one.

Tea of the morning……

And this is the end of my sample. I really do like this one, but not sure it is worth the cost. It is like my favorite Keemun Mao Feng without the smoke note. Smooth, cocoa-noted, and malty. I do still get a little bit of a floral note at the end of the sip. I suppose I would consider buying it if I did not have a stash full of other wonderful teas. Tasty, but not remarkable.

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the afternoon……

I recently bought a few black tea samples from Upton again. I tend to do this for entertainment, mostly, but every now and then I find something great.

I get the typical profile of a quality Keemun. This is oh so smooth and gentle. Very low to almost undetectable on the smoke. Notes of cocoa, bread, malt (I kind of think the bread/malt note is very similar in a way) with a touch of floral. One of the reasons this one caught my eye is that it is the same type of tea that Andrews & Dunham is offering as their limited Edition Spring Keemun. I am still on the fence about that one due to the cost and no samples. This one is pretty pricey on its own. It hits about the max I feel comfortable spending, if the tea is special. I am not sure if this one is worth it.

Usual mug method.

Second tea of the day and the end of my sample…..

Yes, this is smokey and really reminds me of a mid range Keemun. Perhaps a little less smokey, and slightly more cocoa noted. However, I don’t think it differs enough to make it a part of my stash.

I did have just a little left over, not quite a mug worth. I have started a ‘Franken-Blend’ of all my black teas and cant wait to taste it. It has a little Golden Monkey, a tsp of Laoshan Black, the end of my Joseph Wesley Dian Hong sample, and the end of this one. I am thinking I need to tackle that little bit of tea soon!