Upton Tea Imports

Not my usual morning tea, just wanted something more robust and brisk to go with my oatmeal. Light aroma, but good flavor and pleasant color. Enough kick to get me going this Monday morning…

Upton Tea Imports Russian Caravan offers a kinder, gentler Lapsang Souchong experience. Well, that’s my impression anyway. My understanding is that Russian Caravan is a blend of Lapsang Souchong with others teas, usually keemun and oolong, but some renditions seem more black than others. In all cases, this one included, the smoky campfire aspect of intense single origin Lapsang Souchong is considerably tamed, since it is offset by the presence of the counterbalancing teas.

This is a very good blend, as evidenced by the fact that it tastes smooth and not at all scratchy or bitter even au naturel. The liquor is a rich red brown, but there is no malty flavor (as in Assam) whatsoever. I find that though it is perfectly potable plain, this Russian Caravan is enhanced with cream, which is how I am drinking it right now.

Another fine offering from Upton Tea Imports, my first “real tea” company. I am happy still to have a can of this yummy stuff around, and glad to find today that its flavor has not suffered from old age in the least.

I should perhaps add that my lot is from TB70, which appears to be the “superior” grade of Upton Russian Caravan.

Sipdown. This last bit has been languishing at the bottom of the tin for a while, so it’s not at it’s best, but still drinkable. By now I’ve learned that there are oolongs I like much better than this chopped-up Formosa stuff, so it’s not something I need to keep in my personal collection. But if you ARE into Formosa, this is a solid example. It is decidedly better than the H&S version.

Catching up on all the tea I forgot to log earlier. This tea bores me and for that reason I always forget that it’s actually, well, good? Not interesting, not entertaining, but a solid cup when you want an almost-but-not-quite-black tea.

The last tea I’ve tried of the oolong sampler, as well as my Upton order. This is a pleasant but unsurprising finish. It tastes very similar to the Formosa Jade Oolong. With repeated drinking I’ll probably be able to pinpoint the differences, but right now it’s what they have in common that really stands out: that wonderful honey flavor.

While all the other teas in the sampler had those lovely rolled leaves, in this one they’re chopped up for some reason. I’m still not sure how chopping/rolling effects tea flavor. So far I’ve only steeped this once, so we’ll see if it holds up as well as the rolled leaves did.

This is the first time I’ve ordered anything from Upton. Though their customer service was very good, in many ways I found the teas unimpressive. Flavored teas, in particular, don’t seem to be their strength — I always felt there was something artificial about them. The unflavored teas were better but (and this may largely be due to my inexperience – I didn’t know what to buy) I didn’t end up with anything that I just loved (though I did try some pretty interesting stuff. I’m looking at you, Moonlight White).

The oolongs were the best of the lot by far. While I’ve had (pricier) oolongs that I’ve liked better, Upton’s were all quite nice and even on my slender budget, are affordable enough to drink everyday, which I quite appreciate.

This is just as described on the package,,,,grape and mahogany notes with a dry finish. I taste a hint of orange peel in there as well.
I am a novice to quality black teas but the two I have tried now have been from Upton
Teas and I have been very impressed. Very delicious!!!

From the Steepster Select Box, February 2014

The dry leaf does smell like grape! In a good, earthy way, not like a fake flavoring. This is a very fruity black tea, distinct and ejoyable. Quite tasty, but not one I’d feel compelled to buy any more of, mostly because I can’t make up my mind about how to prepare it. Straight? With milk? With sugar? Any works, but none seems quite right.

My tastes seem to be in flux, because now I think I prefer this to Twinings’ version.

Perfect cup for a gray morning.

Upton kindly threw in a free sample of this with my order. While I think I prefer Twinings’ version (it’s smoother and more balanced) this is a solid Irish Breakfast. Has some interesting malty notes and a slightly bitter but not unpleasant undertone.

Realizing several cups later that this tea is significantly better if, when following the 1 tsp. instructions, you whompingly heap the teaspoon and then maybe add a pinch more. The flavor still doesn’t live up to the aroma (if we were rating teas by smell here, this would score 100. Chocolate and oranges, deeeeeelicious) but at least you can start to see the resemblance.

Had what is becoming my customary cup of earl grey creme for breakfast, and somehow I was still craving earl grey, so I steeped this. I was kind of disappointed in this one the first time I tried it, but now that I don’t have so many expectations for it, I like it pretty well. It has that malty breakfast tea undertone, and today (I think I oversteeped it a bit; people were talking to me and I got distracted) it tastes quite buttery. As far as the chocolate and the bergamot, I don’t think this tea delivers, but if you can accept it as a dark breakfast tea with interesting unidentifiable side notes, it’s pretty good.

Dry, this tea smells delicious, lemony and chocolaty, and the cornflower and sunflower petals make it very pretty. Alas, the tea doesn’t really live up to its promise. I vaguely taste chocolate and (even more faintly) lemon, but more than anything I get that licorice sweetener flavor. Licorice is not listed in the ingredients, so I don’t know if it got smuggled in under ‘natural and artificial flavors’ (this seems unlikely) or if it’s just a strange effect of the combined flavors. I’m not getting bergamot at all, and while I prefer my bergamot to be light, I expect SOME sign of its presence. I mean, that’s what makes it Earl Grey. I can’t figure out what Upton is using for their base tea in these blends, but I wish they’d pick something with more personality.

Despite this rather grumbling review, the tea’s not unpleasant. It’s just not the punchy rich tea I was hoping for.

Another sipdown. This one was my favorite of the teas in the Upton oolong sampler. It has a light pleasant honey flavor. I certainly wouldn’t mind having more, but at the same time, I’ve found other oolongs I like better, such as David’s vanilla orchid. However, if you’re never had a formosa oolong and want to try some, this would be a great tea to start with.

Third tea I’ve tried from the Upton Oolong sampler. It’s quite similar to their Formosa Amber Oolong but with even stronger honey notes and a touch of floral. Not much aroma dry, but once brewed it smells delightfully of raw clover honey. I’m pretty new to oolongs and even I can tell these aren’t high-end teas, but they are very decent and considering the generous size of the sample tins, the price can’t be beat.

Sipdown. This is the last of the sample, and I’m suddenly sorry to see it go. It took me three tries to get used to it. Hmmm. I might have to buy more after all.

Trying this a second time, and it seems more balanced now. I may have oversteeped it before without realizing it. Still not a favorite of it mine, but if you are into plain whites, this one is worth a try, as it does have an interesting flavor profile.

The leaves of this tea are quite lovely. They remind me of the Russian olive trees I had around my house growing up, and I don’t know if it’s some weird sense memory playing tricks on me, but it seems to smell a lot like those trees as well. Can a tea taste olivey? Or maybe it’s seaweedy? Despite this description, it’s actually a pretty pleasant tea in an unusual kind of way. I’m just not getting the melon notes other people described; I wonder if I messed it up in the brewing? Maybe the water was hotter than I thought.

an ok tea. i’m not much for black teas unless it is a kind of lapsang souchon (or however you spell it.) i may buy this again, however i’m not sure.

I’ve really fallen behind on my tealog, but now that I’m looking at so many empty tea tins I realize I better face up to it. So this is the last of the mango tea. I’m sorry it’s gone, but I probably won’t go out of my way to restock it, in part because I didn’t like the base when I first got it. I don’t mind it now, but I wonder if I would have to get accustomed to it all over again after going awhile without drinking it.

I didn’t think much of this tea when I first tried it, but it has steadily grown on me. The base tea seems less problematic, the mango flavor is more present. Knocking up my rating of it a bit.

An ok tea. This is the last of the teas that I got in the Upton flavored sampler, which overall was drinkable but unimpressive. I think they used the same tea base for this one and their vanilla tea, and it tastes a bit flat in both cases, though the vanilla compensates for it better; this one does have a weakly fruity taste, but it’s not particularly mango.

a good tea. i taste the peach, but im not sure what the other fruit taste is.

wont be buying any higher amount than sample packs, just sample packs now and then

Haven’t had this in a while. It’s very earthy and mushroomy and kind of weird, but I like it from time to time.