Upton Tea Imports

to be honest, i don’t like this tea anymore. its too strong for me even at short steep times :(

a tasty green tea :) strong green tea taste.

This is my absolute favorite green tea. It’s brothy, smoky, and sweet all at once. I am going crazy that I cannot find it anymore, nor can I find any links to purchasing any teas from this estate. Does anyone know why green teas from this region are now impossible to find? I’ve been rationing the precious little amount of this tea that I have left and will be borderline inconsolable once it’s gone.

This is one of the very first teas I bought when I started drinking loose leaf — and I remember it vividly because I made the rookie mistake of ordering 8 oz., thinking it would probably last me a couple of months. I still have the remains of that bag. Through sheer perseverance I managed to drink most of it, but with about an ounce left to go, I’m going to have to throw in the towel — what’s left of it has gone weirdly off. It’s not exactly rancid but it definitely does not taste right. So goodbye, Earl Grey Creme. After all the time we’ve spent together, I think I’m going to have to give this last bit a viking burial or something.

Ugghhh, Photoshop requires extra caffeine. Second round of black tea for today, and it may not be the last.

Drinking this while I plan my next David’s order.

I’m trying to remember exactly how much I liked Mango Madness, but since the last time I had it was before I joined Steepster, and since I didn’t even save the envelope to sniff and recall the flavors, it’s like grasping at smoke here.

Back to the earl grey routine, a good way to start a rainy morning.

Third time’s the charm. Finally realized I was using too MUCH tea (the instructions were on the bag the whole time but somehow I didn’t see them?! Even though I looked? A sorry insight into how my brain works before caffeine) and mucking up the flavor. While still not strong, I can taste the vanilla and bergamot; it seems that the base tea flavor was overwhelming them before. Though the cup is more balanced now, there’s something about that base tea I just don’t like. Not sure what Upton is using, but this seems to be an issue for me with all their flavored teas.

So happy to receive my first order from Upton today! I got a lot of samples to try, but decided to start out with this one. It’s been frequently recommended on Steepster for those who prefer to keep their bergamot mild, and I am firmly in that category. However, I found EVERYTHING in this cup to be mild – the base tea, the bergamot, even the vanilla that many said was such a strong flavor in this blend. I have to echo Sil and TeaEqualsBliss and say that it tastes more than anything like a mild lemon creme.

That said, I am not convinced I prepared the tea correctly. The recommended measurement was in grams (2.25 grams, precisely) and as I don’t have a scale sensitive enough to weigh that and am still fairly new to loose leaf, I just took a guess and used 1.5 tsp. I will experiment with it some more and if anyone has brewing recommendations, I am all ears.

This is my first quality tea and my first from Steepster.com. Developing my palate for each unique flavor is my goal, similar to developing a palate for wine.
I’d like to say first that this is the first tea ive had where I did not need or want to add sweetener. The flavors are robust and dry. Very new to me and very enjoyable. I can’t wait to continue.

Dark, fishy, has sort of pu-erh taste to it, honestly. If I didn’t know better I may mistake it for one.

Very earthy, a tiny touch of floral but I can’t grasp what flower(s)…

Medium length finish that stays mostly as a coated feeling of flavor on the top of the tongue. Bit on the inside of the lips, too.

Definitely very earthy… it tastes similar to a clay pot or cup.

Texture is fairly light.

Not a huge amount to say. It’s about middling-decent, not outstanding in either a bad or good way.

2/18/14 Afternoon tea with my husband. 1 packet/12oz/212F/2.5min From my Select box! Pretty pretty brew. I enjoyed it very much, though I can’t describe it well since it’s the first darjeeling I’ve drunk in ages and ages. I brewed it as per the instructions on the packet, and it made a nice potful for dH and I to share before he left for work.

Welp, follow up. Went and had it again without remembering my previous tasting.

Loved it on first mouthful.

Came back to leave a review and reread my old one. This is a really tricky one, for sure.

I’ve ordered more since this one was a all from a sample tin. Quite an oddly indeed.

Just received this in an Upton Ceylon Sampler.

The feel is dark and heavy but watery, too. Odd mix.

The taste is heavy. There’s a trace of malty sweetness at the very tip of my tongue but an acrid dark brown flavor hits the middle-back of my tongue and slides to the undersides of it, too. It has almost a coffee edge to it, really. That same sort of acidity/burnt/chocolate/brown flavor.

I’m on my third mouthful and I’m not too sure I like this at all.

The tea is puzzling. My very first reaction on tasting was “blugh!!”, but then turned into a “ew, I don’t know”, then “it certainly has its merits but I’m not a fan”, then “this is awfully strong/harsh but I could stand another mouthful”, then “maybe this one just really needs sugar” (I am not one to put milk or sugar in teas unless sick… I’m a straight-tea drinker), then “I think it may be good but I don’t like it”, then “I’ve no clue, totally mixed feelings”.

Long finish.

Oh, and there’s a little fishiness in there in the back of the throat I noticed on this taste.

I don’t think I like it, but I do think it’s a quality tea that certainly has its merits, as said. I could see others loving it.

I’m gonna throw in some of the rock sugar a family member gave me a while back. If updating is appropriate after doctoring, will do so lol.

time for a full review:

when i open the tin and smell the leaves, they smell like fresh smokey green tea leaves :)

when i steep them, the aroma produced is very pleasant.

when i drink the tea the taste is smooth and smokey :) i am putting pots up from 95

this is the best of the gunpowder green teas i have tried so far :D

the way i like the steep it best using a normal size strainer for single cups is this:

- 1 1/2 teaspoons for 4-6 single cup servings.
- steep for 15-20 seconds per serving
- hot to boiling is a good temp range

an awesome green tea! the smokey taste is great!

a really good gunpowder green tea! the smokey taste is good too

meh, i have other black teas which are better tasting

a really good and smooth tea :D

an ok tea, quite spicy to me :)

Bleh! not enough cherry taste

meh, its ok, a little spicey i think.

Backlog:

I was excited to try this, especially when I did (mid-December) because this season on Grimm, some of the characters have been spending some time at the Sacher Hotel for which this tea is named. I’m a Grimm fan … so it was just … kind of cool to be sipping on this tea. I’m a Grimm Nerd.

I was even more excited when I opened the pouch and realized it was an Earl Grey blend! Yay! Bergamot! One of my favorite tea flavors!

The bergamot is a softer bergamot here … subtle … delicate. Not at all pefume-ish. I like the blend of black teas used (Ceylon and Darjeeling) – it keeps the tea tasting very light and a bit like something I’d imagine drinking in Vienna. Although … I wouldn’t want to encounter a Hexenbiest while I sip my tea in Vienna.

This tea gets extra points just because of the Grimm connection.

The wonderfully generous MissB tossed a sample of this into my massive shared BF order box.
I’m still questing for my favorite chai, and after trying this one – I’m still questing. I actually didn’t like this at all. The whole blend of spices just didn’t work for me and I thought the licorice really stood out and spoiled the party. Big miss.
Appreciate the sample MissB – thank you so much.