Upton Tea Imports

Tea #39 from Another Traveling Tea Box

I’ve been looking for a replacement everyday black tea because Rishi has raised prices more than $10/lb in the last year and my current favorite is quickly being pushed out of my price-range. I could see this becoming an everyday tea for me, I’ll have to do a price comparison between this and what I am currently using for iced tea and see if it is more affordable.

Darn, my husband just said he didn’t like the chocolate flavor, so I’ll have to keep looking. He has to approve the change since he drinks the majority of the black tea, not me.

The tea itself has some wonderful cocoa notes that I really liked (even if my husband didn’t) and there is a subtle malty flavor to keep things interesting. I think I liked this so much because the cocoa notes really stood out above everything else. I’m a huge chocoholic so anything that tastes like it without all the sugar and added calories is going to be a hit with me.

Drinking this a bit mindlessly/tiredly (s’been a busy yet boring Monday!) after watching part 1 of Victoria Wood’s tea series thing. I was so disappointed she didn’t go into darjeeling, all the (imperialist-ugliness-glossed-over, granted) Empire-y romance of the estates. Also doesn’t look like she’s going to do Taiwan, alas (could be wrong though, only halfway through the whole program). Curious if she talks about how the internet has changed the premium tea market globally in the last 10 years (something I’m personally fascinated by). Hum. Who knew Morrissey likes weak bagged Ceylon! Ha.

I should probably like this more, but it has that thing standard orange blossom essence often has, a…I don’t know how to put it really, a specific strange element in the fragrance I don’t care for at all (it’s one of the reasons I was uber brand loyal to A. Montaux Orange Blossom Water and panicked when he recently closed shop—his never had that smell while just about every cheap bottle in Indian and Mediterranean grocery shops has it in spades). Even if it’s not, it makes me think “synthetic”. Not plastic quite, but kind of like those old ‘70s spraycoated braided and coiled rope-like fibrous trivets? Like fake glossy straw or something. Anyway. Aside from that part, I like this tea; it’s better than many in the vast array of EG offerings from Upton. Not my favorite from them—Lavender EG and Vanilla Creme all the way—but perfectly decent, again aside from that one smell component I just never like.

Ordered this at the beginning of September and here it is a month later that I get around to drinking it. I brewed two cups for the recommended three minutes, transferred the tea to a warmed pot with some milk already in it, topped up with cold milk until it was the proper tawny milky color, and took it to a morning meeting. On the first sip I was immediately reminded of the tea served to me when I was bumped up to first class on British Air in the late ‘80s on a flight from London to Edinburgh. I was tired from the trans-Atlantic part of my journey and the tea was so tasty, so nourishing and calming at the same time, and, barely out of my teenagerdom, I felt so sophisticated enjoying a proper cup of morning tea in a real china cup along with my complimentary wee packet of Twix bars, as we looked down on grey clouds and smidges of England below. It wasn’t fancy but it was gooood. Made the difference in my morning then, just as this tea did on a dull Thursday morning meeting these many years later. Just for laughs I brewed a second pot from the spent tea, using only one cup of water and brewing it for five minutes. It tasted dusty — just like a cup of tea made with an okay teabag.

As some might know, I have a love-hate relationship with Rooibos, or more honestly some of the common things blended with Rooibos (I am looking at you, lemongrass,) so I was very excited to try this Green Rooibos by Upton Tea Imports. Since it is green that means that it has not been oxidized (just like Green Tea) and has even more antioxidants, which is apparently really good for one’s health. The first thing I noticed about the aroma of these little leaves is how much like nature they smell like, just imagine standing in a field and you have it, I think I can even smell a slight breeze. There is a mild sweetness like honey and beeswax followed by a note of strawberries, it is very faint though. The main aroma is very reminiscent of fresh hay.

Time to steep! The leaves take on more of a floral aroma, like aster or chrysanthemum. It also has that very distinct Rooibos aroma but sweeter. The liquid takes on notes of pear and still has a delightfully floral aroma as well.

The taste is sweet, though not as sweet as the oxidized ‘red’ Rooibos that I am used to. It also lacks the floral chrysanthemum like taste that the other Rooibos has, which is probably my favorite thing about this tea. I do not dislike chrysanthemum, I just find that it tastes a little odd. It is very mild with subtle hints of pears and apples blending with an earthiness that I do recognize from its oxidized variety. How does it compare? Well I certainly like it, possibly more than just a straight Rooibos. I am not sure it would make such spectacular blends as red Rooibos though since it is not as sweet. I say give it a try if you only kinda like Rooibos and want to explore further with this plant.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/10/upton-tea-imports-green-rooibos-tea.html

Very subtle jasmine fragrance on the dry leaf, which is quite broken, but this produces a very hearty cup of tea, with just enough jasmine fragrance to satisfy that my undying craving. Despite a long steep, this cup was not at all bitter, and almost more like a white than a green. This is a serious contender for my jasmine daily drinker. The aftertaste is just my taste too.

Just ordered this from Upton (TC78) as a trial size (12g), for $1.50. I am new to Ceylons but of the six I’ve tried from Upton so far this October (others were TC85: Kenilworth Estate OP, TC45: Court Lodge Estate FBOP, TC40: Nuwara Eliya BOP, TC32: Kandy OP, and TC20: Dimbula BOP), I found this the easiest to like. So many interesting notes and flavors! After brewing two cups, I strained the tea with a high pour (about 18" from spout of brewing pot to top of serving pot; I read somewhere that in the regions where they’re grown, ceylons and darjeelings are poured this way to “oxidize” the tea, and this is supposed to improve the flavor). The scent of the brewed leaves, once all the water was poured off, was complex but not too intense, and mouthwateringly perfumey. I got notes of cured hay, homemade white bread toasted (but no malty heft), a warm-edged (vanilla-ish?) citrus, and also a touch of fresh light lush green, like the mist rising from a rainforest. It was very nice to sip neat, smooth and just bright, not tannic – no dusty feeling left on my tongue. But I did add milk for my second cup, and liked it “tamed” that way too — the flavors of the tea interlaced with the sweetness of the milk and made that cup a smooth-drinking experience. Somehow I picked up a few spicy notes — muted — in the milky cup. I had this for breakfast (it was a great companion to a toasted “everything” bagel with cream cheese) but I think it’s interesting enough for an afternoon cup too, with perhaps a lightly vanilla-flavored or lemon sugar cookie alongside.

i don’t usually find first flush darjeelings interesting, so take my notes with a grain of salt…also, i accidentally used 205 degree water instead of 195, because i had it lined up with other black teas and forgot it was a darjeeling, so all credibility is gone, but….. this is a really subtle black tea, REALLY subtle, like, sit on a yoga mat and meditate while you sip it. the floral springtime aroma, buttery feel, crisp aftertaste — all very nice, but it’s just not my thing. if i’m drinking black tea, i want to taste something in it. so there you go.

Backlog:

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

A really pleasing Vietnamese tea. This is smooth and rich, with a finish that reminds me of coffee. You know that deep roasted taste that you get toward the finish when you take a sip of coffee … yeah, that. I taste that warm, roasted flavor at the finish with this tea.

Sweet and earthy transcends into a coffee-like finish. It’s a very satisfying cuppa.

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea. A really good Nigiri. Sweet, malty and rich. Very flavorful. Too much leaf = an astringent tea with this one, so measure carefully. Don’t eyeball it. I learned the hard way!

But, a rounded teaspoon per cup produces a very flavorful cup that is more woodsy than it is floral or fruity. I like this one.

We keep a big bag of this around as a daily drinker. I find this is about as good as many of the more expensive, fancy greens I’ve tried. I get the traditional gunpowder green tea flavor, plus I get some mineral-like notes, and a very subtle toasty taste. Even when other people in my house steep this for way too long, it still remains pretty smooth drinking, unlike some other types of green tea that are out there. This is a straight forward, great bang-for-the-buck (especially for organic) green tea.

sample sip down, yeah!

I was hoping that I was gonna love this tea, but didn’t. The pear is an interesting sharp flavor but mostly of bartlett pear skin, but also quite floral. There’s a sweetness, but its off that unripe pear skin taste. Lol, kind of reminds me of when I lived in a farming area back in BC and stealing pears off farms as a teenager – that orchard smell.
However I was hoping for a more mellow pear flavor, not tart and sharp. The creamyness is just an after sensation.

Maybe if I played with the steeping times, adding sugar or something but alas, it’s just a sample and I have so much tea, I need to move on.

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this Darjeeling.

A really interesting Darjeeling in that it has a more substantial body than I normally would associate with a Darjeeling. This tea has some substance to it. It’s a heartier Darjeeling (and hearty isn’t usually a word I’d use to describe Darjeeling, you know?) It’s not as bold as say, an Assam, but it’s not as light and crisp as a typical Darjeeling.

There is a nice fruity tone to this, and even notes of Muscatel. I noticed more muscatel notes in the dry leaf aroma than I do in the brewed tea. It’s sweet, with earthy tones and a strong floral quality to it.

A very unique 2nd Flush Darjeeling, nice … but I find myself wanting a little less floral and a little more muscatel from a 2nd Flush … but I do like this for what it is. It’s different!

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this tea.

A really lovely Assam. Sweet, caramel-y, with nice fruit tones. Malty with hints of a wine-like quality.

It has a bake-y kind of quality to it, like a freshly baked loaf of french bread … you know that warm, caramelized crust that’s chewy and yummy? Yeah … it’s got that kind of yumminess to it.

A really nice Assam.

sipdown! (though that’s nearly the last of them for tonight). This tea? It pretty much makes me want to make some ginger chicken or something. This is not something i want to drink, i want to eat it! so um yeah. it’s not bad..but i feel like it’s something i should be cooking with instead heh

Momo box tea! This is a delicate green with the sweetness of a white peach and the butteriness of sauteed spring greens. A delightful afternoon brew.

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending this one my way.

The leaves were beautiful … long and wiry. This is a pleasantly bold Ceylon … not quite as bold as an Assam, of course (as well it shouldn’t be, since this isn’t an Assam) but, a bit more out there than a typical Ceylon. It’s flavorful.

Pleasant fruit notes, as well as notes of earth and flower. A really good Ceylon!

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this Nilgiri … a tasty tea! Malty, rich, nicely round taste. Sweet, smooth, and a little bit earthy.

Nice!

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this tea.

I love that autumn has finally arrived. I love the chill in the air, I don’t even mind that up here in the Pacific NorthWET it rains more than it shines this time of year. I love it.

And this tea … seems the perfect way to welcome autumn. It is rich and warm with smoky tones and so inviting. I like that the smoky tones are there but they aren’t in my face. It’s smoky but not too much. It’s a rich, full-flavored cuppa with enjoyable caramel-y undertones.

A really nice tea. I’m glad I got the opportunity to try it.

ick. do not like. this was a free sample included in my last upton order and i am not a fan. There’s something about the balance of the spices that just doesn’t work for me. Maybe this would work better brewed in milk, but as a straight tea, i’m not a fan.

This made a great ice tea. I brewed it once at 212 degrees for 3 minutes and then 5 minutes the second time then combined the two brewings and chilled it for ice tea.

Another from Momo’s teaboxB! I just got the ’Here’s Hoping’ teabox I started back today, but I haven’t opened it yet because I’d really like to get a handle on this teabox first. Teabox B is definitely first priority, but I might not be able to mail both boxes until the same time anyway. I’d like to at least have it ready to go in case I CAN make it to the PO though. I will resist the urge to even open the other teabox for a couple days! It is BIG. There are at least ten more teas I’d like to try from this teabox, but it will probably end up being more.

Anyway, on to the tea. This might be the first straight green rooibos I’ve tried. (I know Teataku after me in the teabox order wants green rooibos so I will just try a teaspoon! :D) It’s actually very nice! Green rooibos seems to pair very well with pear (I swear I didn’t mean to just use pair and pear in the same sentence.) There is less of a cream flavor but there is definitely a pear flavor! Seems kind of like apple at times. But the pear is very distinct throughout the entire cup. The rooibos is nice and less scratchy on my throat than most rooibos. A nice change from red rooibos! I really need to find some tea filter bags for rooibos though, as I suddenly stopped loving rooibos as much as I once did. But I’m sure filter teabags would help!

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this Assam to try.

A nice Assam! Malty, hearty … a really rich and flavorful cuppa. Mildly astringent … I expected a bit more astringency from an Assam. Bold! A good way to wake up.

Sipdown! mostly because i’m splitting the remainder of this package up for my tea sister and for my tea friend down under. I’ve had a couple yellow teas before, that inspired me to keep trying them. This one, however, is pretty meh. It’s not a BAD tea…but it’s not nearly as delectable as the other yellow teas that i’ve had. where those were juicy and mouthwateringly good…this is just a cup of lighter tea. It’s like it can’t decide if it wants to be a white or a green. Ah well! one to cross off my list!

From Teabox B! I’ve never had any Upton teas even though they seem like they have some delicious ones. This is a decently spiced chai with a fairly brisk base. Chai must be brisk! I didn’t really taste the roses and almonds but maybe I didn’t get any in my infuser. This one is a nice kick in the morning. I should have added milk though.