Upton Tea Imports

Sigh. So much for my 75 teas or less rule. I saw the rootbeer float tea from 52teas back in stock and found a few others I wanted and, whoops! Um, I think I’m at around 80 or so? I’ll have to double check my inventory but urgh. No self control!

I made this as my iced tea for the next few days – my 1/2 gallon method, so 15 g. of tea and 4 minute steep with my normal ratio of sugar. For a blend called Java, I was really nervous this would be dark and astringent at 4 minutes, but…it wasn’t. It was almost too light – I could have either added another tsp. of leaf or an extra bit of steeping time because when it was cold it was almost weak.

I’ve got to give it the overnight to let the blend settle a bit (and maybe then the flavor will get stronger) but honestly this was just a loose version of Lipton iced tea to my tastebuds. (that’s not an insult – I drink Lipton tea all the time – it’s just, well, I can get that bagged and cheaper.)

So I’ll post an update when I have some later today. As for now, though, not too riveted.

Had this for breakfast. It is good but I prefer green oolongs!

1.6 grams in 6 oz water
This is another example of how conflicted I am by Yunnan tea. The last time I drank this I rated it a 75, but now I’m thinking mid-80s (my rating here is an average of all my ratings, not just the last).

I absolutely love the nose – so rich and complex I could just smell it for hours. Surprisingly rich smoky aroma. The taste has a bit too much smoke/ash for my taste, but is rich and flavorful. As I drank the tea, I started to like it better; perhaps just getting used to it. The finish is also dominated by smoke, but in a nice way. However, by the end of the cup there was a slight bitterness in the finish.

This was part of an Upton Tea sampler set: Introduction to Fine Tea, which also contains Darjeeling, Assam, and Keemun samples. They are all good, solid teas, and an excellent introduction to their types.

I had the last of this sample pouch this afternoon. I measured out the appropriate amount but then saw that so little was left…so I just dumped it all into my brew basket. Did I mention that I rarely drink black tea after 11am? I just get so wired and it lasts till evening. I hate to lose sleep. Well, this cup of tea was strong! Strong but not tasting like bergamot. Well, just barely. A little citrus and a little creamy. Pretty meh, especially for the price. :(

Anyway, made a big pot of fresh tomato sauce from my garden tomatoes and tons of fresh picked basil. The tomatoes are the size of my face! Thanks to papa for the tomato seeds. :) And thanks to my friend, Jane, for the basil seeds. I’m hoping this huge pasta dinner will lull me to sleep later tonight.

Tomorrow is a new day for tea and harvesting. It’s a bountiful time of year.

Sipdown #3 for today, thanks to TastyBrew!

OMG, this is so good!! It’s malty, it’s rich, it’s making me think of pancakes with Maple Syrup & butter. I have never ordered from Upton, although I’ve had the pleasure of sampling several of their teas now, mainly thanks to Sil & TastyBrew, & this one is for sure a winner, & definitely on the list for when I finally place an Upton order…some day…
I want MOAR!

This is the best Irish Blend I have ever tasted, a bit of milk, sugar or honey and this is the perfect way to wake up anyday of the week, including days with rain, fog or snow. PS you don’t have to be Irish to enjoy this but it helps :)

This is one of my 3 favorites when having Chinese food at home , its also good for just a cuppa tea in the afternoon rest break

BLARGH I just wrote a note and it got eaten!

Okay, cliff notes version: bright and brisk like a typical ceylon. Some borderline astringence but I think I came close to oversteeping so that could explain that. Perfect for iced tea (I got this as part of the Upton Iced Tea Sampler) but nothing unique. Dry leaf was very fine, almost like coffee grounds and the smell was malty and earthy.

I made 1/2 gallon of this with my typical iced parameters. It’s tasty and cheap and I’ll drink what I have, but I won’t go out of my way to get more.

The aroma of this tea is slightly fruity and very rich, the color is a beautiful dark amber with a tint of red. The flavor is delightful, slightly earthy and bright with absolutely no bitterness. I would describe this tea as both rich and mellow.

This is the second time I’ve tried this tea, with very similar tasting notes. Rich smoky nose, with perhaps a touch of cedar. Compared with the Harney Hao Ya B, this tea is less smoky but more refined.

In the mouth, the smoke is less obvious than the tea flavors. It is smooth and not overly powerful. The finish kind of sneaks up on you: doesn’t seem like much at first, but grows, and lasts forever. I want to say there is some chocolate in the taste and finish, but if so it is just barely there.

(5 min re-steep): Weak nose. Good taste and finish, but there is a slight hint of bitterness in the finish.

This was another from my swap with Azzrian (my, that was at last Christmas and I’m still working through it all… Must remember to clear cupboard then swap…). I’m sure I’ve tasted this but not logged it before too.

I made this to take to work this morning. Its fine. Tasty, not bitter, berryish. Just not mind blowing. I’ll happily finish it off but not something I’d love to order. But I do like how my sample bags came printed with my name on it, lovely touch!

a green puerh!
oh ancient forest!
it’s the usual sweet wood and muddy tasting while adding a tinge of greener freshness. that slight green bitterness you might be used to. totally still a puerh.
it’s an overcast day and this tea is very very warming. the earthiness of a good puerh is unparalleled.
it’s gonna be a good day.

i really dig this tea.
it’s perfect for my morning cup. especially on the days when i’m feeling a bit sullen and full of stillness on the inside. the quiet, cloudy mornings.
the radio on low and moving slow.

I’ve been kind of bummed lately, because I have too much tea, which is actually a good problem to have, but it also means no new reviews/teas to try for awhile while I drink my collection down. Then while going through my tea tonight, OH SNAP YO, I found this unopened sample hiding in my cupboard.

Smells great in the bag, nice and balanced. I hate it when chais have one or two ingredients overpowering the rest. Taste is quite good. I think this might be my second favorite chai, and perhaps a contender for the first spot…we’ll see. I have to experiment with it a little more to know for sure.

Really surprised by how much I liked this one. All of the previous green teas that I’ve tried were too vegetal for my tastes. So, I was expecting this one to also be this way. But it’s not like that at all. Very smooth flavor with a brownish-green liquor.

This is the third Ceylon I’ve ever tried and two out of three have been great. This is one of the wonderful ones. Like most Ceylon the leaves are twisted wiry tendrils that are a bit dark. This one has chestnut colored leaves interspersed. The smell of the leaves is dark like dried currants and raisins with a touch of aged leather smell. The tea is an explosion of flavor with vanilla, spice and fruit and wisp of smoke. Tastes great sweetened or unsweetened. There is a lovely orange spice to the smell of the brewed leaves. I am not sure whether I like it more or less than the Malikkanda that I have a tin of . . . very close. I’m starting to swing away from Darjeelings toward the lovely Ceylons.

(1.6 grams, 6 oz water): Powerful aroma of a new-mown lawn, with hints of straw. Fairly powerful grassy taste, with hints of something else underneath. The finish lingers. As the tea cooled, the flavor changed from grass to straw, but stayed pleasant and relatively strong. This is my favorite green decaf. I drank it immediately after the Harney’s decaf sencha, and the proximity emphasized how much more powerful this tea is. However, in going back and forth between the two teas, I found that this tea lacks the crispness of the Harney’s, which I really like.

Alright, time to deviate a bit from my 52teas habit. I bought an Upton iced sampler a while back and it has been waiting patiently for me to have a go.

I am a huge iced tea drinker. I drink iced tea more than hot tea, actually. Especially in the summer. I made a half gallon of this using 15 g. leaf, my normal amount of sweetener, and steeping for the below parameters.

I think it’s the darjeeling in this giving it a more delicate taste. It doesn’t have the typical briskness of assams or straight ceylons. This would be fine if I’d held back a little on the sweetener, but I feel like the sugar overwhelms a bit here. It has the potential to have a stronger flavor, so maybe a 4 minute steep with less sugar will do the trick next time.

Withholding a rating for now, but I will be revisiting the rest of the sample relatively soon I’m sure!

This is the nicest Jasmine I’ve had in a long time. It has the beautiful scent in the cup and leaves, but it doesn’t follow into the taste. You know how with a bad Jasmine you feel a bit like you’re swallowing perfume; good news is this is the opposite of that. A good clean, smooth green flavor that is light and not overpowering. The leaves are rolled snail style and unfurl into little yellow ribbons.

Not bad but quite weak, I’ll not try the decaf Assam again.
I knew that the decaf may not be as strong as a regular Assam but this one is just too weak to me :(

this is my 6th puerh today.
i still have 2 more puerhs in my collection of samples but i just can’t do any more. i feel crazy! like euphoric tea drunk awesome crazy!

buuuuuut even with the giddy feelings this puerh is not so exciting. i’ll probably only do 4 steepings and leave it at that.

my sister is watching anime today and the baby is out of the house and we’ve taken over the kitchen with baking and tea and we watched some more episodes of Attack on Titan and that show is totally efficient and pretty awesome.
also i saw Pacific Rim on friday and didn’t even say anything about it?!? wtf?! who AM i?!

yesterday i read a fan fic in which Phil Coulson (of the Avengers) is drunk and he calls himself and leaves a message for his future self and it was good times. consent is always sexy. amiright?!?

“Hi, Phil? It’s me, you. From the… past? I’m drunk and Clint won’t kiss me cause he doesn’t believe you like him? I don’t know. You have to ask him, he says. Right?” – loud noise, the next part muffled – “Will you talk to him?” – another voice – “Sure.” – a click and the muffling goes away – “Hi, Phil. Drunk-you tells me you want to make out with me but I told him I gotta get permission from sober-you. So when you listen to this, if you haven’t died from embarrassment I guess you should maybe give me a call? Although if you don’t bring this up I guess I’ll keep it to myself too. So don’t worry.”