Upton Tea Imports

Problem solved. This one just needs milk. Even with a good dollop, it’s still strong enough to be a good unleaded morning eye-opener.

The good part about ordering from Upton is the option to sample everything inexpensively—I treated myself to a box of goodies to combat the winter miz’ries. The other part about ordering from Upton is that their selection is so huge, I forget what I have and haven’t tried. So this one’s an accidental rerun.

Didn’t give it much love the first time around, some years back. Upon further reflection, you just gotta know what you’re getting into. This is an Assam/Ceylon blend; heavy (to me) on the Ceylon side. Stout and sharp with a little bitterness at the end. Clouts you awake instead of coddling you awake. We’ll give it a whirl with some milk tomorrow, but clouting is what I needed to get moving today.

I’ve magnanimously said in the past that there isn’t a black tea that I don’t love, but I may have to recant. This blend, I guess, takes more fine-tuning than I want to devote to a morning tea. Smells just like I want a breakfast tea to smell; it’s fruity and starchy on top; but at the base is a bitterness that stays on the back of your tongue.

But if you like your breakfast blends at monster strength, here you go.

Psalm 111:2 says I’m not pondering enough. So I am basking in a slow and quiet morning of thanksgiving and pondering—-life, the unverse, and good tea. Conclusion: God is big and I am small and I am amazed.

I can’t reach as firm a conclusion about this Upton Breakfast blend. The smell in the sample pouch was deep and grainy—a scent to make Assam lovers swoon.

Steeped, well, I’m not sure what I’m getting. Feels good and thick in the mouth, but there’s a little off-center sharpness that’s making me scrunch up my face a little. That just may be my cue that this one isn’t to be taken without a little additive. (Off to get milk.)

Today, among many other things, I’m grateful for the funny friendships and conversations I’ve encountered here. Be thankful.

I decided to have some different breakfast blend this morning. This sounded interesting so I ordered a sample.

I steeped it for four minutes, and added a little milk. I’m not entirely sure I like it compared to just the Yunnan tea I’ve been having the past couple of days. I like it and I like Assam but together it’s just not a flavor I really would go for.

It comes off kind of smoky, not in a lapsang sort of way at all, I feel like this might be the spicy notes mentioned in the description. It is a pretty smooth, bold tea other than that note that is just a bit too strong for me. And I steeped it for a minute less than the bag called for, next time I might try 3. Or maybe the 5 min is the way to go, somehow.

I feel awake though so it does its job as a big, robust breakfast blend.

I have no idea why I ordered this. At all. That would also be why I’ve been holding onto it since May.

Nothing about the description of it even vaguely sounds good to me so I REALLY have no idea why I bought it.

I gave it a chance anyway because Upton’s BOP Margaret’s Hope is pretty good. But that’s a broken leaf…according to wikipedia, this is from the lowest level of the fanning grade.

Makes me sound mean and snobby but…tastes like it! I steeped it just for 2 minutes and it tastes like nutmeg mixed with malty dirt. Not a fan.

I wonder whether I’m doing something wrong?
190, 4-1/2 minutes, 190 degrees, 2 slightly heaped teaspoons, and one additional ½ teaspoon.
Seemed weak, so I added another 1/2-min at 195, after which it became just a bit bitter/astringent. Not thrilled so far.

I bought this sample awhile ago but hadn’t gotten around to drinking it.

It’s really, really light. I laughed that this is darker hued than a higher grade tea, because there is so little color to it I can’t even imagine.

The taste is light, but full of apricots and a hint of cherry. I like light teas but this is a bit too light for me.

My attempt to get off of omeprazole failed…for the time being. I have been on it for twelve years. When I started it, I had h. Pylori and was really suffering and I think a lot of it was caused by the stress of some of our closest friends divorcing. It was a really ugly divorce.

It took two attempts to get from 40mg to 20mg but I did it, years ago. Now I am having rebound reflux when I try to go off of it – at least, that is what I feel is happening. Since I was burning up, I went back on it but I bought some empty gel caps so I can make some reduced doses to get my body tapered off instead of trying to quit cold turkey. I was told you can not just cut the tabs in half because of a time release coating, but I think you can still buy the kind with the little pellets in a capsule and split those up.

Meanwhile, I have run out of omeprazole and am only a few hours late taking it, yet I have reflux and burning in my stomach.

Unbelievable I know, my family never really used ginger for ANYTHING when I was growing up. We didn’t even eat gingersnaps. I didn’t know until a few years ago how hot it is! I have occasionally grated a bit into black tea just for the flavor and I put 1/4 tsp. into any soup or chili that is spicy. So this is my first ginger tea, sent by the amazing JacquelineM!

On top of having a bit of reflux this morning and no time to go get more meds right now, I have been feeling a little nauseated lately. I suspect that is from something I ate or from dealing with hundreds of people face to face at early voting on the days I work.

So….the tea. I would not choose this based on taste, but it is definitely drinkable if you need the benefits. It is hot and spicy in the mouth, but doesn’t make my lips burn and I do believe it may be helping my tummy. As hot as the roof of my mouth is getting, my tummy is not burning. And this time I am drinking it plain. I suspect it may be better with honey.

Thank you, Jacqueline! This may have saved me today to make it through my short work day!

Lovely sweet almond scent upon opening the packet! Yum! You can taste both the almonds and the green tea base in this one, but I don’t find any cinnamon- that’s fine by me though! I’m having this one plain, no added sweetener, and it’s really tasty. Light, bright, and with a sweet aftertaste. My only complaint is the amount of ‘crumbs’ left after I take my tea ball out- there’s a fair amount in there. I’ll finish this one quickly though, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem.

A great starter for Lapsang.

This is a dark orange tea, but the taste is lighter than the color would infer.

The smell of this one was surprising when I opened the packet. It’s very apple-y, with cinnamon and orange and sweetness. I love the smell! It’s almost like apple cider, but better somehow. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint after steeping.
Well, I’m pretty disappointed. It’s nearly flavorless. I’m wondering if I somehow didn’t put in enough leaves? I’m going to reserve my number rating until I can try again with a stronger infusion.

Nearing the end of the sample pack. This one, throughout my sampling experience, has been consistently good, and wishy-washy as I am, I don’t think I need to revise any adjectives after multiple cups. Spicy wood grain personality still holds. Still haven’t tried it with milk…I’d hate to mask its key characteristic.

As bleary as I am this morning, probably could’ve used something a little stronger, but this is a good tasty basic if you like Yunnans.

Been on a Yunnan kick this week … this one is still a lovely compendium of sweet-savory-smoky. Sufficient for a day when one must drive to work in the dark in the rain; would be even more sufficient if I could have stayed home in my jammies :)

Slow Sunday morning … ample time to check out a new tea … ahhh!

This one has autumn written all over it. (According to my son, there are really two mini-seasons, fall when the temps dip for the first time, and deep autumn, when there’s been a frost and the leaves are past their prime.) So by his seasonal calendar, I’m a few weeks early.

At any rate: nice leaves with plenty of blonde in them. The steeped color is absolutely gorgeous—deep reddish mahogany. Flavor leads off with some smokiness, but once that wears off, there’s a rich woody taste. Not sawdust; old oak and maple planks with a bit of cinnamon bark. Enjoying it plain too much to mess it up with milk.

You know, the fun thing about tea tasting is that it’s so crazily subjective…I could’ve said this tasted like a gym floor that had been mopped with Worcestershire sauce…and it still would’ve been accurate (who are we to contest the accuracy of each other’s taste buds)?

Enjoy whatever it is you’re tasting today.

Last of a sample packet. This one has been a bit different each time I’ve had it, little fruit here, little cocoa there. Final observation—a little too light for my breakfast preferences, mighty tasty otherwise, it’s a nice little kaleidoscope of flavors that would appeal to Darjeeling lovers.

The only thing I can figure is that I must have not been very generous with the leaves when I first tried this. It does have some Darjeeling/Oolong personality—I won’t retract that—but it has some really nice bass notes. (I’m a sucker for a good bass—Oak Ridge Boys and Statler Brothers come to mind.)

This is the one I made with my eyes closed yesterday. And reading Note #1 that I wrote, I still can’t figure out where the cocoa-ish flavor came from. Hmm. Maybe I’d better scrub my steeping basket a little better ;)

A new one, since I had a lovely leisurely hour to enjoy it.

Had to refer back to the Encyclopedia Upton-ica to remember its origins—it’s a Nepali tea. Pretty cool, because I just finished writing some kids’ curriculum about Nepal.

This is definitely a Darjeeling-style tea. Lots of light greeny-gold tips in the dry leaf, a very white-wine personality—that is, if you’re drinking it with a mouthful of melba toast. Dries your mouth a little, but not much.

Sandalwood, as in the description, I don’t get, but it does have a really fruity, spicy scent.

Took a second steep well—even when I got sidetracked and left it easily 10 minutes. Still not bitter.

Nice for afternoons and, as my friend Dr. Cooper would say, pre-venings.

My bestie of 26 years came over for lunch today. I made stuffed baked potatoes with sour cream, sautéed onion, cheddar cheese, and bacon. For dessert we had fresh Snickerdoodles and Lapsang souchong. It was very yummy on this gray, rainy day! My bestie loves puerh, and she liked this, her first Lapsang, but she said it isn’t one she feels she must purchase. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that she craves it later, though. That is how Lapsangs worked on me and on my youngest daughter. They sneak up on you!