Upton Tea Imports

Another one from the traveling teabox that TeaEqualsBliss included. thanks so much! I’ve tried so many different teas the last couple months! It’s amazing how many are out there. This is the first Upton tea I’ve had. I wanted to place an order with them, but other sales and things have gotten in the way. This one surprised me! I thought I wouldn’t like it when I saw hibiscus. I steeped this for seven minutes at boiling. The color was a very deep red. The smell reminded me of strawberries, and it kind of tastes that way too. (I wonder if that is the “flavoring” in the ingredients?) No hints of hibiscus, but there WAS roses. I love the idea of a strawberry rose rooibos. This blend would have been awesome just leaving it as that, but I love this as is, with everything included. It is very sweet and addicting. It reminded me a bit of Lupicia’s Strawberry Vanilla. It bodes very well for any future Upton teas I try! I’ll take some of this out of the tea box and leave some in… there is a lot here!

AHA!!!! Instead of following Upton’s brewing directions, I increased the leaf quantity by 50% (used 1 tablespoon for a 12 oz pot), lowered the temp by 10 degrees, and infused for 30 seconds less than the lower part of their range, and LO AND BEHOLD, tea with flavor and little to no astringency! YAY! Now I will feel better about trying some more expensive teas… More hopeful that I can get good results.

The tea itself tasted very nice, but it is closer to a green tea than a black tea. I think I would prefer a darker oolong. I thought this one might be darker because the leaves were more brown than green, but it still tasted more like a green. But it was certainly a pleasant flavor without too much astringency.

Smells really fresh in the packet. Robust, yet smooth mouthfeel. I kind of get notes that remind me of whole wheat toast, but there is something else going on I cant quite place. Now that it is cooling down I’m getting some roasted nut like notes as well. Really good for iced tea, would buy it again for this purpose.

Followed the advice of my new friends here on Steepster and brewed at a lower temp and for less time than the brewing instructions suggested. I’d been finding it too astringent. 1st infusion 2.5 minutes at 185, 2nd infusion 3 minutes at 185. Both infusions were not astringent at all, so I guess I’m on the right track to solving my problem. Now, though, I found it pretty flavorless. Probably because it’s pretty cheap tea!

great

The leaves in my sample are cut relatively small and smell good. They brewed up pretty dark/robust/rich. Tastes pretty malty to me, a worthy effort that I’d probably buy again. I thought this might be a little too strong for iced tea, but after trying it on the rocks I prefer it that way. I prefer it with a very quick steep time.

First infusion a bit too astringent for me and second infusion was much better. I am on a quest for a more oxidized oolong (50-70%) with little to no astringency. If you are reading this and know of any, let me know!

Meh. I love the spice strong in my chai. This was okay but lacked pizzazz. Need some spicy burn from ginger and sweet heat from cinnamon! And floral vaguely citrusy cardamom. Where is all of that awesomeness? Bland for a chai but good enough for a caffeine free evening drink.

Delicious with or with out milk. Chocolate-y undertones. One of my all time favorites. I have this for breakfast usually and its strong and not bitter which rules! I use slightly less than boiling since I like to re-steep. You can’t go wrong with Upton’s teas.

Slighty roasted, toasted, charcoally, citrus-like, and minerally and I like it! It’s quite hydrating! Very nice! Pleasant and lingering aftertaste!

This is just fantastic. Rich with a thick mouthfeel, slightly smokey, quite sweet, with strong malty chocolate and hazelnut notes. Very addictive, and the price is almost unreasonably low—I would have paid much more for it. If you love Yunnan, treat yourself to this.

Bright fresh bergamot. No astringency in the otherwise nondescript tea base. Definitely a step up from dusty bitter tea bags. I can drink this without additions. Which is rare for EGs but I’ve only had them bagged before now. I actually had a packet of sugar ready just in case, but it was unnecessary. :) this is the one with a Ceylon base. I’m eager to try my sample made with a Chinese black as that is supposedly more authentic. Would be fun to set up shot glasses of all the EG samples I got and try them all back to back. No time for that at the moment though. :(

Good cup in for the morning. The bright bergamot awakens your senses and the caffeine here is gently injected into your system.

Brews up a pretty dark brown. Smells and tastes pretty earthy and robust. It’s fun watching the blocks expand in the hot water.

This is the yummiest tea I’ve ever tasted. I’m quite keen on uptons earl grey cream vanilla but when I want a special treat I have a cuppa chocolate earl grey. The first time I tried it I was pleasantly surprised at how well the chocolate and earl grey flavors blend together. At $1.50 for a sample pack or $7.60 for 125g it’s quite fairly priced.

I love this tea. This is my favorite go-to cuppa. The price probably helps to. at $7.80 for 250g I’m good to go for a month! The company that makes this also does and earl grey chocolate that is also quite delicious.

I figured I’d like this, as I’ve had other senchas that were really good, but the others can be a bit pricy for my liking. This is generally in the same ballpark as those taste-wise, but has a more reasonable price. Taste reminds me of buttery cooked greens (good ones). I’m going to order more of it.

Tea of the morning…..

I have been revisiting what is left in my stash that I don’t consider part of my standard teas (you know, the ones you must have in there at all times or there will be a disruption of the time-space continuum…) I thought this one might be one I could cut. The last few times I have been drinking it, I decided it must stay. Unfortunately, Upton is all out. I guess I will have to just savor this bargain tea.

Notes of cocoa with a very decent mouth feel. Roasty and light malt. I cannot believe I ever considered getting rid of it.

Usual teapot method. OMG, the leaves swell up so huge!

Tea of the morning…..

I needed some spearmint, and Tommy’s review of this caught my eye. I was just going to buy a sample, but knowing how much I love the Golden Snail from Harney, I was pretty confident that I would love a Black Snail tea. Tommy’s review included such great pics, too. It was a no brainer for me. The price is $8 for 250 grams making it a huge bargain.

As expected, there were only a few golden tips in this one. The tea itself is still tightly rolled. One of the things that is so remarkable about a snail tea is how huge it unfurls after steeping. The usual three perfect teaspoons of tea I use to brew a pot expands to fill the whole steeping basket, where most teas I brew in my teapot only expand to about half or less.

The liquor is thick, cocoa noted, malty, and a little spicy like you would expect from a yunnan. I don’t get the sweetness that I get from my Golden Snail, but that is pretty much expected, too. The Black Snail makes a rich cup of tea at a bargain price, and I am thrilled with my purchase. Thank you, Tommy the Toad for your great review. Why does anyone need to spend a fortune for great tea?

Usual teapot method.

Smells like chocolate chip cookie dough in the bag. Steeps up pretty dark. Taste surprised me and is quite honey like, with flowery notes as well. Just a hint of mineral-esque notes on the finish. No harshness. I didn’t use any sweetener; I don’t think it needs any. Iced it tastes the same…I prefer it hot.