Upton Tea Imports

Sipdown #7

Back again with the Bluberry Rooibos, I really like this one. It’s slightly tart, but not so much as to be sour. It has a really good flavor. I almost want to try it with a single splenda, to see how that would complement the flavor. It’s slightly woody, although I can tolerate it. Ever so mild vanilla flavor. All in all good stuff.

Huzzah. Another adventure into the world of rooibos. This time, we are trying a more fruity variety, instead of the traditional vanilla overkill.
Smell in bag is very distinctly blueberry. Strong fruity smell.
Prepared western style, far more conservatively than package suggests, with boiling water and only a 4 min steep rather than 8 minutes.
Taste of tea is… pleasing. I am definitely getting that blueberry tartness, but not so tart as to be sour or unpleasant. It’s a mild tartness. There’s supposedly grapes in this as well and I’m getting a bit of either that or the black currant. I’m not good enough at this yet to say which. There is a background woody flavor here, that while consistently present, doesn’t overtake the rest of the tea. It’s a very balanced tea, and one of the first rooibos teas I’ve tried that I thoroughly enjoy. I may actually get this one again. It’s not my favorite tea ever, but by far my favorite rooibos I’ve tried. Thumbs up to this one. Good job.

Ok. I want to start this by saying I have never really been the fondest of straight green tea. However, I have been told by many these days that my experience is skewed because I am used to grocery store green tea. So I bought a bunch of green tea samples to try from across the board to see if what I am being told is right or not. This is one of my first (non-jasmine) attempts. Here goes.

Ok, right off the bat this isn’t starting out well. This tea tastes slightly smoked, which is definitely NOT my favorite flavor. The weird thing is I didn’t notice the smokey flavor till the bottom of cup one. Resteep is smokey right away though. Definitely getting those green tea flavor notes, but it isn’t overpowering. If I had to describe it I would say smoked spinach. There’s almost a meaty flavor to it as well, kinda like jerky. I don’t know if I didn’t prepare this right or what but I’m getting a different flavor profile than everyone else on here. It kinda tastes like… dinner. Like beef and potatoes and veggies dinner all mixed up in one. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but certainly not good either. I think I will have to pass on this one and try a different one next time. Oh well.

Tea Swap Sample Sipdown of the Day! (3)

This sample comes from AJRimmer. I admit, I didn’t even realize that Upton carries flavored teas. I guess I mostly only know them for their wide selection of straight teas – I ordered a variety of Assam and Ceylon samples from them a few years ago.

This is a very visually pleasing tea, with dark green tea leaves combined with chunks of dried fruit and pretty pale yellow flower buds.

I’m surprised that this came out a little bit bitter. I’m not sure the green tea is contributing that much in the way of flavor otherwise. The mango flavor here is lovely and juicy, though, and very authentic. It seems similar to Lupicia’s mango flavor, which is definitely a compliment. There’s a little whisper of floral as well.

Overall, it’s tasty and I enjoyed it. But it can’t compare to my beloved Ripe Mango Oolong… ;)

Sipdown no. 11 of February 2019 (no. 29 of 2019 total, no. 517 grand total). A sample.

I had a craving for some sort of black tea, and I randomly put my hand on this one.

I can’t improve on my earlier note except to say that it hit the spot today.

It was bound to happen. I found a sample of this, opened, and so I went to see how I’d rated it figuring if it was rated lower than my other black tea samples I’d sip it down to start off the new year with less tea.

But no note. I must have tried it and not written a note about it. Bah.

In the packet, the smell is your basic spiced tea — cinnamon, clove, some orange. After steeping, that’s pretty much the same aroma that comes from the tea, which is a medium orange brown and cloudy.

To that, add in the flavor a bit of vanilla and just the slightest hint of almond. The only thing I don’t taste that is listed in the ingredients is the cardamom, which is probably just as well because that would head it too far down the chai road.

I don’t know whether I liked this when I first had it, but I definitely liked it this time. The tea base is mild and carries the flavors well.

It’s like a deeper, richer version of Constant Comment.

Yum.

Sipdown no. 19 of 2020 (no. 614 total). A sample.

I drank too much tea yesterday. It was a re-entry thing. I went overboard.

Today I didn’t drink as much. I had the last of the Mariage Freres Bolero and this.

I think the Bolero overshadowed my experience of this. That or it didn’t age well. In looking back at my original note, I see I was quite taken with this. But today it was borderline nondescript.

Definitely the Bolero.

A never opened sample of this appears to be my last oolong sample from Upton. I have a few more from Canton, but in terms of the first-tasting-first-note project, I’m in good shape with oolong samples. I should be able to finish tasting them during this holiday break.

This tea is very pretty, festive-looking even. It has dark to medium brown leaves with flashy silver tips. Definitely extra fancy. The leaves smell pungent, toasted, slightly minerally and otherwise like a typical dark oolong.

Gaiwan, rinse, 195F, 15 seconds +5 afterwards through four steeps.

After steeping, the tea is pale yellow and clear, though it darkens with subsequent steeps to more of a golden color.

The aroma has notes of grape, raisin, peach, and peach pit. It has a suggestion of sharpness, but that turns out to be an illusion. The flavor is surprisingly smooth.

And it’s largely consistent from steep to steep, though the second steep definitely had a roasted peach and peach pit flavor front and center.

A very nice dark oolong.

Sipdown no. 9 of June 2019 (no. 81 of 2019 total, no. 569 grand total). A sample.

It’s the last day of June and I am digging into my lowest rated samples to pull out my minimum goal of 10 sipdowns a month in 2019. I have some single serving pu erh samples, but I just couldn’t get myself psyched up for a multi-steep session. I have too much going on right now, and it’s hard enough during the summer to get myself to drink hot tea. Not because it’s really hot here, it’s just the brightness of the days I think. Tea is a comforting overcast companion.

In truth, there was barely anything in this packet. I combined it with a tieguanyin from Harney to give myself enough to brew a pot in the Breville. So even if I was inclined to change my original note, I wouldn’t have obtained any additional information from today to enable me to do that. Happy to let it stand.

A never opened sample. In the packet, it looks like your typical green oolong, rolled into balls. It has a mild floral, green smell.

Gaiwan, 195F, rinse, 15 seconds + 5 for subsequent steeps.

The color starts a rather pale green and becomes a darker yellow over subsequent steeps.

The aroma is quite floral (gardenias? orchids?) and only very slightly buttery.

The tea has a crisp, fresh feel in the mouth. It’s fairly astringent, and has a bit of a bitter note in the finish and aftertaste, though it isn’t unpleasantly bitter. There is not much butter in the flavor, though it gets a bit more buttery around the second steep.

By the end of four steeps, the leaves have almost doubled in volume and completely unfurled.

It’s a refreshing tea, rather than a comforting one — if that makes sense.

It is mild and unobjectionable. I like it, though have to be in the mood for a tea like this. Most of the time when I am looking for a green oolong, I’m looking for the comforting kind — buttery, warm, sweet.

Sipdown no. 22 of 2020 (no. 617 total). A sample.

This was another casualty of the combination project. I am going back to samples to sip down so that I can combine sample boxes. Only two left now, which is great progress.

I actually didn’t have enough of this to brew western style, which is what the situation called for, so I added some from a Harney sample (which is now very much within its own sipdown range).

I gotta say, I do love green oolongs. An excellent dark oolong is awesome, but the green ones are like being surrounded by soothing flowers. They make my mental state better just to smell them.

Brewed western, I didn’t notice the dairy quite so much, which is fine because I don’t love milkiness in oolongs. The slight butteriness was just the right amount.

This sample packet contained another sample packet inside it, one of those colorful packets with Chinese characters on it. Inside, there was yet a third wrapping, a cellophane one.

After removing the tea, I tried to smell the dry leaf, but mostly what I get is a sort of very fresh water smell. The leaves are medium to light green to yellow and rolled into balls.

I steeped in the gaiwan at 195F after a rinse. Starting at 15 sec, and increasing by 5 secs.

The tea is pale yellow and has a mild buttery smell. The floral aspect is very light. I like this one better than yesterday’s no. ZO-85. It’s sweeter, with out the sharp note of yesterday.

It’s pretty much following an observable pattern I’ve noticed recently with other tie guan yins. The second steep gives the liquor a greenish tinge. The dairy aspects intensify. This one’s floral aspects stay about the same.

I took it through a couple of additional steeps and it stayed enjoyable.

This fits squarely within what I think of as canon for tie guan yin. No surprises, nothing out of the ordinary. Just a very tasty, smooth, diary/floral tea.

I could drink this all day.

Sipdown no. 129 of 2018 (no. 485 total). A sample.

This sample packet contained only enough for a single tasting in the gaiwan. Dry, the leaves are green and rolled into the typical balls. The dry tea has a green, floral fragrance, that is pleasant but not exceptional.

Rinsed, steeped at 195F starting at 15 seconds and adding 5 seconds each subsequent steep.

It tastes a lot like it smells, and I don’t notice much change from steep to steep (I went for five) — which really does make me wonder whether my taster is off today. There’s a sharp note as well that I’m not loving, though it seems to mellow out around the third steep.

There’s a slightly sugary character to smell in the cup once the tea is gone, but not as sweet or floral as that of some others.

Good, but not a favorite tie guan yin.

I guess I hadn’t actually reviewed this before. It basically tastes like DT’s the Earl’s Valentine, or whatever that tea is called now. A floral, chocolatey, earl grey. Quite powerful, but also pretty tasty. Probably best (or better) with milk.

Until a couple years ago I was a black tea fanatic, particularly 2nd flush Darjeelings, Assams and Fujian blacks. I typically drank them western style with cream. When I got into drinking young sheng gongfu style I quickly determined that a good young Yiwu gushu is what Darjeeling wanted to be when it grew up. I bought some samples of this stuff in 2017 and was impressed with it western style…of course I should be at over a buck a gram! Yesterday I found this in a cupboard and decided to do a gongfu batch in a gaiwan 2g to 60ml 90c. I must say this is the best tasting unaged tea I’ve ever had. Better than young top tier sheng from WanGong. It explodes with tropical fruit, wildflowers and honey. Every steep is amazing and different…but there is no cha qi and for this price I expect that. Would I buy this tea at this price again? Maybe. The flavors are truly remarkable but this tea is at a price point where I expect to get some funky body feels.

2022 Sipdown 10/365!

Barely even a cup’s worth of this left, but it was tasty. I’ve been making a lot of hot chocolate for my husband/son lately, and this tasted like unsweet, rich hot chocolate. It was really good, a great way to send off the tea. I’d get more of this in the future for sure.

Yum. Only one cup left! :(

Pretty tasty! A rich treat to go with some sweet desserts :D

So I’m still confused about how this is a tieguanyin (I swore that was a type of oolong, not black?) but it’s clearly a black – and a delicious one at that! Even though… I ordered this between 5 and 5.5 years ago (oops – it was still sealed though). It reminds me of Laoshan Black, but it’s not quite as chocolatey, just very malty and rich. Highly recommend – I’m probably going to have another cup shortly as it’s really quite delicious.

This one is from meowster. It tastes mostly like plain black tea. Granted, I don’t know what maracuja tastes like, but I don’t notice any other flavors. It tastes decent, but if I wanted plain black tea, I would choose something else. I really like maracuja mango from DavidsTea, and I wish this were more like that!

This was my first time drinking yellow tea, and I was pleasantly surprised! This tea has much more of a bold flavor than the color of the tea suggests, as it is a lighter tea. The smell of the tea is interesting, but the taste is wonderfully delicious. For me, the flavors were strongly nutty, which I enjoyed very much. It is definitely unlike any type of tea I’ve tried before. Highly recommended!

Chocolate Milk Latte Sipdown (326)

My London Fog yesterday was tasty so I wondered whether EG and chocolate would be as nice as EG and vanilla. Thanks to the sample Sil gave me of this tea, I had enough to try both. Thank you Sil!

Alas EG and chocolate is not as tasty as a London Fog. That’s not to say that this isn’t still a good latte. It’s creamy and chocolate with just a hint of citrus zing. I’m finding that this EG, slightly underleafed, has made for a good latte. It is strong enough to shine through whatever other ingredients I mix it with but it is by no means harsh or too strong. It melds nicely which has made the sample of something I feared to be fairly easy to drink up.

Saw A Star is Born last night with the BF. It’s what everyone says it is, but I’m still generally annoyed with remakes. This morning we have No. 2’s fun run fundraiser at school, but it’s questionable whether we’ll make it because I’m the only one awake and it’s in about half an hour…

This tea has a creamy vanilla scent in the tin with an earthy undertone. I expected it to be more beany, but we’ll see if that changes with steeping.

And it does! Steeping makes a dark, reddish-brown tea that smells like a rich, beany vanilla. This carries over into the flavor, which is also beany vanilla.

Sometimes I can get a chocolate note out of vanilla, but I’m not getting that here.

The base is pleasantly Yunnan-esque.

A great exemplar of its kind. But I’m guessing Upton no longer has it because artificial flavoring.

Home – 5:30 PM

This tea came from my recent swap with AJRimmer.

I’ve liked the ginseng oolongs I’ve tried in the past, so I figured it would be interesting to try a green tea with ginseng. This looks to be a sencha, so I was surprised to be read that it’s a Chinese green tea. I assume the red wood splinter-looking things are the red sandalwood mentioned in the ingredients? They turn an even more stunning bright red color once wet.

The base tea here is very mild – it tastes like a combination of grass and dry leaves. It’s quite smooth and pleasant. I can definitely taste the ginseng, which (to me) always tastes sweet and earthy with a bit of a mineral note. It’s not as strong here as in a ginseng oolong, but it’s a lovely supporting flavor. There is a touch of strawberry that compliments the other notes nicely, and it’s not too weak or too strong. I’m not sure I taste the sandalwood, but it may be blending in with the ginseng.

Overall, this is a lovely subtle tea that is in perfect balance. It’s sweet but earthy and fresh at the same time. I should really remember to buy a ginseng oolong the next time I order from Teavivre or somewhere similar…