Upton Tea Imports

After a 4 minute steep, this tea is really not as powerful as suggested. It is a very nice inexpensive cup of tea. It is a mild mellow afternoon tea with no bitterness or astringency IMHO. It has a light malty smell with a light fruity taste. I prefer stronger teas so while this is a nice cup, it just is not my cup.

Very bold and slightly smoky today.
SIPDOWN #3 so far for today!

I had a cup of this earlier this morning as all hell seemed to be breaking loose for at least the 10th time this week…the only thing I can say is that it was a memorable and enjoyable cup and seemed to help me get thru my morning. Please take a look at my previous tasting not for a longer description this one…

Okay…I Googled…so sue me…lol…

Mincing Lane is a street in the City of London, stretching from Fenchurch Street south to Great Tower Street.

Its name is a corruption of Mynchen Lane – so-called from the tenements held there by the Benedictine ‘mynchens’ or nuns of St Helen’s Bishopsgate (from Minicen, Anglo-Saxon for a nun; minchery, a nunnery).1

It was for some years the world’s leading centre for tea and spice trading after the British East India Company successfully took over all trading ports from Dutch East India Company in 1799. It was the center of the British opium business (comprising 90% of all transactions), as well as other drugs in the 1700s. 2 It is mentioned in chapter 16 of Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend, where it is briefly described:

In 1834, when the East India Company ceased to be a commercial enterprise, and tea became a ‘free trade’ commodity, tea auctions were held in the London Commercial Salerooms on Mincing Lane. Tea merchants established offices in and around Mincing Lane, earning it the nickname Street of Tea.3

A notable building is the Clothworkers’ Hall (the current building, opened in 1958, is the sixth to stand on the site; the fourth was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, while the fifth was destroyed during the London Blitz).4 A modern landmark partly bounded by Mincing Lane is Plantation Place, completed in 2004.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincing_Lane)

Anyhow…
Here’s my review…

This is a gift from LiberTEAs…thanks girl!!!
This smells like a black tea should! Nothing more…nothing less!

It’s dark brown in color – Very deep, very rich in color!

This has a very dark taste as well!

It’s interesting because I can taste BOTH the Assam and Yunnan characteristics separately but at the same time…it’s hard to describe! It’s like they are in a fist fight with each other but end up hugging at the end or something!

PEACE, LOVE, and TEA!!!

I’m really beginning to like Kenyan tea. The CTC tea looks like little grape nuts and infuses quickly. This is a very thick, brisk, robust, and malty tea. Any steeping over 3 minutes and you can stand a spoon up in it. It does have floral rose notes and is a very good cup of tea.

This tea is brisk, robust, and malty. I used a 2 1/2 steep this time and got a stronger tea w/o the bitterness which was nice. It has some astringency but not enough to deter from the taste of this very nice tea. This is a great breakfast tea.

This is a very good cup of Kenyan tea. The only tea I have to compare this with is Lifeboat tea. This tea is much more refined as I do get notes of fruit and roses. As it is a CTC tea, 2 minutes gets you a good quick cup. This tea is brisk and robust with no bitterness and only slight astringency. This is another tea I will reorder in a larger size. I’m no expert on African teas, but I know what I like. I like this one.

Yunnan and assam, how much better can it get. This is an excellent blend of the two. To me, the yunnan mellows out the assam into a very smooth robust tea.

I love assam and yunnan teas. This is a mix of the two and yes I love it. This tea is mellow and smooth, no bitterness or astringency that I can find. It has a wine like quality to it. I wish I could find the notes that others have found with this tea, I’m looking, but I can’t. I don’t think my taste buds are that refined as yet. Too much espresso in earlier years I expect. Next time I order this tea it won’t be a sample. I do have assam and yunnan teas and I may try to mix them myself.

The moon must be in the proper phase or a week off work has actually rested me enough mentally to actually pay attention … but after bumbling through most of a sample tin, I got it right—-it tastes peachy! Second steep, particularly, after the greenness wore off.

This one has an “eat-your-vegetables” strictness about it, but it’s still a good, clear green tea.

Besides, cruciferous vegetables are good for you. Dr. Sheldon Cooper says so.

Tried this one chilled without having a cup hot first, but it makes a good plain summer cooler… poured into glass bottles, cooled, straight into the fridge. I’m never very precise with my water temps, but I must have accidentally hit the butter zone on this one—no bitterness or strong veggie taste at all.

(Sorry, wombatgirl … this does deserve a limerick, but a have a post-lousy-night’s-sleep headache that’s even making full sentences a stretch. Maybe next steep.)

Good classic morning tea. Bold but not too bold. Not astringent. Slightly, and just slightly smoky. One that I would recommend others to try.

Had this one this AM. A whisper of smoke and not astringent -my new fave for my first cup in the morning.

I love this tea. As it is getting warmer (well really hotter) , a dense , heavy Mountain Malt does not appeal to me in the AM right now. This tea is a whisper of smoke but again I don’t want to wake up w a roaring barbecue during the summer. It has a sweetness in the aftertaste so this is a nice light breakfast tea in the summer months.

At the price point this tea comes in at (5.80 for 250g) this is a fantastic tea. Its robust, brisk, and malty. It does have a slight bitterness and astringency but is still a great cup. I think it would make a great iced tea which I will try later on.
2.5g/8oz

This is a nice mellow fruity assam tea. While its not as strong as some assams I have had its still great. I’m not sure I have ever meet an assam I didn’t like. This tea is brisk and somewhat robust but the mellowness and lack of bitterness makes a good breakfast or afternoon cup of tea.
2.5g/8oz

This is my first and not my last foray into Ceylon tea. The only Ceylons ( I almost typed Cylons) I have drank have been in tea bag form. This is a mellow buttery smooth tea. The tea has a sweetness to it, not bitter, and has a light astringency. The label says to steep for 3-5 minutes, next time I try 3 to see If I can find some of the citrus notes this tea is supposed to have.

This is a very unusual tea for me. It tastes like a light yunnan with some fruity notes. It really leaves my mouth dry and does have some bitterness with a light astringency. As it cools I get a kind of medicine aftertaste. I usually like yunnan teas but I really don’t like this one. It may be the darjeeling. I’ll try some diferent parameters to see if I can make it drinkable.

This tea is quickly becoming one of my favorites. This tea is a blend of assam teas and steeps up very quickly to a strong, brisk, malty, delicious tea.

This tea is becoming my go to tea in the mornings since Mountain Malt is no longer available. Its a nice blend of assam teas that steep to a strong, brisk, malty, and chewy cup of tea in 3 minutes.

I really needed an assam to drink so I picked this one. It was also nice getting back to making my tea by measuring the tea, checking the water temp, and timing the steep. My tea horde is also getting low so I’m placing a couple of large orders this week. I love this tea as it is strong, malty, chewy, and delicious. I love vacations but its so nice getting back home. I also missed my dog (Kleo). I know I’m rambling but its nice to write tea tastings too.