Upton Tea Imports

After drinking my way through a can of this, mostly mixed with spearmint and tarragon in an attempt to try to find the sweet spot that would mimic Tazo’s Refresh, I am having to rethink my rating and significantly downgrade this.

The truth is, I never really did get used to the earthy, dirty smell and taste. I know that peppermint doesn’t have to be that way, because the peppermint in Refresh doesn’t have that quality. I don’t know if it was just the batch I got or what, but I’m not willing to order more to find out. I will stick with Refresh as a mint tisane rather than my Frankensteinish attempt to recreate it, and I’ll try some other peppermint samples as I go along. Teavana’s peppermint is getting a high rating here, I’ve noticed, so I may give that a try as well.

A second cup using a different formula. The directions recommend 2-3 teaspoons and 8 minutes. The first time I went with 3 tsp for 8 minutes. This time, 2 tsp for 5.

Interesting contrast. I prefer the 2 tsp at 5 minutes. It seems to lessen the earthy smell I mentioned before without weakening the flavor. Or perhaps I’m just getting used to that smell…

Straight up peppermint. There’s not much not to like about this if you like peppermint and I do. It’s nicely minty without any fake candy cane taste to it, but not so strong that you have the feeling it’s been doused with additional peppermint oil or flavorings to artifically enhance the taste. The only thing I found surprising is the aroma, which is a lot more earthy than I’d expected. But this is my first loose peppermint, so as far as I know it’s entirely possible they all smell like this but the bags screen out some of the loamy, planty smell.

Nice clean white tea w/a subtle vanilla flavor. There are rose petals in the blend but the rose flavor is not strong at all…

Had this today and definitely not cloyingly sweet…but somehow the caramel flavor was not as strong….

Well the caramel chunks in the tea are certainly not as big as the photo… But this tea is yummy w/a distinct caramel flavor (w/an emphasis on the toasty sugar flavor) and not just a cloying sweetness. I purchased the sample and I will repurchase again…

Nice Yunnan, good creamy body, not as sweet as Golden Yunnan from Rishi.

Yum! I liked this tea the instant I opened the sample pack. Lovely smell. Fruity, maybe? Brews clean, tastes good.

Hmm, interesting. I think I’ve had a tea like this before, a long time ago. It’s nice. Reminds me of happy memories. Amusingly enough, they’re mellow memories. Light cinnamon aftertaste. Neat.

It’s a nice white tea. I’m learning that I don’t like light flowery teas. So this really isn’t my style. But I don’t have any technical complaints about it – good flavor, complex, etc. Better than the average random tea. Brewed twice.

I’ve had a pretty hectic week and didn’t have quality time to spend with my Oolong sampler until now. This is the third in the sampler, and it is quite lovely. The dry leaves are the greenest of the four Oolong samples (not surprising given the reference to jade in the name) and are in fact a color that isn’t far from jade green (the “darker” jade green). It’s less toasty smelling than the fine grade or the amber. Though that note is still present, there’s a greener, earthier smell to it that makes the toasty note regress some.

The color is a pretty, clear light golden yellow with the smallest touch of green. The infused aroma, too, has a greener smell to it than the others. It deepened and became more “tawny” and floral on the second and third infusion, and by the third it was downright buttery with a twinge of something that seemed almost vanilla.

The flavor is delicate and sweet, and it changes fairly obviously from infusion to infusion, getting creamier through at least the third (steeped five minutes) and fourth (steeped six minutes). These were my favorites, though I went for five. The leaves had expanded in the filter so much by the fifth that I moved to a larger cup, and that likely made a difference, or perhaps the flavor was just naturally tapering off by then.

Had this tea in the AM again. I just love the bold, smoky notes in the background. With a little cream and sugar, a great way to start the day!

Yumm- perfect in the morning and again like the smokiness… think I may try lapsang souchong next

Nice in the AM w/a little bit of milk and sugar. Has a light smoky flavor , Very nice and smooth.

Very light rose flavor but not overwhelming…it even had a subtle vanilla flavor. I would definitely recommend this tea

Doing this one up today using my heretical multiple steepings into a single pot method. I have found that this is an especially effective way to create very complex pots of shou. Somehow the lighter notes of the very early and very late steepings remain distinct from the black tar of the middle steepings.

Think of it as breakfast blend, Yunnan style.

Old school, lazy Western style, today.

Enough leaf for 4 cups of water, three minute steep. I’ll probably only get two, maybe three steeps this way, but that’s still anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon from two tablespoons.

This tea is the precise opposite of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.

I am at the end of an emotionally taxing week and I needed an uncomplicated hug.

For me, that’s what shou is all about.

I love that it is good for me, I love that there is so much pedantry and history to learn about pu-erh, but at the end of it all, what I really love about shou is that it is strong, mellow, welcoming and quiet.

I haven’t had this tea in a long time, having long ago “upgraded” from this to Upton’s slightly pricier “Wang” offering.

But I’ve learned a lot about pu-erh since then, and I wanted to circle back around and see how this struck me differently, now.

First and formost, gongfu steeping brings out a much broader and brighter access to the “dusty, damp cave” flavor profile of this tea. I’m going to enjoy these leaves.