Upton Tea Imports

Adawatte Estate is a classic Ceylon, so all the standard descriptions apply. I’m mainly a drinker of medium-to-full bodied black teas with milk and sugar, so it starts to feel like most of my reviews of my favorite teas are rearrangements of the adjectives “round”, “smooth”, and so on. As usual, they apply here.

This one distinguishes itself with its strong honey and more subtle thyme notes. I don’t usually like spicy teas. Fortunately, despite the thyme, I wouldn’t describe this as a spicy tea at all. It’s quite smooth and not very astringent. If the flavor were an emotion, it would be a quiet joy, content but hopeful. The liquor is not as thick or robust as an Assam, but it offers a nice break from my Mountain Malt addiction. I like it very much.

Sipdown no. 4 of September 2019 (no. 95 of 2019 total, no. 583 grand total). A sample.

Wow, this was one of the very first loose leaf tea samples I acquired about 10 years ago! I am not sure how I never got around to drinking it all before, particularly since the tin is so small. My only explanation is that I likely hoarded it because I thought it was good.

Believe it or not, it was still good. I took it to work a couple of days last week, brewed Western, and that was enough to polish it off. It was toastier than my initial description seems to indicate, but nutty was still an apt adjective.

Feels nice to clear the decks, even though I’m nostalgic about this one.

This is the second in the Introduction to Oolongs sampler and an interesting comparison to the Formosa Fine Grade. The dry leaves are very different in color and texture. Much bigger and formed into curls, whereas the Fine Grade ones are much smaller and less formed. They smell less toasty than the Fine Grade; actually the smell reminds me of champagne. The liquor, too is reminiscent of champagne; a lighter, yellowy-amber than that of the Fine Grade with a more delicate aroma that is warm and slightly fruity. The taste is more delicate, too, and I have a feeling there is a lot more to be discovered here on subsequent tastings. The flavor is pleasant and mild, and as noted by others, nutty. The leaves uncurl during steeping until they are surprisingly long and pretty. I can see myself spending quite a bit of time with this one.

Sipdown no. 12 of March 2019 (no. 47 of 2019 total, no. 535 grand total).

This was the very first loose leaf tea I experimented with after I joined Steepster 9 years ago. So it’s a nostalgic moment to sip it down.

I took this to work last week. After all this time, it’s still a solid, though basic, dark oolong.

This is the first loose tea I’ve tried since I started my tea adventure, and I’m thoroughly amazed at how much of a difference I’m seeing between this and just about anything else I’ve been drinking these past weeks, even the whole leaf bagged teas. And I realize it’s pretty basic as oolongs go, so I can only imagine what’s in store when I graduate to higher grades.

This is the first in the Introduction to Oolong (Oolongs 101?) sampler and I’ve been enjoying it yesterday and today. I would not have thought it could add so much to the experience to examine dry leaves prior to steeping, but it does. These are a dark, chocolatey brown, with flecks of lighter brown. They have a warm, toasty aroma. The liquor is a rich, dark amber/burnt orange. It smells very similar to the dry leaves, and the flavor is in turn very true to the aroma, warm and toasty, with a very subtle note I can’t put my finger on — very slightly floral, perhaps? The aftertaste is slightly sweet and pleasant. I used two teaspoons rather than one after the first try and preferred it stronger. I did not notice much change over multiple steepings (I lengthened the steeping time from 3 minutes to 4 after the first, and to five on the last).

Just made a pot and shared it with a friend. While I have enjoyed drinking Pu-Erh for a while now, this was her first taste. And I believe she was pleasantly surprised! I don’t heat the water to boiling , probably closer to 200-210. Personally, I think it gives the tea a softer taste, making it enjoyable rather than a functional tea. If that makes sense.

In need for a cuppa, and my stash is dwindling. Hoping this tea helps settle the day down.

Although I do like this tea, I tend not to care for teas that taste grassy. Or as the company’s description states, “vegetal.” Although Upton recommends, 180/79 deg, I steep at a slightly lower temp.

This is one of my favorite teas to have at the end of the day. Strong bold flavor and great aroma. For me, the texture is often creamy.

I grabbed a sample portion from the Traveling Tea Box only because I haven’t tried this specific kind before.

It’s not memorable…it does taste like dark leafy green spinach…I couldn’t drink it alone so I am pairing it with my lunch which happens to be Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna. It fits well and brings out the cheesy and sauce flavor of the Lasagna more – LOL – Honestly, I doubt I would try the Sencha Special Grade from Upton again…sorry…

But I am grateful to have tried it…rather than to never have tried it at all, I suppose. :)

Figures…this is my last serving of this…sigh…I am really liking this today…apparently more than I did the last time I had it…not that I gave it a bad rating…it was a fairly good rating…but this seems to be hitting the spot today.

I can smell the tropical fruit in this before, during, and after the infusion. The coloring of the liquid is a medium brown with orange hues. I can taste more floral than fruit but you can still tell the fruit is there…enough to make it sweet…but the aftertaste goes more back towards the floral linger. This is fairly good.

Finishing up my sample from the TTB…FULL Strength tea today…just want I need! Woot! Woot!

Another TTB Tea…yay!

This reminded me of one of Adagio’s…but for the life of my I can’t remember which one! LOL

Anyhow…it’s bold and full…a little bitter, but by design…Not much for scent but it makes up in the full and busty taste! Pretty Good.

The nose on this is a little spicy, but the actual flavor is not. It’s a nice rounded taste that appeals to me even though I am usually not a huge fan of Chinese black teas. There is a hint of bitterness but no astringency to match, which is a little out of the ordinary for a black tea. There is some cedar in the smell and it is reminding me of Christmas past; the old chest my family kept the Christmas ornaments in was made of cedar.

As the tea cools a bit, I’m even getting a little more bitterness and a bit of spicy heat on the finish. Like… straight cinnamon. There’s a little dissonance going on in the aftertaste now – like a very mild version of drinking OJ after brushing your teeth. It’s not quite as nice as it was when it was hot.

A pretty interesting, yet solid tea. Just drink it before it gets cold.

When I opened this, I just went “Who-ho-hoa!”. This has a really interesting smell. It’s complex but not at all understated. Really, extremely smoky for a (presumably) non-smoked tea. Sort of like creosote. The actual flavor is something like a pumped-up green or oolong. This tea has woody notes and a respectable amount of bitterness and astringency. If you have been wishing that greens or oolongs could take milk, this one might be worth a try for you.

All in all, I’m glad I have this tea, but it’s definitely an interesting tea more than a purely delicious one.

I think I’ve figured this tea out. If you were to smell the leaves after they have been put in boiling water for only a few minutes, you might find them to smell low-quality or even a little bit disgusting. Kenilworth OP is just not good for longer steeps, and definitely not second steeps; the leathery, morning-breath stench of spent leaves becomes dominant.

That said, this is not a bad tea at all, if you work within these constraints. It’s very fresh, invigorating, and somewhat full in flavor if you are careful to keep the steep under 3:30. If you do wind up with an infusion that feels oversteeped, try giving it a minute. As it cools, much of the unpleasantness and some of the astringency will go away.

If treated right, this is one of the best black teas I’ve had for its low price.

Kenilworth Estate OP has long been one of my favorites, and its very reasonable price makes it my first recommendation to anyone who wants to try a good black tea.

To me, this is the dictionary definition of black tea. It’s slightly molassessy and very smooth. It’s also got that “brisk” flavor that Lipton likes to talk about. This briskness is a very nice thing, and relatively few black teas have it. So if you have drank Lipton Hot Tea and liked parts of the flavor but wished it was a bit richer and didn’t burn your throat from the astringency or taste like dirt with lemon juice when it got under your tongue… you should try this tea.

The things I don’t like about this tea are that the brew is a little bit thin, and a hint of the “spent leaves” flavor was coming out after just 4 minutes. Playing around with the timing can probably come close to getting rid of these problems, though – I recall preferring a 3 min steep and a little bit more leaves last time I had this.

I hadn’t had this for several months, so I’d been really looking forward to getting it in my latest Upton order. Since Kenilworth is such a large producer of tea with apparently few varieties, I think that a fair portion of the reviews for other Kenilworth OPs are reviews for this exact tea.

I’m not sure what’s up with me recently, I’ve been craving a lot of chai. Since it’s a bit of a PitA to make, when I don’t feel up to making it I have my standby instant tea (so I haven’t been logging much).

So I’ve been looking for a chawan to properly drink matcha and finally found one that I liked at Upton Tea Importers. Since I was placing an order, I HAD to buy some tea… right?

Opening the bag and smelling this one, I knew I was in for a treat. I usually don’t write about dry leaves (oh, yeah, tea leaves; they smell) but this blend made me want to jump in the bag with them. SO GOOD – mostly like chocolate. Yum.

This simmered on the stovetop (with milk and sugar) longer than I normally make chai for – I was puttering about in the kitchen making a pitcher of iced tea for the husband and doing other random things.

The taste…. it’s a tossup if I prefer this or Adagio’s Masala Chai. Adagio’s has a strong spice “bite” to it, while this is smooth and rich. I’ll probably end up keeping both in my cabinet for the foreseeable future and pulling out whichever my mood calls for.

The chocolate is still there, though it’s no longer dominant. It’s allowing the other flavors to play (though I’m not tasting cinnamon). So good!

As with Upton’s Lychee Black tea, this makes a fabulous iced tea.

The lychee flavor is quite strong—as a hot tea, I would only want it once in a great while. However, it makes a wonderful iced tea, cold brewing method recommended.

Resteep for a scant 3.5 min, 180F. What a difference 30 sec makes. No bitterness, a pale liquor and fresh, mild taste. Resolution to get it right on first steep next time. Would like to get a bit more flavor.

My first pi lo chun. The liquor was still very pale at 3 min, so I let it go 4 min, which yielded bitter tea — but not too bitter to drink. I’ll try 3.5 min next time. This tea looks and smells very promising, in spite of my mistake.