Upton Tea Imports

Heading for the red yucky face, I’m afraid, with this one. Dry leaves have a very strong medicinal aroma—like red cough drops. Found 2 dried cranberries in the sampler tin, so artificial flavoring seems to be the culprit. Liquor also has strong off-putting aroma. The liquor itself seems syrupy and has an almost cloying aftertaste. I probably won’t even finish the sampler tin. Most unfortunate.

I’ve been trying to branch out from my regular Ceylons and try teas from less established tea growing locales like Sumatra and Kenya recently. The teas have been generally good quality, so far.

Liki OP is a good tea, comparable in a lot of ways to your standard Ceylon. The molasses notes are there, but more subdued than something like my usual Kandies. The flavor in general is very slightly milder – the Upton description says to take it without milk, but I think it holds up nicely. Overall the flavor is a bit brighter than your average Ceylon. It doesn’t hit you in the face with some crazy aroma, but it’s a solid and well rounded tea.

Very rich and malty, with a peaty/earthy smell.

Not bad, just not great. A bit high in tannin, but a splash of milk smooths it out. Spicy but not overly so. Not picking up either the orange or almond notes.

Love this tea for winter! Well-balanced chocolate and spice notes. I received this as part of a holiday sampler from Upton Tea Imports but will definitely reorder.

A wonderful tasting tea, that just gets better with each infusion. In the first infusion the tea has a slightly earthy mild smooth taste, but after an additional infusion the tea took on a slightly sweeter flavor. I was able to infuse this tea 3 times without losing any of the beauty of the flavor.

Not even a cup of this bold, delicious, malty, full flavored tea rounded out with a splash of milk and a dash of sugar could keep me awake for a complete viewing of the film Che!

Delicious! Super flavorful and not a hint of bitterness or astringency. Very nice with milk and sugar. It’s pretty perfect, but I’m curious to see what 30 more seconds might add to the flavor.

I’m kinda torn on this tea.

Both the dry leaf and the brew seriously lack in the aroma department. I can catch very light Darjeeling notes but they are hardly prominent. Also the leaf is very fluffy and I have to use a lot of it to extract the flavor.

On the other hand the tea tastes great. It is very pleasant and easy to drink, it would make a perfect everyday tea. The flavor is very mellow and light, fruity with Darjeeling background. I’m not sure if it’s close to the first flush or the second, if i had to make a call I’d say it’s something in-between.

Second infusion – 5 mins @ 190F. Less enjoyable. The initial sweetness is gone and the flavor is definitely drier and more astringent now.

Photo-report: http://tiny.cc/Sn2i0

A tasty, fruity rooibos. Almost like drinking hot juice.