Upton Tea Imports

My tea while playing Harvest Moon- The Tale of Two Towns. (This game always makes me want tea. As my favourite town has a nice little tea house.) There is a nice floral scent. The flavour is a bit sweet and lightly floral. It is a nice relaxing oolong.

The tea of my Star Trek re-watch. There is a nice citrus scent. Mostly bergamot, with some lemon notes. It has a sweet citrus flavour. A good tea for winter mornings.

The creamy vanilla scent is lovely. There is a good cream and bergamot flavour. While the citrus notes are a bit lighter, it is still a nice cozy blend.

(Earl Grey is the unofficial tea of winter.)

My tea while watching Stargate Atlantis, and Star Trek. There is a very nice bergamot scent. It is a bit light on bergamot flavour, but still quite good. The base tea is pleasantly sweet. Overall, a nice lighter Earl Grey.

The citrus aroma is very nice. There is mainly bergamot with some lemon notes. It has a really good citrus flavour too. This is a new favourite afternoon tea.

Certainly a good tea on snowy winter days.

In my quest to drink more green tea, I decided to have an old favourite. There is a nice toasty scent. The flavour is mainly roasted rice, with some wakame notes.

One of my recent samples. The scent is earthy, and there is a more vegetal aroma when brewed. It has a mild vegetal flavour.

Overall, pretty good and I liked it with my green tea mochi.

This tea smells sweet and grassy, exactly how I expect Korean green tea to smell. The taste is delicate and smooth, a refreshing and easy to drink cup. This is currently my second-favorite green tea. Good for at least two infusions. I’m almost to the end of my sample, and Upton doesn’t have this in stock, so I have more Sejak coming from Harney and Sons. We shall see how it compares.

Well, I wanted a new tea I had never had before. And, as I’m running out of those, here we are.
Bought this as part of a quasi-sampler of green teas from Upton. I’ve had varying results so far so we shall see.
Western style prep, 2tsp for 12oz, 180F water at 3 minutes.
Taste is… holy crap does that taste like sweet peas. No really, it’s exactly what I would imagine sweet pea to taste like. It’s green pea flavored, but sweeter. I guess you could chalk that up to a yummy green tea flavor. I’m also getting a hay aftersip, which is different but not bad. This is one of the greener greens I’ve had. It’s actually really good. I know I’ve said I don’t like grassy flavors, but the natural sweetness in this one overrides the negativity I might feel about the grass flavor. Yummy yummy. I’d call this green tea experiment a rousing success. Absolutely delicious.

Ok, another added tea. This time, it is the “Naturally flavored Vanilla black tea” from Upton. Smell in bag is, well, not good. It smells like the vanilla has gone straight past body spray and into licorice territory. Some people might like that, but I don’t. This tea already has me concerned. But, onward for SCIENCE!
Western prep. 2tsp for 12oz cup, 4min at boiling water.
Taste is… blech that’s bad. Unfortunately that offputting licorice smell makes it into the tea. The vanilla, while supposedly natural, is like drinking vanilla extract. It’s so dominant, I really can’t even taste the black tea base. This is awful. I wonder if sweetener would help, but honestly I think I am just going to call this one a loss. The only remotely decent thing about this tea is it’s crisp mouthfeel. Only any goodness from that is taken to a negative level.
It’s a very sharp, dry tea- if you like that sort of thing. It leaves me personally feeling like I have dry mouth. I’ve never been one for dry wines, I suppose that would explain why I don’t like dry teas. There’s a word people use: Astringency. I think that applies here. I really am not completely sure what astringency is in a cup of tea. All I know is I feel like I just ate a mouthfull of dry coffee creamer. Horrible. Do not recommend at all. Go back, Upton, and try again.

Another green tea. I know I’m testing the limits here drinking this at 5am but oh well.
This one has long curled green and white leaves that, in bag, smell somewhat fruity and sweet. It’s a wonderful smell that compelled me to drink some despite the odd hour.
Prepared western style, 180F water at 3 min. Smell while brewing is very grassy, which has me slightly concerned. The brewing smell is completely different from dry leaf smell.
Taste once brewed is… oddly familiar. It reminds me of the green tea that Adagio uses in its Jasmine scented teas. Actually I’m pretty sure it is the same tea. The flavor is slightly vegetal, while also floral and mildly sweet. I’m getting a dry grass flavor predominately, but not so much as to be offputting. Unfortunately those sweet fruity scents that the dry leaf has do not really translate over except in a aftersip taste. Basically after you drink this, if you wait a few minutes, the lingering flavor turns from one of hay, to mouth full o’berries. Its a bit odd and I really wish that fruity flavor translated into the actual tea itself. In the end, this is 100% drinkable and I do enjoy it. This I would consider a successful green tea experience. Bring on more like it.

Well, I rebought this. Big bag this time. This is my current Go-To nighttime tea. I want to try and cut off my caffeine at a certain point of evening, so I’ve been drinking this and a couple other rooibos at night instead of actual tea.

Also, I did what I said I would do. I tried it with a single splenda. It really does complement the flavor well. The tartness isn’t overwhelmed by the sweetness, but the added sweetness very much brings out the natural vanilla of the rooibos. So in the end the result is sort of a ‘blueberries and cream’ flavor, without actually using any milk. It’s very tasty. AND, since splenda is not sugar, I don’t have to worry about it keeping me awake! Double win!

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.

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.

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.