Upton Tea Imports

First taste of caramel dissolves quickly into bold tannins. At first I could barely taste anything but tannins, but as it cools I am able to find traces of citrus and a teeny bitfof spice. Not terribly jazzed about this one; it’s fine if you’re liking for a warm, full-bodied tea, but it was lacking some complexity and depth of flavor for me. 6.5/10

This tea had such a nutty roasted aroma that I was almost taken aback by the tangy tannins that hit me on the first sip. Was pleased when it mellowed into a malty finish, and actually find the tea as a whole to be quite enjoyable. A nice, medium bodied tea, but the tannins give a little pucker that I almost found refreshing on a warm day. 7.5/10

a nice green tea :) has a decent veggie/grassy taste

TTBC2 #5

Okay, among all the Upton’s Darjeeling FTOPFTGOPFTFOPs, I think this was the one I had.

It was pretty yummy. I don’t really have much experience with Indian black teas, and the only darjeeling I have had before was the one from thepuriTea. This one made a much better impression on me, though. It almost tasted like some of my favorite Chinese black teas, it was sweet, slightly malty, a little bit toffee-like. But then a sharp but tiny bit of bitterness, that I tend to connect with Indian teas, creeped in. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation, though. I guess it is something one can get used to and learn to enjoy.

I really have to order a whole bunch of Indian black tea samples from Upton and then compare them against each other and against Chinese ones. How scientific!

One of my new go-to teas; a good strong brew (I tend to nearly always add milk and sugar or creamer to my black teas, and this held up very well with the addition thereof). Be careful not to oversteep since it’s on the stronger side.

Tea #34 from Considering a new TTB
This is quite a unique oolong, I really enjoyed it. It starts out with a heavy floral flavor and ends with a spicy note that I can’t quite place. I’m not sure I’ve come across a spicy note in an oolong before, which is what made it really stand out to me. I’ll have to pick some of this up in the future since I can’t drink most spiced teas this is a great option for me.

This tea will not be continuing on

not a good tea :( too raw for me… but for the sake of oolong being my most favorite tea, i wont give this a very low score. (please note: i forgot to review this tea for a week or two)

although i prefer any degree of roasted oolong, I’m not much for raw oolong. however this is the best raw oolong I’ve had so for

Excellent decaffeinated tea (especially with milk and sugar or creamer); strong cup of tea doesn’t taste like you’re missing the caffeine. No bitter aftertaste, nice rounded flavor.

Tart. A bit juicy in feeling and taste. The only traces of the green tea is a bit of light bitterness and a medium spring green color taste.

Sort of like asparagus without the heavy dark parts to the taste. Light thin body, bit of bitterness in the upper back throat. Medium finish.

Not bad but nothing special either.

Rather pleasant. No astringency, the green tea is soft and a light pale green flavor, the mango sweetness isn’t sweetness… It tastes very lovely balanced with a tiny flowery touch. There is yellow, pink, and a light golden green.

I’m not huge on fruit flavored teas, but this is almost refreshing. Not something I’d have often but nice to get to have tried.

Backlog:

One of the teas from February’s Steepster Select box.

Sweet with caramel undertones. Malty. Strong, robust … makes a great pick-me-up sort of tea. Fruit notes (grape) with a dry tail. At mid-sip, I noticed an orange peel sort of flavor, and a very subtle hint of cinnamon.

I think this is the tea I’m drinking. Thank you to whoever sent it to me! It’s a nice tea. Light spice flavor with a touch of sweetness. There really isn’t anything about this tea that stands out to me. It’s good but I don’t think I’d ever order it.

Backlog:

I enjoyed this tea this afternoon while catching up with one of my favorite TV shows. The rose is nice in this one – not overpowering, just a lovely touch of sweet rose.

Having briefly read some of the other notes about this tea, I took care not to oversteep and I didn’t experience any bitterness. The black tea is smooth and pleasant.

And pleasant is the word for this tea … it’s a really nice, pleasant rose tea.

a nice moderate sencha :) with medium grassy/veggie taste :P

Another one from MissB! Thanks yet again! I was craving a wintery tea since you know… it was snowing today. Gah, almost April. It ended up being a perfect choice, even though at the first scent of the dry leaves it tasted a little like potpourri. The taste is much better. I really like the ingredients in this one: apple, cinnamon, vanilla and almond. Sounds delicious! I didn’t really see many apple pieces, and it may just be flavoring mostly. But the cinnamon was both spicy and sweet (I think the cinnamon was making it smell like potpourri.) The black tea wasn’t super strong… which is fine since I’d rather enjoy the ingredients in this. I liked the hints of vanilla and almond. The apple would just be in wispy sips halfway down the mug for some reason. This blend just screams autumn and winter and apple desserts. I will savor the last couple of teaspoons!

Tea #33 from Considering a new TTB
I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would, it had a bit of a bite to it. Perhaps my water hadn’t cooled off as much as I thought it had, or maybe it’s just the tea itself. I enjoyed the second steep more, a subtle sweet note came out to play and it didn’t have the bitterness I noticed in the first steep.

a nice green tea with a sweet grassy/veggie taste :)