Upton Tea Imports
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Dark, fishy, has sort of pu-erh taste to it, honestly. If I didn’t know better I may mistake it for one.
Very earthy, a tiny touch of floral but I can’t grasp what flower(s)…
Medium length finish that stays mostly as a coated feeling of flavor on the top of the tongue. Bit on the inside of the lips, too.
Definitely very earthy… it tastes similar to a clay pot or cup.
Texture is fairly light.
Not a huge amount to say. It’s about middling-decent, not outstanding in either a bad or good way.
Preparation
2/18/14 Afternoon tea with my husband. 1 packet/12oz/212F/2.5min From my Select box! Pretty pretty brew. I enjoyed it very much, though I can’t describe it well since it’s the first darjeeling I’ve drunk in ages and ages. I brewed it as per the instructions on the packet, and it made a nice potful for dH and I to share before he left for work.
Welp, follow up. Went and had it again without remembering my previous tasting.
Loved it on first mouthful.
Came back to leave a review and reread my old one. This is a really tricky one, for sure.
I’ve ordered more since this one was a all from a sample tin. Quite an oddly indeed.
Preparation
Just received this in an Upton Ceylon Sampler.
The feel is dark and heavy but watery, too. Odd mix.
The taste is heavy. There’s a trace of malty sweetness at the very tip of my tongue but an acrid dark brown flavor hits the middle-back of my tongue and slides to the undersides of it, too. It has almost a coffee edge to it, really. That same sort of acidity/burnt/chocolate/brown flavor.
I’m on my third mouthful and I’m not too sure I like this at all.
The tea is puzzling. My very first reaction on tasting was “blugh!!”, but then turned into a “ew, I don’t know”, then “it certainly has its merits but I’m not a fan”, then “this is awfully strong/harsh but I could stand another mouthful”, then “maybe this one just really needs sugar” (I am not one to put milk or sugar in teas unless sick… I’m a straight-tea drinker), then “I think it may be good but I don’t like it”, then “I’ve no clue, totally mixed feelings”.
Long finish.
Oh, and there’s a little fishiness in there in the back of the throat I noticed on this taste.
I don’t think I like it, but I do think it’s a quality tea that certainly has its merits, as said. I could see others loving it.
I’m gonna throw in some of the rock sugar a family member gave me a while back. If updating is appropriate after doctoring, will do so lol.
Preparation
time for a full review:
when i open the tin and smell the leaves, they smell like fresh smokey green tea leaves :)
when i steep them, the aroma produced is very pleasant.
when i drink the tea the taste is smooth and smokey :) i am putting pots up from 95
this is the best of the gunpowder green teas i have tried so far :D
the way i like the steep it best using a normal size strainer for single cups is this:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons for 4-6 single cup servings.
- steep for 15-20 seconds per serving
- hot to boiling is a good temp range
Preparation
Backlog:
I was excited to try this, especially when I did (mid-December) because this season on Grimm, some of the characters have been spending some time at the Sacher Hotel for which this tea is named. I’m a Grimm fan … so it was just … kind of cool to be sipping on this tea. I’m a Grimm Nerd.
I was even more excited when I opened the pouch and realized it was an Earl Grey blend! Yay! Bergamot! One of my favorite tea flavors!
The bergamot is a softer bergamot here … subtle … delicate. Not at all pefume-ish. I like the blend of black teas used (Ceylon and Darjeeling) – it keeps the tea tasting very light and a bit like something I’d imagine drinking in Vienna. Although … I wouldn’t want to encounter a Hexenbiest while I sip my tea in Vienna.
This tea gets extra points just because of the Grimm connection.
The wonderfully generous MissB tossed a sample of this into my massive shared BF order box.
I’m still questing for my favorite chai, and after trying this one – I’m still questing. I actually didn’t like this at all. The whole blend of spices just didn’t work for me and I thought the licorice really stood out and spoiled the party. Big miss.
Appreciate the sample MissB – thank you so much.
time to do a full review:
when i open the pack, it smells like green tea and matcha powder.
when i steep the leaves it smells sweet and grassy, so does the tea.
when i taste it. it tastes like freshly cut grass. (no pun intended.)
a nice green tea! A good starter for those who never tried Japanese teas :) nicely priced too :D
Flavors: Grass
I used close to 1.5 tsp and let steep for five minutes. Because it came out so strong, it was just passable for me but, when I steeped it a second time (very rarely steep Ceylon teas), it was terrific and would easily score 8 out of 10. My recommendation for the first cup is to only use one teaspoon and steep no more than 4,5 minutes.