Upton Tea Imports

Only new observation after several cups of this one is that it is a lot friendlier with a little milk.

Very stout Assam…akin to the kick in the head that comes from waking up and realizing you are the parent of a college freshman. Life moves fast, gang. Choose well.

At any rate, brisk and pungent are good descriptors of this one. I’m a lover of all things stout and malty, but I may have to back off on the leaf or pop in some milk next time.

Decided to give my taste buds a weary Wednesday pick-me-up by trying something new. Dry leaves are small and thin, but they pack nice and densely in the pouch. Does that make sense? Lots of blonde tips.

First thing I noticed was this was a very “juicy” Assam. I can catch the tones that made the Upton folks call it raisiny. It has strengthened significantly since it has cooled and I’m nearing the end of my 12-oz. tumbler. I think it’ll take milk nicely. Pretty good caffeine kick, too.

I had this again today and upped the dosage and shortened the steep time and it was perfect. It was slightly numbing intially and very flavorful. I literally had this energy. This sense of purpose. A great tea buzz to say the least…. I am still buzzing hours later.

This was the last of my black tea samples from Upton. It brewed up strong yet it was not too bold. It was eye-opening and invigorating. As far as CTC teas go, this was a pleasant suprise. Rich and malty and very flavorful.

Thanks to BrooklynSheep for this sample.
This came in a silver baggie.
Processed on 10/19/2011 for Emily R——-
CO2 Decaffeinated Ceylon OP
The tea had a Kosher star
English Breakfast 1 tsp/3-4min/212 degress
Imported and Picked by Upton Tea imports
I had a very small sample.
I placed what I had in a half cup of water.
I didn’t get anything special, still tasted like hot H20.
For now I’ll check out more teas from www.uptontea.com

Trying to make my peace with this one before the sample runs out. This attempt involved a little sweetening with maple syrup—well, if you can call Mrs. Butterworth’s real maple syrup ;) Hey, it was all I had…

…which means that the not-very-strong blackcurrant became merely a holding mechanism for the syrup.

It was such a lovely, crisp, apple-peel fresh-air sort of evening, it didn’t matter what I was sipping. I sat out in the back yard and smelled fall and felt bountiful for a while.

I’m trying to like this one. I really am. It doesn’t like me back, much. Something about the blackcurrant flavor is—flat? stale? A little Sugar in the Raw did improve it enough to finish the cup.

Not much left in the sample; I may see if it’s blendable with something a little more friendly.

Win some, lose some. (Speaking of lose some, anybody seen my other brown sparkly earring?)

I’m going to have to do some pondering on this one. When I first snipped open the pouch, I could have sworn I smelled something sour, almost like vinegar. That set off an automatic uh-oh, but the scent dissipated pretty quickly.

I forged ahead and steeped it 4 minutes, water a little under boiling as prescribed. Net result is clearly decaffeinated (aka no punch whatsoever) black tea that hints at being somewhat berry-like.

Could be that a little sweetener will coax the blackberry out of hiding, but it’s been a long week, I’m in my cozy glider with my feet up, and I’m just too lazy to get up. Maybe next time.

This is a great way to start the day if you need something extra strong. Between the robust flavor and caffeine content there lies a very good tea. In all honesty I do not think I can handle another cup. This has me flying. I enjoyed this more than the East Frisian TGFOP. More than the River Shannon and the Scottish Breakfast. It’s raining here yet this tea has made me feel like it’s a sunny day. This is a perfect morning brew for those who can handle it….

This is soooo good, it’s probably from last year given I bought it in May so I will be all over a new round of this one.

I don’t even know what else to say about it, it just has that quintessential Darjeeling taste to it. A little astringent, a good bit of muscatel flavor, a bit nutty and citrusy. Pecans and lemons, that’s especially what I taste!

After drinking some fine Yunnans lately I was wondering how this would compare. It was dark and a bit spicy. I was also getting a slight cocoa sweetness. This was a nice way to start the day. For the price its well worth it. I am sure it will be better next time….

I love everytime I sample a new tea. Sometimes I am disappointed and times like today when I am pleased. As with all new teas I like to keep an eye and a nose on it while it steeps. The result was a pleasure. Dark and sweet with hints of darker fruits and dark honey. I can see where the lover of Keemuns would appreciate this but I feel it truly stands on its own. This one made me smile.

All I know is, don’t steep it for 4 minutes. Bleh! Smells so good in the bag, very strong on the grapefruit. I think it was a combination of that being far too long a steep along with the flavorings that just resulted in something purely gross.

Cold steeping it the next time around.

I don’t usually reach for Earl Grey teas, but if there’s some creamy vanilla added in there’s more of a chance I’ll try it. The bergamot is many times too overpowering.

So enter this offering from Upton provided by Alphakitty! The dry leaf smells a little chocolatey and creamy. Hmmm… that might be because there was a H&S’s Florence sample in the swap too. I’m pressing on anyway.

Brewed 2 tsp of leaf with about 10 oz of boiling water. The wet leaf smells a little like cream soda! Ok, now we’re talking! :)

I did try this without sweetener first and was pleasantly surprised there was very little bitterness. It’s very smooth, which is also something I find lacking in many EGC’s. A little rock sugar added and it brings out more of the creamy vanilla.

This is a really nice offering. I can’t say that I’ve ever had a more enjoyable EGC before. And it’s my first sampling from Upton. It’s going on my shopping list when I get around to building up enough of an order to justify a purchase – thanks Alphakitty!

Another sampler for my morning cup. This Assam brewed up dark and after 3 minutes I decided to give it a sip. It was pleasant even though I was expecting a stronger flavor. As I continued I was truly loving this cup. Nice sweet flavor of dark honey and cocoa. After reading Amys review I decided to steep it for over 5 minutes. This is where it opened up and shined. I can only imagine how nice a 5 minute initial steep would of been.

If Amy is correct about the pricing this tea is a bargain.

I thoughly enjoyed my morning cup. And today this was my choice. I have a dizzying array of samples to choose from and for some reason this one was selected.

I noticed the small leaf and I knew to keep a close eye to avoid oversteeping. I settled in on an approximately 4 minute steep. I was greeted by a dark red brew that was delicious. It was smooth and clean and a perfect tea for my morning. It was awakening. I did not notice any dominant or subtle flavors yet there is this balance, a ying and yang that seemed to be in harmony.

When all is said and done with my black tea samples I would have to guess that China is the clear winner of tea producing countries.

I have a theory that nearly all of the single-estate tea samples I got from Upton will be excellent mix-and-matchers. Didn’t have quite enough for a full pot this morning, so I spiked it with some Assam Gold from Tea Merchant. Can’t tell where one starts and the other leaves off … smooth and weighty, a little sweet fruit tang at the end.

Perfect for a cool and sunny morning.

When I do this one right—as in use a timer and actually heed the timer—this is very nice. Three minutes, not a penny more.

I’m still trying to figure out what the “fruity” notes remind me of. A little grapey, maybe.

Furthermore, this one just feels good in the mouth. Heavy and silky. Highly recommended.

Yesterday’s leaves; tossed in a scant half-teaspoonful to freshen them up, and left them longer than the recommended three minutes, which I think was a little long. The fruity zing I bragged on yesterday is more like licking a cast iron skillet this morning. Upton means three minutes, not five and a half :)

Still drinkable.

Looks a great deal like PG Tips, but with a much gentler personality! Strong enough for a morning tea, but has a sweet dried-fruit temperament. I think milk and sugar would be too heavy for it. A really nice change of pace.