Upton Tea Imports

I did another side by side sampling of lychee tea kind of like I did with the rose teas. I thought this one was a little light on flavor, but then I was tasting it along side the Lichee Congou “Extreme” from another merchant. I definitely need to try this one on its own before passing judgement. All in all it seemed pleasant. Looking forward to it iced in the warmer weather, which will probably be June around here…..

This one definitely requires milk. I was surprised at the tea leaves in that they were kind of chopped up. I know..I am a breakfast tea noob, because it looked exactly as most breakfast teas look in pictures. I guess I am a full leaf gal, who prefers tea (that is not bakery-type dessert flavor) without milk. This one reminds me of coffee.

I think I am going to go with Mincing Lane for now….at least until something better comes along.

This one is not quite the one for me….since I prefer my non-dessert flavored tea without milk, this is just not working. Right now I am wishing I had sampled a single leaf version of each of the components of this tea to know which one is not fitting for me. If I had to guess, it would be the Ceylon, as the Assam and Yunnan blend I had yesterday was stellar. All in all, this tea just makes me miss Mincing Lane…..

This is the first tea I am trying from my SweeTea, Michelle. Thank you again, Michelle!

Pretty leaves! Sort of a “black and tan” look!

Smoky and…bacony…but in a subtle way?! It’s smokier than Queen Catherine, and a more of a sweet smoke rather than a dark smoke like Hao Ya A. I began my sips a little hesitantly, not sure if I was digging this new type of flavor, but a point came where it all clicked and I started really loving the sweet smoke!

I think my problem was that I had a sweet pastry breakfast, and I don’t think it went well together. Once I was done the food, the tea really started to shine. For my palate, I’d prefer a bagel or cheese or eggs or even pancakes or french toast (maple bacon!) for this tea. My Gouda breakfast of yesterday would have been perfection.

Steepsterites, I think I’m now firmly in the camp(fire!) of “loves smoky teas!”

This is not my favorite white peony. It tends to be on the lighter and more floral side, both colorwise and aroma / flavor-wise. What’s interesting is that today, I drank a cup brewed from some of the broken leaves that had fallen to the bottom of the bag. It was a little darker tasting, but I didn’t find it particularly enjoyable. An unremarkable tea. Upton has some fantastic shou mei, such as ZW23. I strongly prefer to drink that.

Finally got around to brewing a sample of this tea. Wow…the cinnamon in this is quite strong…phew! The plum is sweet and a bit tart. Not sure I enjoy this one but will finish the cup. It tastes too much like a liquid potpourri and the fall scented candles I’m burning around aren’t helping the cause.

Well, this was the tea I made myself this morning. This was also the tea that I accidentally dumped all over the carpet after only a few sips. Boo! So I’m going to hold off on rating this because a few sips just isn’t enough time to make an accurate judgment (well, unless the tea is truly awful but this one wasn’t). I did manage to have 2 thoughts about this tea before dropping the rest on my carpet. 1) This isn’t smoky like I was hoping. Instead it’s more toasty, which is a little sad. And 2) If this is their ‘finest’, I kind of hate to see their regular because the leaves here are large, non-uniform, a bit twiggy and the taste didn’t strike me as overly spectacular.

But who knows? Maybe it turns into liquid gold on the 10th sip – and since I didn’t get to that sip, I’ll have to wait until next time.

In retrospect, the best time to try a new tea is not right after a breakfast of quinoa covered in maple syrup. Though even with my mouth feeling very maple-y, I was able to pick out the bergamot in this. But otherwise, I can’t really judge it. Oops. At least I have more so I can try again at a later date!

I’m not sure if there is a difference between Fen Huan and Feng Huang…any ideas?

This was the very first whole leaf oolong I tried. Just smelling the dry leaf is like sticking your nose in the center of a flower. My first thought was that it had been perfumed. On the first infusion (30 seconds) I was so overwhelmed by the floral fragrance that all I could note was a sweetness on the palate.

Second time around I steeped for 1 minute. I was more prepared for the aroma this time and was able to note other characteristics. Along with flowers, there is an earthiness to the aroma. The liquor was a pretty amber color. The flavor has a slight fruitiness, a bit of woodsiness, very soft. There are subtleties going on that I have a hard time describing. I infused several times and it still had a nice flavor with good fragrance.

The thing that really stands out is the crazy strong floral fragrance. I’ve never had another tea like it. I look forward to trying some more Dan Congs for comparison.

The tea smells oddly smoky with the typical Keemun scent that smells to me like leather. It’s not a full out Lapsang Souchong type of smokiness but it is definitely there. The taste has a nice carmelized flavor to it. I understeeped it a bit since I’m in no mood for bitterness today but I suspect trying this tea that it wouldn’t have had bitterness anyway. It’s fairly good. I do not taste the cocoa overtones that the description promises but perhaps they come out if the tea is steeped longer.

very nice – this is my first straight-up yunnan, so I can’t comment on how it compares with others. a tiny bit astringent but otherwise very smooth, lots of flavor and body. a bit smoky.

Last week I ordered a medley of sample sized herbal fruit teas from Upton Tea Imports. I loved all the fruit tisanes I’ve had iced over the summer, and am looking for a more affordable option than Teavana. This is the first tisane of seven I am trying.

I used 7tsp of tea to 42oz of water. Brewed it as 7tsp/16oz and added the rest cold to the tea. It’s pretty light in color, a light pink, and smells of strawberry. I think I will need to cut the water down to 21 ounces to make a better flavored tea. I wish I had more of this to experiment with, but alas, I do not. I won’t rate it as I am the one who butchered it.

Thanks to Rabs and the geek pride give away, this tea was mine after rolling an 8 today. This deliciously rich amber brew held up well to a little cream and sugar and was just what I needed to lighten my spirits today. Thankfully there are a few cups worth to this sample. I can’t wait to make a pot tomorrow morning!

Part IV: Halmari CTC BOP (TA 27) vs. Nahorhabi Estate BOP CTC Cl. (TA 18)

The long-delayed fourth round! This time it’s two single-estate teas going head-to-head. With their more impressive pedigrees than previous competitors, I imagine they’re donning elbow-length white gloves instead of boxing gloves.

Dry leaf: Both teas are CTC (crush-tear-curl) process, so they take the form of tiny rolled-up balls rather than leaves. The Halmari has more of the “Grape Nuts” appearance that many of us associate with CTC teas; the Nahorhabi tea balls are smaller and less perfectly round. The Halmari has a subtle aroma of lightly toasted bread. I did not discern any distinctive scent in the Nahorhabi.

When the two teas were brewed, the Halmari produced a liquor that was lighter and browner; the Nahorhabi liquor was deeper in color and had a more reddish tone. (Note: In this round, the teas were brewed with 8 oz. boiling water rather than the Showdown standard of 6 oz. I’d like to pretend there was a rationale for this, but the truth is that I just forgot to stop pouring. :)). Accordingly, I added a little less almond milk to the Halmari.

When tasted, the Halmari had a pronounced biscuity flavor that was quite pleasing. The Nahorhabi had a somewhat richer, maltier character. Interestingly, when I drank the longer-steeped dregs from the brewing vessels (Pyrex cups) after downing the “official” test cups, the Halmari tasted more bitter.

In this (highly subjective) decision, I give the edge to the Nahorhabi, for its deeper color (I’m a sucker for that reddish hue), more complex character and greater tolerance of oversteeping. I think it would be an excellent choice for anyone looking for a morning Assam that is full-bodied but not at all harsh. The Halmari would be my pick when I’m seeking that distinctive biscuity flavor; I can see it working well for afternoon tea. It might also be the better choice for someone who drinks Assam without milk (a concept I have trouble grasping :lol). Just be sure not to let it steep longer than the recommended three minutes.

Part III: CTC Irish Breakfast Blend vs. Scottish Breakfast Blend

It’s Saturday morning, so it must be time for another round! And in the spirit of the current World Cup games, today’s match is international, pitting Ireland’s finest against the pride of Scotland. The CTC Irish Breakfast Blend is all Assam, while the Scottish Breakfast Blend is a melange of Assam, Ceylon and Yunnan teas.

Dry leaf: The CTC has the characteristic “Grape Nuts” appearance of CTC teas, and a medium brown hue. Like the CTC’s previous competitor, River Shannon, the Scottish Breakfast is an orthodox tea composed of small, broken, brown-black leaves.

As before, the CTC steeped to a rich copper shade, the kind of reddish hue that brightens my mood just looking at it. The Scottish Breakfast yielded a cooler-toned brew with some depth to it. Both stood up well to the addition of almond milk.

On tasting, the CTC’s malty, archetypally Assam flavor came through once again. It was somewhat one-dimensional, but that dimension happens to be the one I’m seeking in my wake-up tea. The Scottish Breakfast was a little bit heartier, and the Yunnan in the blend (not as prominent as in Upton’s Mincing Lane blend) peeked through and added some interest and warmth.

Either of these would start my day in a way that is both comforting and invigorating. Again, the CTC gets the edge for coming closer to my ideal, with its cheerier appearance and extra-malty flavor. It’s the one I would turn to on most mornings, while I might pick the Scottish Breakfast when I needed a slightly stouter ally to gird me for the day ahead.

[See Part I for methodology and explanation of what this is all about.]

Part II: CTC Irish Breakfast Blend (TB12) vs. River Shannon Breakfast Blend (TB20)

First, a look at the dry leaves: The CTC had the “Grape Nuts” appearance common to CTC teas, and a medium brown hue. The River Shannon, an orthodox tea, was composed of small, broken, brown-black leaves.

Both steeped to a rich copper shade, the CTC a tad deeper, and did not get washed out when I added the almond milk.

When tasted, these two proved to be cousins, or perhaps siblings in a very large family. The CTC had a rounded, very malty flavor that reflected its all-Assam composition. The River Shannon’s flavor was slightly more subtle and interesting, and the tea was only slightly less full-bodied. However, subtlety is wasted on me when my eyelids are still at half-mast.

The CTC’s character — simple, malty, bold without bite — gave it the edge for me. The River Shannon would make a tasty, hearty, cheering cup at any time of day, but the CTC is closer to my ideal of an Irish breakfast tea.

What this is all about: I ordered eight different Assams and Assam blends from Upton, with two intentions: 1) Find an Assam that I enjoy enough all by itself to crown it my new favorite morning tea. 2) Identify a suitable replacement for the discontinued Hattiali Estate Assam, a full-bodied BOP that I often blend with the milder, fruitier Banaspaty Estate Assam to make a near-perfect a.m. cup.

Procedure: For each face-off, I brewed two cups of tea, using 6 ounces of boiling water and 2.3 grams of tea, steeping each for the time recommended by Upton (or, in some cases, by the user reviews on their site). I added a splash of unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk, as is my custom with strong black teas.

Part I: CTC Fine Assam (TA11) vs. Assam CTC BOP Estate Blend Organic (TA15)

The CTC Fine Assam is a powerhouse! I boldly steeped it for four minutes, on the advice of an Upton reviewer who said this would bring out the full flavor. I’m thinking next time I’ll go with the recommended one to two minutes, because at four minutes I found it slightly bitter and throat-numbingly tannic.

The Assam CTC BOP Estate Blend Organic, steeped for the standard three minutes, was much milder, rather a relief after the CTC Fine’s frontal assault on my taste buds. By itself, I would find it enjoyable if not memorable. To be fair, I might have perceived more flavor in it if I had tasted this one first. This was like sipping a delicate pinot noir after drinking a cabernet with lots of backbone — the nuances are sure to get lost.

Result: A draw. The Assam CTC BOP Estate Blend Organic seems too mild-mannered to be my “reveille tea” but would be pleasant as a second cup or at a later hour of the day. The CTC Fine Assam, on the other hand, is one of those archetypal Assams that strides right up, slaps you in the face and yells, “WAKE UP!!!” That’s more aggression than I want on most mornings, but it looks like a good candidate to replace the Hattiali, as it is certainly strong enough to punch up any tea I blend it with (including its opponent in this match). Neither has the maltiness and personality to take the Assam crown by itself.

1.5 tsp instead of the standard 1. Perhaps this is a lighter tea that requires more steeping time to fully brew? Medium amber color. Smell remind me of European milk chocolate. Or maybe chocolate chip cookies. Strong tea (but not overhwhelming). Lots of tanins for sure but mild aftertaste. Slightly bitter but not in a bad way. Very Asian flavor. It’s immediately obvious you are drinking a Chinese tea the moment it hits your tongue. Viscosity is pretty thin. This would be good with some cookies or a pastry.