Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
Only limited amounts of CTC style tea are produced in Sri Lanka, and we are happy to be able to reintroduce this style after a prolonged absence. This offering is notable for a pleasing malty nuance, combined with the classic Ceylon notes of cedarwood and light citrus hints.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! This Kalubowitiyana Estate Ceylon Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports is a very finely cut CTC … but don’t let the small size of the leaf cut discourage you. Just reduce the brew time … I brewed this for 2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch rather than my usual “go to” time of 2 1/2 minutes for black tea, and the result is a cup of really pleasant Ceylon tea.
The most surprising note in this tea is the malty tone … it is MALTY … like a good, hearty Assam! It is rich and flavorful, with a heftier body than I usually associate with a Ceylon. This is like a Ceylon in Assam’s clothing. In fact, had I not known that it was a Ceylon with my first sip, I would have thought it was an Assam.
However, now that I’ve had a few more sips, I notice more of a Ceylon character start to emerge. It has that even-tempered flavor that I expect from a Ceylon, as well as hints of citrus that arrive at the tail end of the sip. Mid-sip, I notice a woody character with earthy notes. There is a moderate amount of astringency to this, which is further accentuated by the citrus notes that arrive at the finish.
This is a really pleasant cuppa – one that would be nice morning or early afternoon tea. It has a good amount of kick to it … so it can get you going just like a hearty Assam would!
Sichuan Zao Bei Jian Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
An extremely well made special tea from Sichuan (Szechuan) province. One of the finest black teas available today. Reddish liquor, clean taste, mellow flavor. Exquisite!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely black tea – this Sichuan Zao Bei Jian Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports. It is so well-rounded … so full of flavor. It is smooth and mild, but, it also has a certain heartiness to it.
I love the flavor of this tea … it is smooth from start to finish, with minimal astringency. No bitterness whatsoever. As I mentioned at the start, it is very nicely round, it seems to fill the palate with flavor without overwhelming it, providing a good, strong flavor without being overly aggressive.
There are lovely notes of fruit to this tea, reminiscent of sun-ripened stone fruit … a sweet plum, perhaps, and sweet currants, but without the hints of sour that often accompany a plum or currants. The sweetness is somewhere between fruit and caramel. As I continue to sip, I notice a drying astringency beginning to develop, but it is a very slight dryness, reminding me of the dryness that might accompany a dry red wine.
In fact, that is what this tea reminds me of … a sweet, dry red wine. Robust and full, but mellow and sweet. Just a very enjoyable cuppa – a nice afternoon tea.
Vietnam Shan Tuyet Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
This fully oxidized Shan tea (or Mountain Tea) is produced from ancient tea trees from the Northern Highlands of Vietnam. The dark leaves are decorated with a modest amount of tips. The liquor is a rich amber color with a smooth, clean taste and a lightly sweet finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m sure it’s pretty obvious by now that I enjoy trying new teas … and I especially enjoy trying teas from other parts of the world. I mean, Japan, China and India are pretty well known for their tea production, but, when I’m presented with an opportunity to try teas from other countries – like this Vietnam Shan Tuyet Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports – I jump at the chance. Not just because the tea is “new to me” but also because even though I’ve been drinking tea for a long time now, I am still quite amazed at how different one tea can taste so different from another, based upon little else other than the location where they are grown. It’s really very interesting.
I’ve tried a few Vietnamese teas by now, but, they still feel fairly new to me … they feel different to me. They definitely taste different than teas from other parts of the world. There are certain similarities, of course … and I’m liking this tea not only for its similarities but its differences.
It is a smooth, rich tea with an interesting finish that reminds me vaguely of a coffee taste. You know that deep roasted taste that hits the palate when you take a sip of coffee, that warm, delicious, roasted tone that sits upon the palate at the finish? That’s what I’m tasting here. And since I don’t drink coffee – I used to enjoy the taste of coffee but I didn’t enjoy the sickly feeling it would give me a few hours later – it’s quite pleasurable to find teas that have a coffee-like taste to them.
The sip starts with a sweet, earthy tone that transcends into the aforementioned coffee-like taste. The finish is slightly dry and astringent, and the aftertaste is clean. My palate feels like it’s ready for another sip … this tea keeps me drinking, and it’s a tasty tea until the very last sip.
Craigmore Estate OP Nigiri Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
The crepy, bold OP leaves yield a medium-dark liquor. The cup has light cedar notes with a clean, crisp character. While this selection is well-suited for hot tea, it also makes an excellent iced beverage.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Craigmore Estate OP Nilgiri Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports is an excellent Nilgiri – it is everything I expect from a high-quality Nilgiri black: rich, sweet, a little bit malty, notes of earth and wood, with a refreshing, invigorating crispness.
The overall cup is robust yet smooth. My first time I brewed this tea, I measured out a little extra leaf, and I found that this not only resulted in an obviously stronger cup of tea, but also a slightly more astringent one than I cared for. The second time I brewed it, I remembered to be a little more careful about measuring and I found that the second pot was much smoother and more enjoyable.
This tea tends to have more of a woody tone to it rather than a fruity or floral character. Faint hints of fruit and flower can be detected if one slurps the tea to aerate it, and really focuses on the sip. But when casually sipping this tea, I notice more of the wood tones, and I find them quite enjoyable too. The sweetness is like burnt-sugar caramel which complements the malty tones nicely.
I enjoyed this served hot or iced – it’s especially nice iced, served with a thin slice of lemon. So refreshing!
Moditea Estate Assam TGFBOP from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
This tippy broken selection is suitable as a staple in any tea lover’s cupboard. The liquor carries a nice malty aroma with fruity notes. The smooth cup is strong enough to support the addition of a spot of milk.
Learn more about this Assam here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely Assam! This is just the type of flavor I expect when I sample an Assam tea – rich, malty, sweet notes of caramel and fruit … robust and sturdy! This Moditea Estate Assam TGFBOP from Upton Tea Imports is an Assam lover’s Assam!
The dry leaf is a broken leaf, dark chocolate in color with some golden tips (although not quite as many as the photo might lead one to believe!) After steeping 2 1/2 minutes in boiling water, the brew is quite dark, looking almost like black coffee rather than a cup of tea! But the aroma is TEA! It smells rich and lightly sweet.
The flavor – ahh! Malt! I love the malty tones of Assam. It is the malty note that keep me coming back to Assam. Otherwise, Assam tends to be a somewhat temperamental tea (you don’t want to over-steep an Assam or the chances are that you’ll be left with a bitter and very astringent cuppa!), and I probably would be less enthusiastic to try an Assam if it weren’t for those delicious, sweet, malty notes!
There is an undercurrent of caramel-like flavor that melds nicely with the malty flavors. More sweetness comes from the fruit notes in the background. There is a freshly baked taste (and texture!) to this tea as well – reminiscent of a freshly baked loaf of bread. That chewy crust that I love so much in a fresh loaf of bread – I get that essence here with this tea. It’s a little earthy, rich and flavorful, and bold! Just the kind of tea you want to drink first thing in the morning to get that blood pumping!
A really nice cuppa from Upton Tea Imports!