Oolong Standard Grade

Picture of Oolong Standard Grade
Brand:Upton Tea Imports
Style:Oolong Tea
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Region:Taiwan / Formosa
Loose/teabag:Loose
Product page:Oolong Standard Grade - TT11

This tea's info last updated: Mar. 1, 2020

Commercial Description

A classic restaurant grade tea, with a smooth character, and classic Formosa Oolong flavors. Priced for everyday use, this selection is an excellent choice for its value and quality.

Brewing Instructions: (from Upton Tea Imports)

2¼ g/cup, 190°F, 3-4 min.

Ratings & Reviews

Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews

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Reviewer pic70 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
(143 reviews) on

A flavorful and complex oolong that is better than your average Chinese restaurant tea. This has a very nice garden/forest like aroma. The flavor is complex and leans toward the brighter, cleaner end of the oolong spectrum. The price is a little higher than I would expect for an everyday oolong, but it makes sense given that tea prices in general have been going up in the last couple of years. NB - this appears to be the same tea as their Oolong Standard Grade, althou the name may have changed once or twice.
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Link Link to This Review
Reviewer pic53 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
(1448 reviews) on

Upton has renamed their teas or changed their item codes between TT10 and TT11, which makes discussing them confusing. The old TT10, Season's Pick Formosa Fannings, was discontinued. This is the same tea that used to be called TT11 but it's now TT10. (Update, they now renamed it back to TT11. lol.)

This is a radically different tea from Season's Pick Formosa Fannings, which surprised me. That tea is mellower, whereas this is a bolder and stronger tea. This tea resembles a black tea a bit more. It's more similar, however, to Upton's higher grades of dark Taiwanese oolong (which are only slightly more expensive). I'm a bit confused as to why Upton offers so many options, especially after sampling all of them.

The dark leaves of this tea are aromatic, and don't expand much upon brewing, in contrast to a lot of oolongs.

I found this tea to have a fair amount of bitterness and astringency, which could be a plus or a minus, depending on your taste. Although it's slightly mellower than most black teas, it still seems more black-tea-like than oolong-like.

The aroma has some complexity...it's earthy with a hint of cinnamon. I find this tea doesn't do well with multiple infusions...after a 4 minute infusion, there's not much left in the leaves. I suppose one could use briefer infusions and more leaves, but I tried this and it didn't improve my overall experience with the tea. Bottom line? Take it or leave it...it's alright but I've had much better dark oolongs from other sources, and I find Upton also has teas I strongly prefer.
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Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews

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