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Alex Zorach

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Member since Sep. 1st, 2009. Reviewed 1453 teas.

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Picture of Darjeeling

Darjeeling from Darvilles of Windsor

Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, India

67 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 10th, 2010

This tea's complexity surprised me! Unusually vegetal for a black tea, with a hint of savory qualities. Dark in color, and full-bodied, but delicate. Fairly bitter, especially in the aftertaste...moderately tannic and astringent.

The aroma of this tea would place it on par with some of the better single-estate Da...

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Picture of Oolong Choicest Grade

Oolong Choicest Grade from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa

50 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Mar. 10th, 2010

Upton offers a number of different grades of Formosa oolong with only moderate differences in price...this one, by weight, costs less than 50% more than TT11, the "standard grade". Again, the leaf is broken, but in larger pieces than some of the lower grades. The dry leaf has a weak, earthy aroma.

The brewed tea i...

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Picture of Shan Tuyet Snow Green

Shan Tuyet Snow Green from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Green Tea – Region: Vietnam

77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 9th, 2010

Brews a rich golden color. The aroma of this tea is more similar to a dragonwell tea than any other green tea I've tried, but the overall experience of drinking it is very different. Very aromatic, with a slightly toasty aroma. The flavor is muted and the tea has a cooler quality than dragonwell, with a hint of smok...

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Picture of Roasted Tea Hoji-cha (16 ct.)

Roasted Tea Hoji-cha (16 ct.) from Yamamotoyama

Style: Hojicha – Region: Japan

63 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 9th, 2010

These teabags are strong, with a generous quantity of leaf. The roast is noticeable but light, and this hojicha has a fresh, crisp quality, more like green tea. It's not terribly complex, but overall, I think this is a very good tea that offers outstanding value, especially among teabags.

These teabags are versati...

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Picture of Organic Hojicha

Organic Hojicha from Traditional Medicinals

Style: Hojicha – Region: Japan

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Mar. 7th, 2010

On the heavily roasted and dark side, more coffee-like in aroma and fewer of the green tea qualities come through. Good, but not terribly complex.

There also isn't the most generous quantity of leaf in the teabag. The company recommends 8 oz. of water per teabag, and a long infusion. I brewed it this way and it w...

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Picture of Organic Wuyuan Ruikang Hairpoint

Organic Wuyuan Ruikang Hairpoint from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Green Tea – Region: Wuyuan, Jiangxi, China

83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 7th, 2010

Upton seems to excel at inexpensive, organic Chinese green teas, and this one is no exception. The thin, wiry leaves have an interesting appearance both before and after brewing.

Aroma is very grassy and a little bit vegetal, with some dark floral tones almost more suggestive of a black tea. Grassier, sweeter, and...

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Picture of Organic Imperial Bai Hao Oolong

Organic Imperial Bai Hao Oolong from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Oriental Beauty – Region: China

47 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Mar. 4th, 2010

I found this tea to be weak in aroma and flavor. The aroma is slightly earthy but lighter than typical for a bai hao oolong, with light floral and vegetal tones, a hint of spice, and a suggestion of fruitiness. I think it's a stretch to call the aroma "complex" because it's so weak. The color of the cup is surprisin...

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Picture of Chun Mee (Moon Palace)

Chun Mee (Moon Palace) from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Chun Mee – Region: China

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 2nd, 2010

This tea got my attention with the first sip--another chun mee of unusual quality, like rodents of unusual size. Similar to ZG42 (Chun mee dao ming) in how inexpensive it is relative to its quality, but very different in character.

The aroma is very complex: significantly grassier than any other Chun Mee I've tried...

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Picture of Green Pu-Erh Tuo Cha

Green Pu-Erh Tuo Cha from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Raw (Sheng) Pu-erh – Region: Yunnan, China

80 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 1st, 2010

Very smoky, but in an exceedingly mellow way, totally unlike gunpowder or lapsang souchong. This tea has a remarkable smoothness to it, unlike any other green tea I've tried, and if it weren't for the smokiness I'd be tempted to describe it as creamy. Cool and clean tasting, yet without bitterness. Full-bodied, and ...

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Picture of Formosa Jade Oolong

Formosa Jade Oolong from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Jade Oolong – Region: Taiwan / Formosa

57 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Mar. 1st, 2010

Extremely mellow...the aroma is more like that of a floral honey than other teas. Light in color. Sweet, with almost no bitterness, sourness, or astringency. Compared to other Tung Tings I've tried, this tea is less like other oolongs and more like a Pouchong. In my opinion, it's too thin, and it has a bit of a fis...

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Picture of Oolong Fine Grade

Oolong Fine Grade from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa

57 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 3/5
Feb. 28th, 2010

This tea is one step up (in price and presumably quality) from TT11. It lives up to my expectations. Surprisingly, however, the leaves are more finely broken in this tea. Visually, I'd expect this to be the lower grade tea, but actually brewing the two teas demonstrates otherwise.

I find this tea to have signific...

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Picture of Oolong Standard Grade

Oolong Standard Grade from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa

53 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Feb. 26th, 2010

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 radi...

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Picture of Roasted Oolong

Roasted Oolong from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Tie Guan Yin – Region: China

77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 25th, 2010

Aroma is mellow and smooth, with a pleasant woody quality. Stronger in flavor than Upton's similarly-priced non-roasted Tie Guan Yin's. I found this tea to be subtle; it grew on me, and I enjoyed the last cup I made from the sample significantly more than the first. Oddly, I find that much of the flavor sinks to the...

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Picture of Season's Pick Organic White Fannings

Season's Pick Organic White Fannings from Upton Tea Imports

Style: White Tea – Region: China

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Feb. 25th, 2010

I find Upton's description of this tea to be very accurate, and I like their brewing instructions.

On the dark end for a white tea, but lighter than some shou mei's. Surprisingly aromatic for fannings! The aroma is bold and earthy, slightly crisp and fresh, and, as Upton describes, there are some nutty tones in th...

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Picture of Season's Pick Formosa Fannings

Season's Pick Formosa Fannings from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa

50 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Feb. 22nd, 2010

The leaf of this tea is significantly coarser than many grades I have also seen called fannings.

The brewed tea is deep reddish brown. The aroma isn't terribly strong, and is mostly earthy with some nutty tones. Little bitterness, but also, little complexity.

I find that this tea is too mellow for my tastes if ...

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Picture of Organic Pai Mu Tan

Organic Pai Mu Tan from Upton Tea Imports

Style: White Peony Tea – Region: China

50 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 1/5 Value: 2/5
Feb. 16th, 2010

This particular pai mu tan smells more like an actual peony than any others I've tried.. The aroma is actually fairly powerful, although when you sip the cup it is a bit bland...this tea doesn't have much flavor. There is a very mild, unpleasant sourness to this tea too. Smooth, but I don't notice any sweetness at a...

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Picture of Organic KuKi Cha Green Kamakura

Organic KuKi Cha Green Kamakura from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Kukicha – Region: Kanagawa, Japan

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Feb. 10th, 2010

The aroma of the dry tea is straw-like, but the brewed tea is a lot more like sencha, including a hint of the characteristic seaweed-like quality. In many ways it's typical for a Japanese green tea. There are a few woody tones in the aroma but they have a very different character from the woody qualities present in s...

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Picture of Darjeeling (Loose)

Darjeeling (Loose) from Hampstead Tea

Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, India

88 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 6th, 2010

This seemingly straightforward Darjeeling has quickly become one of my favorite everyday teas. Although "typical" in many respects, it is surprisingly complex...the aroma has many different aspects to it: a fruitiness, a hint of a rice-like quality, some floral tones, a bit of spice, a suggestion of fall leaves, and s...

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Picture of Nuwara Eliya BOP

Nuwara Eliya BOP from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

70 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 3rd, 2010

This is the first broken-leaf Ceylon from Upton that has been drinkable to me, and I'm surprised to find it completely lacking in the harshness that the other ones I've tried have had.

The aroma is totally unlike any black tea I have tried...it reminds me of rice and rice pastries. I like Upton's description "brigh...

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Picture of Yunnan Green Supreme Organic

Yunnan Green Supreme Organic from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Green Tea – Region: Yunnan, China

73 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 3/5
Feb. 2nd, 2010

This tea has a pungent aroma unlike any other green tea I've sampled before. It reminds me of a hoppy beer like an India Pale Ale, and the bitterness in the tea is similar to that of a strong IPA. The aroma is more like a typical black tea than a green tea to me--I would probably guess incorrectly that it was black t...

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Picture of Oliphant Estate OPA Green

Oliphant Estate OPA Green from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Green Tea – Region: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

89 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 1st, 2010

I have started to see enough of a pattern that I can at least suspect that I tend to like green teas from Sri Lanka.

The dry leaves of this tea are whole and very full, slightly curled, and dark green, and a few of the leaves have a reddish tinge. The dry leaves have a tobacco-like smell.

The cup is richly aroma...

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Picture of East Frisian BOP

East Frisian BOP from Upton Tea Imports

Style: East Frisian Tea (Ostfriesentee) – Region: Blend

67 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 29th, 2010

Strong but without an edge; malty, full-bodied, but not overly tannic. The dry leaf has a pleasantly strong vegetal aroma, unusual for a black tea, but I was disappointed to find little of this characteristic come through in the brewed cup.

Not the most interesting tea, perhaps, but a very enjoyable tea to drink, m...

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Picture of Vietnam Black Pekoe

Vietnam Black Pekoe from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Black Tea – Region: Vietnam

63 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Jan. 28th, 2010

A pleasantly mellow tea, unlike anything else I've tried before. Definitely noticeable as a Vietnamese tea; it's interesting how both their black and green teas share certain characteristics in common.

Very smooth, little bitterness, even when steeped for a long time. I find a hint of lemon in the aroma, which is ...

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Picture of Formosa Special White Tea

Formosa Special White Tea from Upton Tea Imports

Style: White Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa

47 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Jan. 27th, 2010

I found this tea disappointing, especially for its price, which makes it interesting for me to see that it has been dropped from Upton's carryings.

The aroma of this tea reminds me of a green tea. The cup has a clean and crisp quality, like a good Japanese sencha, but without much bitterness or sharpness. There ar...

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Picture of Japanese Supersencha Kamakura

Japanese Supersencha Kamakura from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Sencha – Region: Kanagawa, Japan

83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 26th, 2010

This one surprised me; Upton threw it in as a free sample. I probably would have not bought it on my own because of the price, but now that I've tried it I think it offers pretty good value, although it is still expensive.

When brewed, this tea is opaque, less so than matcha but more so than most other sencha that ...

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