Reviews of Pure Tea (Camellia sinensis)
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Organic Wuyuan Ruikang Hairpoint from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Green Tea – Region: Wuyuan, Jiangxi, China83 / 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...
Organic Imperial Bai Hao Oolong from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Oriental Beauty – Region: China47 / 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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Chun Mee (Moon Palace) from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Chun Mee – Region: China80 / 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...
Green Pu-Erh Tuo Cha from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Raw (Sheng) Pu-erh – Region: Yunnan, China80 / 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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Formosa Jade Oolong from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Jade Oolong – Region: Taiwan / Formosa57 / 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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Oolong Fine Grade from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa57 / 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...
Oolong Standard Grade from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa53 / 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...
Roasted Oolong from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Tie Guan Yin – Region: China77 / 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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Season's Pick Organic White Fannings from Upton Tea Imports
Style: White Tea – Region: China57 / 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...
Season's Pick Formosa Fannings from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa50 / 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 ...
Organic Pai Mu Tan from Upton Tea Imports
Style: White Peony Tea – Region: China50 / 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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Organic KuKi Cha Green Kamakura from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Kukicha – Region: Kanagawa, Japan73 / 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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Darjeeling (Loose) from Hampstead Tea
Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, India88 / 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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Nuwara Eliya BOP from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka70 / 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...
Yunnan Green Supreme Organic from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Green Tea – Region: Yunnan, China73 / 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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Oliphant Estate OPA Green from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Green Tea – Region: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka89 / 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...
East Frisian BOP from Upton Tea Imports
Style: East Frisian Tea (Ostfriesentee) – Region: Blend67 / 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...
Vietnam Black Pekoe from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Black Tea – Region: Vietnam63 / 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 ...
Formosa Special White Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Style: White Tea – Region: Taiwan / Formosa47 / 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...
Japanese Supersencha Kamakura from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Sencha – Region: Kanagawa, Japan83 / 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 ...
Java Green Gunpowder from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Gunpowder Green Tea – Region: Indonesia60 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 11th, 2010
My first Indonesian tea sampled, and I was a bit disappointed, even though I like this style of tea.
This tea is considerably less smoky than most Chinese gunpowder teas I've had...only a moderate amount of smoke. It has a cool quality to the aroma, and a tangy flavor with some bitterness. More similar in all resp...
Castleton Estate TGBOP Ch. First Flush (DJ-25) from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Darjeeling First Flush – Region: Darjeeling, India77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 8th, 2010
Very green character, even more than typical for a first-flush, both in the appearance of the leaves and the aroma. The cup is a deep amber color. The aroma is light and mostly floral, almost reminiscent of queen Anne's lace blossoms. On my second brewing I did detect a faint suggestion of spearmint in the aroma, an...
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Dimbula BOP from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Matale, Sri Lanka (Dimbula)37 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 1/5
Jan. 7th, 2010
In contrast to Upton's broken-leaf teas from Darjeeling and other Himalayan regions, I am continuously disappointed by Upton's broken-leaf Ceylons, and this one continues the pattern.
Brewed as recommended, this tea is undrinkably strong. I recommend using less leaf and a much shorter steeping time. Even then, it'...
Steinthal Estate TGBOP First Flush (DJ-25) Organic from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Darjeeling First Flush – Region: Darjeeling, India63 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 5th, 2010
Disappointing for a first flush and even among broken-leaf Darjeelings. There's a heaviness to the flavor, even though it is smooth. I'm detecting neither the "fresh floral note" nor the "hint of citrus".
I'm not sure what to recommend with the brewing; if you go longer this tea becomes heavy, although not too bit...
Tippy Assam from Williamson Tea
Style: Assam – Region: Assam, India60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Jan. 4th, 2010
A bold and powerful tea but with some complexity. Fine broken leaf. Infuses quickly...I recommend one and a half minutes, and using less than a teaspoon of leaves. However, if you enjoy a stronger cup, this tea does not get as astringent as you might expect if you brew it longer.
Aroma malty, slightly more vegeta...
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