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Strengths of Upton Tea Imports:

Imports

Upton Tea Imports has an astonishingly large catalog, boasting over 420 varieties of loose-leaf tea, and there is always some turnover, with some listings being retired and new ones continually being added. Upton's offerings are quite diverse, originating in a number of different countries, which include Japan, Kenya, Thailand, Malawi, Indonesia, and Taiwan. But Upton's offerings seem to be concentrated in two particular countries: India, particularly, the Darjeeling and Assam regions of India, and China as well.

Upton Tea Imports offers all of its teas in sample sizes, and their samples are very reasonably priced. Pricing in general is a strong point of Upton. Although their offerings range widely in price from some outright inexpensive bulk teas to high-priced rare teas and competition winners, in many areas Upton offers some of the best deals among tea companies that specialize in high-quality, loose-leaf tea.

My Favorite Teas From Upton:

It's hard for me to write this list, because there are so many of Upton's teas that I love, but these reviews represent a good sample of the teas I enjoyed most from Upton:

• Oolong Se Chung - An unnamed variety or blend of varieties of se chung oolong, this is a greener oolong tea originating in Anxi county of China's Fujian province, a region famous for producing Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy). This oolong tea is extraordinarily inexpensive relative to its complexity. There is also an osmanthus-scented variety, Osmanthus Oolong Se Chung, which is also one of my favorites.
• Makaibari Estate Long-Leaf Green - This is without a doubt my favorite tea that I've ever sampled. I love everything to come out of Makaibari estate, a tea garden in Darjeeling that not only has fair trade and organic certification, but that has left 70% of its land area as intact rainforest. But this tea really grabbed my attention: it has the grassy characteristics of some green teas, but with a boldness and depth that is, in my opinion, unparalleled. Unfortunately, this tea varies widely from year to year and it is often not available.
• Holy Basil Purple Leaf - Not a true tea, this caffeine-free herbal tea is also known as tulsi tea, and produces a warm, spicy infusion, much like a masala chai. I find holy basil to be strongly relaxing, and this particular variety from Upton is my favorite among the brands and sources that I have sampled so far.
• Chun Mee Dao Ming - Chun mee, meaning precious eyebrows, is a generally inexpensive style of Chinese green tea, with a tangy flavor. This particular chun mee, however, offers something truly special, with a level of nuance that is rare to find in this style. Something about the floral tones in this tea suggest a black tea, while it remains true to the tangy, lightly smoky, and grassy qualities characteristic of chun mee.
• Shou Mei Classic Organic (ZW23) - Shou mei is a darker style of white tea which is often regarded as a "low grade" of white tea. But there's nothing "low end" about this shou mei: it has a strong and clean aroma that I find is hard to find in a white tea of such a reasonable price. I give the product code because this tea can be confused with numerous others, which, while they are also quite enjoyable, are not quite as appealing as this one in my eyes.

If you are interested in reading and writing more reviews of teas from Upton Tea Imports, or teas from other tea companies, you can visit http://RateTea.net/, an interactive website where anyone can rate and review teas. You can also go directly to the page for Upton Tea Imports and explore listings of Upton's teas.