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More Upton thunderdome-ing. Today it’s TB70 Finest Russian Caravan (India, China, Formosa) against TB86 Richmond Park Blend (Keemun, Ceylon, Darjeeling).

This one’s greener, grassier smelling dry. Whoa, this is weirdly tart and bitter. A very odd tea, and while I like being open-minded to teas that don’t taste like anything else I’ve had I’m pretty sure I would not seek this one out again. Some milk and sugar helps a little but it’s still weirdly tangy in an unpleasant way. Worse than Finest Russian Caravan (which was merely disappointing), probably worse than anything I’ve had from Upton. This is one of the first loose teas I’ve had where I’m struggling to want to finish the cup. Bummer.

EDIT: Anyanka put it so well when she said it was pickle-y. Yes! That’s a good way of describing the strange planty tanginess it has, which I was struggling to find words for.

More Upton thunderdome-ing. Today it’s TB70 Finest Russian Caravan (India, China, Formosa) against TB86 Richmond Park Blend (Keemun, Ceylon, Darjeeling).

This one isn’t bad really, though it’s a bit tannic and bitter and slightly astringent. There is a hint of smoke but not much, not enough for a smoky tea lover like me. The thing is, it’s so in between two things—basic black tea for breakfast, say, and truly smoky stuff—and not remarkable enough at either that I find myself just wanting a cup of either smooth breakfast tea OR headier, smokier stuff. I would rather drink their Baker Street blend any day.

Tastes smoother and richer with some milk and like 2 grains of raw sugar, but still, disappointing.

Prefer this over Richmond Park, but they’re really not anything alike (have never had anything like the Richmond Park to be honest) and that’s not saying much given I REALLY didn’t care at all for that one.

Dry this smells like a refreshingly tart underripe melon. Interesting just how different it is from Butiki’s Cantaloupe and Cream while still resembling melon.

Brewed, this seemed odd at first, not resembling melon in smell or taste anymore. There’s some tannin and that bit of bitterness most Culinary Tea blends have if you aren’t very mindful of steeping briefly (I may start brewing them all at a slightly lower temperature and see what happens). But as it cooled down a little the melon came back, and the whole thing turned a little more luscious and silky. Not bad. I don’t think I’d brew this hot very often given the deluxe silkiness and creaminess of Butiki’s but I’m definitely going to save this to ice (which is recommended right on the website). It really does have an authentic melon flavor coupled very tidily with the taste of black tea, making it an ideal midday iced tea choice. Bet it’d go great with summer meals.

If it wasn’t for the “this screams iced tea” possibilities, I’d rate this significantly lower, but really, it’s for sure one of the better CT blends I’ve tried all around. It’s an interesting combination of sweetly refreshing real-fruity with pick-me-up brisk generic black tea flavor, and unusual in that there’s more flavor in the swallow than the settled nose (how often can you say a flavored tea tastes better than it smells?!).

This was a sample they packed for me; given my disappointing experiences with most of David’s dessert-ier blends I wouldn’t have sought it out on my own directly. Freshly brewed this smells very much like vanilla extract, with almost that alcohol tint. As it cools a bit and settles, the peppery allspice and that burnt sugar element of marshmallow comes out, along with, to a lesser extent, some cinnamon. But as with most David’s offerings I’m unimpressed with the tea base and the flavor compared to the promise of the tea name and aroma. This isn’t bad, just bland given expectation and initial brewed fragrance.

A splash of milk helps round it out a bit and adds the richness you hope for in a dessert tea. Also makes it taste almost nutty because the rich creaminess combines with the sweet toasted element, so that’s welcome. Another Steepster mentioned lattes and I can definitely see how that might be an improvement; this tea needs some oomph.

Been doing Upton Imports sampler thunderdomes, two teas at a time, sometimes with comparison qualities obvious (same flush or estate darjeelings, say), sometimes less so, like here where I compared Upton TB75, Baker Street Blend (keemun, darjeeling, and lapsang), with Upton TB54, Sunday Tea with Vanilla East Frisian Blend.

Love the way this smells dry, that wonderful smoke. Bacon-y brewing. Sort of like “lapsang lite”—it really does taste like a cross of smoke tea with darjeeling, which is unusual but pretty cool. It’s like masculine meets feminine sort of; there’s the smoke in the fore but also the floral, perfume-y thing in the background.

Doesn’t need sugar or milk. There’s some bitterness at the end of the swallow but it’s not unpleasant; it fits the whole profile.

I could definitely see making this an afternoon tea break choice in the future. Wouldn’t call this an essential restock, but high up there as an option among a few any given afternoon.

Been doing Upton Imports sampler thunderdomes, two teas at a time, sometimes with comparison qualities obvious (same flush or estate darjeelings, say), sometimes less so, like here where I compared Upton TB54, Sunday Tea with Vanilla East Frisian Blend, with Upton TB75, Baker Street Blend (keemun, darjeeling, and lapsang).

Love the way both of these smell dry; this one’s kind of forest-y. The vanilla comes out more while brewing. These are both dark, robust cups. Sweet, a little cake-like without becoming something only for dessert—it has a bittersweet, almost coffee-like robustness and the slightest tinge of smoke, or actually maybe that’s roastiness. I can definitely smell the vanilla in the cup initally (and my nose is stuffed up from allergies!), then it recedes a bit. You can smell it more than you can taste it. Something about this reminds me of extremely dark, bitter chocolate.

About halfway through the cup I added milk and sugar which didn’t seem to be an improvement but didn’t ruin it either.

I don’t think I’d make this a regular rotation thing but I also wouldn’t snub my nose at a refill at some point when/if i get sick of other more obvious go-to choices.

Been doing Upton Imports sampler thunderdomes, two teas at a time, sometimes with comparison qualities obvious (same flush or estate darjeelings, say), sometimes less so, like here where I compared Upton TB84, Robert Fortune Blend (darjeeling and yunnan), with Upton TE22, Sacher Blend (scented darjeeling).

This has a more roasted, grassy aroma dry, sort of salad-y. Both teas smell nice in the cup. This one’s slightly paler, less red, bit more gold. Bit tannic and astringent, but still not as much as Sacher, smoother but also a little more bitter. Was a little worried ‘cause normally I am very meh about yunnan—don’t find it bad, just unremarkable in every way—but this isn’t bad. Can take some milk and sugar. Definitely a drinkable blend, but there are so many high quality blends out there (just think of all the earl greys and caravans alone!) that I doubt I’d rebuy.

Been doing Upton Imports sampler thunderdomes, two teas at a time, sometimes with comparison obvious (same flush or estate darjeelings, say), sometimes less so, like here where I compared Upton TE22, Sacher Blend (scented darjeeling) with Upton TB84, Robert Fortune Blend (darjeeling and yunnan).

Pleasant floral darjeeling-y fresh-perfume scent dry. Both smell really good fresh in the cup. Brewed, a nice medium red brown.

Quite tannic/astringent. The floral fragrance is lovely, but I associate it with all nice darjeelings I’ve had, don’t notice that it’s especially extra oomphy with vanilla or bergamot here, just the slightest tinge. Kind of woody somehow both in flavor and texture. Not wet forest but dry timber wood graininess, kind of like licking a wooden block or wood chips, ha. That sounds bad maybe but oddly enough it isn’t unpleasant here, at least I don’t find it so; in fact, the more I drink it the more this weird raspy wood flavor thing grows on me. And it stands up to milk and sugar, which is good as that softens but doesn’t completely remove the astringency I tend to avoid in everyday teas.

The odd woodiness makes me think I’d restock this at some point just to experience something I haven’t elsewhere, but it’s not going to ever be a regular rotation thing.

Have been doing thunderdome rounds between 2 Uptons at a time. Drank this yesterday afternoon when Steepster was down, comparing it to Upton’s other Thurbo 2nd flush (DJ-148/TD73). And I was doing a darjeeling-a-thon the whole day; earlier I’d compared two Thurbo 1st flushes and then moved on to the Margaret’s Hopes.

Dry both of these 2nd flush Thurbos have a greener, grassier aroma than the 1st flushes. Brewed, a darker, pretty reddish brown in the cup. The other 2nd flush’s aroma is stronger than this one’s, which is delicate.

Brewing, this almost has a seaweed thing going on. Definitely like this one more than DJ-148/TD33; it is smoother, has a silkier mouthfeel but also more depth of flavor all-around, with a much headier, lovelier muscatel thing going on. Also much less astringent.

This one, DJ-246/TD73, is the winner all-around for the 4 Thurbos I tried today, followed by the two 1st flushes, and then DJ-148/TD33. I would happily reorder this one, and the 1st flushes are nice so maybe I’d reorder them at some point, maybe not.

Fascinatingly enough, when I go back to look at Upton’s catalog links for these teas I discover my preferences here are exactly in line with price points—my 2 top favorites were $4.50 a sample, my middle favorite was $4, and my least favorite was $2 and described as “a great value”. My 2 top faves were described as some of the finest teas the staff tried those seasons. I guess my tastes aren’t always that unorthodox, ha.

Have been doing thunderdome rounds between 2 Uptons at a time. Drank this yesterday afternoon when Steepster was down, comparing it to Upton’s other Thurbo 2nd flush (DJ-246/TD73). And I was doing a darjeeling-a-thon the whole day; earlier I’d compared two Thurbo 1st flushes and then moved on to the Margaret’s Hopes.

Dry these have a greener, grassier aroma than the 1st flushes. Brewed, a darker, pretty reddish brown in the cup. The aroma of this 2nd flush is stronger than DJ-246/TD73’s, which is delicate. Now there’s that muscatel note, which is to be predicted, though it’s not overpowering at all.

DJ-246/TD73 is the winner all-around for the 4 Thurbos I tried today, followed by the two 1st flushes, and then this one, DJ-148/TD33. I would happily reorder DJ-246/TD73, and the 1st flushes are nice so maybe I’d reorder them at some point, maybe not.

Fascinatingly enough, when I go back to look at Upton’s catalog links for these teas I discover my preferences here are exactly in line with price points—my 2 top favorites were $4.50 a sample, my middle favorite was $4, and my least favorite (this one, alas) was $2 and described as “a great value”. My 2 top faves were described as some of the finest teas the staff tried those seasons. I guess my tastes aren’t always that unorthodox, ha.