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Tea is equally delightful when sipped on a warm summer day outdoors with a cooling breeze, as it is in the heart of winter, wrapped in a cozy blanket. The most devoted tea drinkers know their daily cup offers comfort in every season, whether served hot or iced. As summer settles in, many customers turn to our website seeking recommendations. What is the best tea for summer? What is the most refreshing tea?

June is a time of warm, languorous days, and a wide variety of celebrations — each made better with cold, refreshing beverages. June 10 just so happens to be National Iced Tea Day. With that in mind, what better way to celebrate the dads and grads in your life than by raising a tall glass of iced tea?

In our fast-paced, twenty-first century lives, most of us are so used to multi-tasking and making countless to-do lists that we rarely have time to stop and just be present. Sitting down with a steaming cup of tea allows us that moment.

According to the Tea Association, Americans consume as much as 3.8 billion glasses of iced tea per year! That means that as a country, we consume far more tea iced than hot. Contrary to popular belief, however, iced tea is not a strictly American creation. This summer, tea lovers around the world are reaching for an ice-cold cuppa. Join us on an exploration of some of the world’s most popular iced tea recipes, and enjoy some tea history along the way. Recipes make one serving.

The brilliant light of the afternoon sun casts cool shadows through the canopy of trees that line the walking path. The air is thick and humid, heavy with the floral scent of spring, citrus, and something that reminds us of cloves. We are hiking over hundreds of mossy stone steps to reach the Shiroyama scenic overlook in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture. Gravel crunches underneath our feet as we reach the top. The view is almost too picturesque to be true, even for the trip of a lifetime.

By the time the French and Indian war ended in America in 1763, the British Crown had amassed a huge debt. They reasoned that the American colonies should contribute towards payment of that debt as the war was fought on and for their land. A series of taxes were issued on a number of commodities the colonists used in daily life — molasses, wine, fabric, paper for printing, glass, lead, paint and tea. Over time, after boycotts from the colonies and protests from merchants in England over those boycotts, all of the taxes were repealed. Except for the 3-pence per pound tax on tea. On one fateful night in Boston, that tax lit the flame of revolution and started a long, tumultuous journey that ended in the creation of a new, independent nation.

Oolong is the most varied type of tea. From traditional origins in China and Taiwan to newer lands such as New Zealand and Colombia, Upton Tea Imports offers over 25 different Oolong teas. This tea processing style was developed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) on Feng Huang Shan, also known as Phoenix Mountain. During this time, Oolong tea was made into cakes and gifted to the emperor as a “tribute tea.”

“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.”

“The afternoon tea is now an important function in Western society. In the delicate clatter of trays and saucers, in the soft rustle of feminine hospitality, in the common catechism about cream and sugar… the Worship of Tea is established beyond question.”

A cracked tea bowl mended with veins of gold. A faded, dog-eared paperback. A tea-darkened patina, formed over time in your favorite mug. A river stone worn smooth by years of movement. The fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms in spring. Dry tea leaves that gently unfurl in hot water. They embody the spirit of wabi-sabi.

The generous warmth and glow of summertime continue to surround us. Now, after a dazzling first flush season, the spotlight shifts as second flush Darjeeling takes the stage.

While many types of tea are grown in Yunnan, perhaps the most iconic and unique is Pu-Erh tea, an ancient, unique and culturally significant beverage with an incredible history, grown nowhere else in the world.

In 1953, the Tea Act was put into place to standardize tea production in India. The Tea Board of India was created to assist in setting the standard and regulations from propagation of plants to sales of the final tea product and everything in between. Improving quality, setting standards, promoting consumption and cooperative efforts are a few aspects the Tea Board of India covers. Long before this time, tea was grown in the country.

Cha-no-yu, the Japanese tea ceremony, is a time-honored and cherished tradition: a ceremony crafted for the optimal enjoyment of the experience of drinking a bowl of tea, arranged with great care and detail to create beauty and harmony in this moment of simplicity. To understand the complexity of Cha-no-yu and its cultural value, let us begin with the history of the tea that inspired the ceremony: a powdered green tea known today as Matcha, prized for its characteristic umami (savory vegetal) flavor.

In October 1851, 16-year-old James Taylor left his native Scotland and stood on the bow of a ship, the Sydney, headed for a new land — the pear-shaped, tropical island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), located in the Indian Ocean 15 miles off the southeast coast of India. He had just signed a letter of engagement with a Mr. George Pride of Kandy, Ceylon, which committed him to a 3-year contract “to act in the capacity of assistant superintendent” at the Narenghena Estate, a budding coffee plantation. Accompanied by his cousin, Henry Stiven, on the 3-month voyage, the two young kinsmen arrived in Colombo in February 1852.

When we read about tea and interact with art alike, we feel a deeper connection with the past. We invite you to join us as we explore tea history and discuss some of tea’s most famous appearances in literature.

As the light faded on a clear autumn day in early November 1848, Robert Fortune first gazed upon the steep slopes of the “far-famed” Sung-lo-shan (Sung-lo Mountain). Cloaked by a misty layer of clouds, its intense beauty evoked the sense that he had just stepped into a painter’s landscape.

Royle had a proposition for Fortune. With his previous experience as a plant collector in China, would he be interested in traveling back to China, on behalf of the East India Company, to collect tea seeds and plants for cultivation in the Himalayan mountains of India? His answer changed the world.

In 1867, 32-year-old James Taylor planted Assam (Camellia sinensis assamica) tea seeds on 19 acres of land at Loolecondera Estate in Kandy, Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka). His ultimate goal was to produce a tea that tasted like “the China tea sold in the shops.” To process the tea leaves, he transformed his bungalow into a tea factory, the leaves being rolled by hand on tables he had set out on his verandah. His industrious nature and dedication to learning all about tea production led him to devise a mechanical roller within 6 years, followed by a trip to Darjeeling, India, in 1874, to study tea growing and production.

The art of tea blending has been around for thousands of years. One of the first mentions of blending fruits and spices with tea leaves was in the 8th century book, The Classic of Tea, by Lu Yu, the famous Chinese Tea Master. From blends of pure leaf to teas with fruit and spices added to herbal tisanes blended for wellness, tea blends come in many forms. There is no standard worldwide formula; each tea company has their own unique blend recipes. Blending allows us to create new and interesting flavors to enhance the base tea or simply to create a specific highly sought-after flavor profile.

The most anticipated time of the year is upon us – the first flush season in Darjeeling, India. The season usually begins in mid-February when the earth starts to warm up after the plants’ winter dormancy. The newly sprouting tea leaves are packed with stored nutrients and plucked by hand in the traditional way – two leaves and a bud. Batch sizes are limited and their quality is unparalleled. First flush teas are sometimes referred to as “sunshine in a cup,” with a flavor that is delicate and smooth yet so full of brightness. The fresh and slightly floral aroma is enthralling.

Adrift in a dream. Surrounded by a wide-open field of elegant green leaves and stems with neat, fragrant bunches of tiny purple blossoms at the tip. You take a deep breath, and the heady scent imbues your entire being with a feeling of peace and calm.

It’s the middle of a Saturday afternoon and Dad has enlisted you into a project of some sort, usually one involving holding a flashlight, and thus ensues a host of memories. Fathers and the father figures in our lives are the pinnacle of innovation, humor, and love.

You may have noticed Matcha lattes popping up on menus in cafes and tea houses near you. Most tea drinkers are Matcha crazy these days, and our customers are no exception! With a high-quality Matcha tea, a little milk, and the sweetener of your choice, you can whisk yourself a cup of this delicious frothy beverage in your kitchen, for just a fraction of the price.