Staff Favorites

We're passionate about tea and love every opportunity to share that passion with our customers. Below is a list of our favorite teas, along with our cupping notes and a little bit about ourselves and our tea experiences. Enjoy! Since the early 70s, I have always loved to drink breakfast style teas with milk, no sugar. When I first came to Upton Tea in 1995 and started to discover the depth and variety of fine loose leaf tea, I found myself drawn to the teas I could drink plain - the refined Darjeelings, the spicy Oolongs, the clean greens and the delicate whites. I still enjoy a rich black tea for breakfast most of the time and then move on to lighter bodied teas for the rest of the day. I do love the taste of tea but it is the aroma that I find uplifting and inspiring! I confess to starting out with strong coffee from the time I was old enough to drink it. The occasional cuppa served well as a comfort beverage. It was not until 2002 and at the insistence of converted family members that I began to make the transition to loose tea. Made easier, I suspect, by the aid of some good Pu-Ehr and Assam teas. Today I still favor the strong cups but have vastly expanded my range thanks to the education I've received over the years from fellow staff members and Upton customers.

I started drinking tea with my wife after we were married 25 years ago. The first teas I enjoyed were Irish-style breakfast blends that I enjoyed with a little milk. Over time, I discovered Oolong, Ceylon and Pu-Erh teas. Now that I'm at Upton Tea, I've expanded my enjoyment to all loose-leaf teas. My current favorite is the Formosa Oolongs and first flush Darjeelings. I enjoy their complex character and the earthy, citrus notes often found in Oolong teas, as well as the freshness. My introduction into the world of tea started in my thirties as an interest in drinking green tea for its health benefits. This meant drinking plain tasting grocery store tea. After receiving a mug infuser as a present from my mother and doing research online, I started to learn about loose leaf tea and discovered Upton Tea Imports (I was a customer of Upton Tea long before I became an employee). My early tea favorites were the vegetal Japanese Sencha and the Chinese gunpowder teas, which I still enjoy. After a few years of sampling many different teas, I discovered how much I enjoy very robust, dark, earthy, or toasty teas, which for me means Pu-Erh, Oolongs and Lapsang Souchong. My favorite tea experience is sitting down on a cold autumn or winter Saturday afternoon and enjoying multiple cups of Pu-Erh or Oolong teas while reading. My relationship with tea began when I started sixth grade. Deemed too young for coffee by my mother, I drank grocery store black tea with cream and sugar every morning. As much as I enjoyed my routine, it was not until years later when I began to branch out and try loose leaf teas that I truly fell in love. I started with Japanese greens and traditional breakfast blends, but my colleagues at Upton Tea have coaxed me out of my comfort zone and now I enjoy an eclectic variety of teas from around the world. I firmly believe that a good cup of tea, regardless of origin, strength or variety, can turn your whole day around. Working at Upton Tea Imports for the past 18 years has given me the opportunity to explore and learn about the many different teas from around the world. Being that I like an occasional cup of coffee, the teas I am drawn to are the darker, full-bodied teas. My great love of tea started very young with my mom who always believed in tea for common ailments; in our house, chamomile with some honey could fix just about anything. As I got older, I soon learned that there was a whole world outside of chamomile and plain black tea. Once I discovered the expansive culture of loose leaf tea, I was mesmerized, I was changed and became unequivocally certain that this was my calling in life. I have been drinking many a tea ever since. I love traveling through tea and I believe tea can unify the world one cup at a time. Joining Upton Tea has been a dream come true. I’m honored to be part of a team whose passion for tea is matched to my own and I’m excited to share some of my favorites with you. Tea was a beverage not frequently offered in my household growing up. I knew tea to be crushed particles in a bag attached to a string and staple, which was quite often passed up for something more culturally acceptable, such as a cappuccino. It wasn’t until many years later, after a long day of hustle and bustle, that I had my first tea-mind experience. After a delicious Moroccan feast, my guests and I had the privilege of witnessing and enjoying a traditional Moroccan tea ceremony. The ornate teapot poured at notable height, and alas, in my cup was a warm, foamy cup of green tea. Intrigued by the deliberate technique, I sipped this intoxicating beverage and suddenly felt centered and at peace. Little did I know that it was the start of a tea journey that would soon take me all around the world.