UPASI-3
An early release in the UPASI numbered clone series, planted widely across the Nilgiris and the other south Indian districts. Clones from this programme are chosen against a different specification from Assam’s: the south Indian crop is harvested through most of the year rather than in flushes, so consistency across seasons matters more than a peak-season peak.
Where it sits in the botany
UPASI-3 is recorded under Hybrid, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with India, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.
Registration code: UPASI-3. A breeding or registration code identifies the selection in an institutional register and is often the name a grower uses when the trade name is not.
Also transliterated as: upasi 3, upasi-3.
Where it came from
Released by the UPASI Tea Research Institute for south Indian plantation conditions as part of its numbered clone series.
How firm this is: Inferred rather than taken from a primary breeding or registration record. The clone designation is genuine; the release year and parentage were not verified against a primary source.
What the plant is like
Consistent cropping across the south Indian year rather than a pronounced seasonal peak, with a clean, brisk liquor.
What it is usually made into
The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.
- Black tea — Tea taken deliberately through full enzymatic oxidation, giving the dark leaf, amber-to-red liquor and malty or brisk character most Western drinkers think of as simply 'tea'.
Teas in the catalogue made from UPASI-3
Other cultivars in Hybrid
Sources
- TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ
This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this cultivar against something it is routinely confused with, and argued the differences out in full.
- UPASI-9 vs UPASI-3 — Two South Indian hybrids bred for a growing region that does not flush — the Nilgiris and the Western Ghats crop through most of the year, and the breeding priorities follow from that rather than from a seasonal peak.