Tea Type:
Black Tea
Where To Buy:
Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Pungent flowery character with good body. Takes milk well, highlighting the coppery cup. St Coombs is from the Dimbula District one of Ceylon’s premiere tea estates
St. Coombs. If the name sounds anything but Sri Lankan to you, you’d be on to something. This exceptional tea estate is actually named after a small fishing village in Scotland, probably the birthplace of one of the original planters. During the peak years of the British Empire homesick settlers from the UK frequently bestowed their new homes with the names of the ones they left behind. Somewhere along the line a proud St. Coombsian decided to trade in his fishing nets for pruning shears, board a steamer, head for the Far East and stake a claim. The rest as they say, is history. He could never have known that more than 120 years later the estate he helped plant would still be producing tea – and fantastic tea at that.
Simply put, St. Coombs, situated 1328 meters above sea level in the western Dimbula highlands of Sri Lanka, is an exceptional tea garden. The estate is ISO 9001 certified and year after year produces some of Sri Lanka’s finest export teas, consistently fetching high prices at the Colombo auctions. St. Coombs’ success is in part attributed to an ace in the hole in the form of the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka, the headquarters and laboratory of which are located on the estate. (The institute was established at St. Coombs in 1938.) That said, it is impossible to discount the influence of the exceptional regional climactic conditions on the estate’s output. (Conditions made the estate the perfect choice when the Institute was looking for a location to set up shop.)
From January to March, the Western Quality season, Monsoon rains interspersed with dry periods and cool nights combine to produce a large leaf with high sap content. The leaf blooms vigorously each morning ripe for the plucking, a phenomenon known as the flush. It is during this time that St. Coombs’ finest teas are produced. These tend to be exceptionally aromatic, light in the cup with a thick medium body and long finish. St. Coombs’ Flowery Pekoe is a shining example of this excellent quality. In general, FP teas are laborious to produce and require hand sorting in order to ensure an even grade. As such, they are produced in limited quantity and can be difficult to obtain. Our long-term relationship with the estate allows us to secure a good supply year after year. We can confidently say that a freshly brewed cup of St. Coombs’ stands alone as one of Sri Lanka’s premiere tea offerings.
Tasters Review:
This FB Flowery Pekoe Black Tea from the Dimbula, Sri Lanka Region really fits the bills as a Luxury Black Tea in their ever-growing catalog of tea offerings over at Culinary Teas!
I drink all of my teas ‘straight-up’ with no milk or additives and from what I have read it’s completely acceptable to drink this luxury black tea this way but it also takes well to milk or non-dairy milks if you wish. I infused the tea leaves for about 3 minutes – but – the product description says you can infusion them for up to 7 minutes if that is your preference. The post-infusion liquor color is that of a yellow-brown tending towards golden.
Once I started sipping this tea – I KNEW it was for me! A nice, solid black tea with sweet florally notes and a more perfume-like flower flavor on the end sip. It’s slightly astringent and overall well rounded. This is a great black tea to have on hand for any time of day!
Cream Earl Grey from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Earl Grey is world reknown as a classic English tea – probably as famous as Tower Bridge or Big Ben, and if you are fan of Earl Grey and have not tried this, you are in for a treat. Cream Earl Grey has a taste that is smooth with vanilla overtones, which stand out above the premium bergamot flavor – the signature taste of Earl Grey. This is a tea that would complement a meal or any aristocratic occasion for that matter! One has to think that Charles Grey (1764-1845) would have approved of this delicacy.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love Earl Grey tea! I also enjoy the modern variations of this classic, such as this Cream Earl Grey from Culinary Teas. The light touch of vanilla softens the sharp tones of the bergamot, making for a sweet, creamy tasting tea with that distinct Earl Grey background. Nice!
The black tea base is pleasant. It is not aggressive nor would I consider it to be a particularly bold tea, but it is strong enough to hold its own. It is mild and smooth and melds nicely with the creamy, calming tone of the overall cup.
In most Earl Grey teas, the bergamot flavor is front and center, but with this Cream Earl Grey, it steps back a bit and lets the creamy vanilla flavors play the lead. The vanilla is sweet and smooth and lends a decadent flavor to the blend, while the bergamot weaves its way in and out of the sip, never disappearing for too long. That is to say, as I sip this cup, I am continuously reminded by the bergamot flavor that this IS an Earl Grey tea. A deliciously different Earl Grey Tea!
As with most Earl Grey teas, I prefer this one served hot. I find that the flavors present themselves more distinctly when the tea is hot, and as it cools the flavors become slightly blurred. It is still quite nice as a chilled tea, but to get the full enjoyment from this cup, I recommend drinking it while its hot.
Scottish Breakfast Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Malty, full bodied, with hints of cask oakiness. Scottish Breakfast is your next favorite tea, hot or iced.
Taster’s Review:
Now this is a powerful tea! It’s got some real gusto!
The tea is strong and BOLD. Yes, BOLD – not bold – but BOLD! The blend of teas include a malty Assam which would deliver plenty of strength all on its own, but when combined with the richness of Keemun and Nilgiri teas, this becomes one seriously invigorating tea, ready to jump start you and get you on your way.
This full-flavored tea does indeed deliver on its promise of hints of oak. This has a very hefty, rustic kind of flavor to it and that woody tone elevates the rustic feel to this tea. It has some baked/bread-y kind of flavors in the background as well which are enhanced by the malty tones. All this delicious, toothsome flavor while maintaining a very pleasant smoothness.
If your usual breakfast blend sometimes leaves you feeling flat, reach for a cup of this breakfast blend next time. This one won’t fail you!
Scottish Breakfast from Culinary Teas
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Country of Origin: India, Kenya, China
Region: Assam, Nilgiri, Fujian/Chingwo, Anhui/Qimen
Shipping Port: Cochin, Fuzhou, Mombasa
Grade: FBOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)
Altitude: 1500’ft, 6400’ft, 5000’ft above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox
Cup Characteristics: Malty full-bodied character with bright flavoury notes and hints of cask oakiness. A bracing Highlander’s cup of tea!
Infusion: Bright coppery colour
Ingredients: Luxury black tea.Information:
The primary sociological structure in old Scotland was the ‘clan’. The roots of the system are very ancient, stretching back into Scotland’s Celtic past. The country had been occupied by many different peoples – Britons, Romans, Angles and Vikings – but two races came to dominate: the Picts in the north and east who divided their territory into 7 petty kingdoms and in the west it was the Scots. Originating as an Irish tribe, the Scots migrated from Ulster in the 6th century. The kingdoms of the Scots and the Picts were eventually united by Kenneth MacAlpin in the mid 800’s.
These people were organized along tribal lines, which eventually became known as clans. One of the downfalls of the clans was the propensity to feud. Some disputes simmered for centuries such as the feud between the MacDonalds and Stewarts, which began at Culloden in 1314, finally being settled in the 1600’s. Highlanders guarded their traditions fiercely and were well known for their loyally robust character.
This tea is like a proper Highlander – robust, malty (not unlike a good Scotch) and full of life and vigor. Highlanders liked their tea very strong and insisted on hints of cask oak to remind them of their clan’s own special elixir – single malt Scotch. This blend consists of 2nd Flush Assam tea (thick, robust with delicious hints of malt); January production South Indian tea (high mountain grown that has wonderful flavour notes which accentuate the robust Assam); Keemun Panda #1 which has a delicious winy character further enhancing the stout malty character of the blend and finally a Chingwo County Orange Pekoe which gives the distinct oaky character. This tea is especially delicious with milk, which further lends a malty character to the tea and highlights the brightness of the premium tea, which has hints of a red color.
[A tea tasters secret recipe for a pick-me-up on a typical Highlanders day (cold and bracing) – make this tea hot, pour into a large mug and add 4-5 slices of lemon and 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar – sit back and enjoy a tasty energy boost. To make a special iced tea – after you have added the lemon and sugar, pour this over ice in a tall glass – terrific!]
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Add milk and sugar to taste.
Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!
Tasters Review:
Scottish Breakfast from Culinary Teas is a nice standard or go-to black tea. It’s a No-Nonsense type tea, too! Very decent, indeed! It’s a beautiful deep reddish brown for the post-infusion color. It’s not much for scent. But it does have a nice medium, even taste with slightly smoky undertones at the end of the sip.