Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: PMD (P.M.David Silva & Sons)
Tea Description:
Craighead Estate is stationed 1,100 metres above sea level in the picturesque Gampola valley within the Kandy district. The Kandy district saw the success of the first commercially planted tea in Sri Lanka. This triumph led to the conception of the Ceylon Tea industry and in due course the establishment of Craighead Estate..
The combination of the western quality season and the skills of the resident tea maker create a truly regal mid-grown tea. Craighead possesses intense malty characteristics whilst embodying a brisk finish. It is ideally drunk with milk during the late morning or early afternoon.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very excited when I got a package from the UK! From P.M.David Silva & Sons … a new to me company! Double excitement from one package! Woo hoo!
This Craighead Kintyre Oya Seasonal Single Estate Ceylon Tea is the first tea that I’m sampling from them, and it’s a really lovely Ceylon!
When I think of Ceylon, I often think of the smooth, medium-bodied, even tempered, easy going black tea that has a moderate flavor that seems to take to adding flavor to quite well, which is why it’s one of the often utilized teas when it comes to selecting a base to create flavored teas. However, there are a lot of different Ceylon teas out there, and some have really surprised me. Like this Craighead, for example!
This is a rich and malty Ceylon, and if I had to compare it to another tea, I’d say that this is very Assam-like! It has that rich, bold flavor of an Assam, with a sweet, caramel-y undertone and a wonderful malty note. It isn’t quite as hefty as a typical Assam, I don’t think that I would turn to this tea for my first cup of the day. It doesn’t have that “shake me awake,” invigorating quality to it that I get from Assam tea.
But, it does have a very robust character, and it’s a tea that I’d want as my second cup of the day, and it would make a lovely afternoon tea as well. Because it does have a strong, assertive flavor, it would take well to the addition of milk and honey, if you’d like to add those. It would also make a great tea to serve to guests at a tea party, because usually, people like to add tea cubes and a splash of milk to their tea at tea parties. (This is based on my observation of the behaviors of guests at my favorite tea room.)
This is slightly tannic, but not overly so. I find that the tannins here seem to keep the sweeter notes of the tea in balance, so I get a nice, well-rounded taste with every sip.
I like that this tea makes me rethink “Ceylon.” This is not at all what I expected from a Ceylon, and I’m loving that!
Earl Grey Tea from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Description:
The fresh fruitiness of our medium-bodied Earl Grey is sweet, not soapy. Aromatic and balanced, Earl Grey is excellent both hot or served over ice. Traditionally, Earl Grey is made with black tea as a base – we use Chinese Keemun (Qimen), from the Anhui Province in east-central China, and Ceylon, from the major tea-producing island of Sri Lanka.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
While shopping at Chuck’s Produce, I noticed that they had some Earl Grey tea offered by The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants in the bulk section. I love getting tea in this section because:
- The teas are sealed air-tight in tins (not glass or plastic jars).
- I can get a sampler size of the tea rather than buying a full 2 – 4 ounces of the tea.
- Chuck’s has never let me down when it comes to freshness or quality of products, so I feel confident that I can trust them with tea.
And this Earl Grey is excellent! I’m glad that I got a little bit of this to try!
When I opened the tin to measure some tea into a small cellophane bag, I was overjoyed by the aroma – a STRONG bergamot fragrance! It smells amazing.
And I couldn’t wait to try it. I brewed up a pot later that same evening when I brought it home. LOVELY!
This is a really wonderful Earl Grey. I love that the base black tea is a blend of Ceylon and Keemun teas. This offers a rich, flavorful background that isn’t overly aggressive, but is still bold and full-flavored. It is a very smooth, well-rounded taste. It’s not bitter and it’s only very mildly astringent toward the tail. I like that what little astringency there is here seems to accentuate the tangy qualities of the bergamot flavor.
The bergamot used here is a high quality bergamot. Full of citrus-y flavor that is highlighted with subtle floral notes, but not at all perfume-ish. The burst of citrus flavor lasts well into the aftertaste. The taste buds really perk up from the bright bergamot notes.
So I find that this Earl Grey leaves me in a bit of a quandary. I have my hierarchy when it comes to Earl Grey. I have my favorites, to be sure! But this one is seriously good and it belongs right near the top – at the very least in the top five (if not closer to that number 1 spot!) Should I feel sad that one of my other favorites is becoming displaced by this newcomer, or should I feel overjoyed that I have found a new favorite? I think the latter rather than the former.
An exceptional Earl Grey – a MUST TRY to those of you who love Earl Grey like I do.
Pure Ceylon Tea from Sarabeth’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sarabeth’s
Tea Description:
Ceylon, an island of only 25,000 square miles and called the pearl of the Indian Ocean, is known for its diverse climate, culture and scenery. It has been said that “Ceylon Tea” is Sri Lanka’s gift to the world.
Learn more about Sarabeth’s teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a surprisingly strong tasting Ceylon. Surprising, because I generally consider Ceylon black teas to be fairly mellow, smooth, and even-tempered. And sure, this is a smooth and even-tempered black tea, but, I don’t know if mellow is the word I’d use to describe it. It’s pretty hearty for a Ceylon! Even more surprising, I got all this flavor out of a teabag! Yep!
Then again, I’ve been happily surprised by the teas that I’ve tried from Sarabeth’s.
This Pure Ceylon from Sarabeth’s is a robust black tea. It’s smooth. Not bitter. It has a pleasantly round flavor and a satisfying texture. Notes of malt mingling with caramel-y undertones, earthy notes and notes of fruit. Quite nice!
There is very little astringency to the cup. That is to say, that unless I’m really focused on detecting astringency (because, well, that’s part of what I do, right? I review the tea, and part of that is to talk about whether or not it’s an astringent cup) I don’t really notice any astringency. I only notice it when I’m really focused on finding it. And then, it’s a barely there astringency. Those who are a bit sensitive when it comes to astringent teas will find this to be to their liking, I think.
The flavor is rich, smooth and sweet, with caramel-like notes and hints of fruit. Most Ceylon teas tend to have a sort of citrus-y background note that is noticeable toward the finish, I’m not getting that with this one, though. I think that is is probably more earthy than it is fruity, but the fruit notes that I do taste remind me more of a cross between an apricot, grapes and a sweet apple than anything in the citrus category.
A really pleasant cup of tea, and this is a Ceylon that has enough strength to it that I could see choosing this as the first cup of the day. It would take the additions of milk and honey well, making for a nice breakfast tea.
Library Blend Tea from Murchie’s Tea & Coffee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Blend
Where to Buy: Murchie’s Tea & Coffee
Product Description:
Murchie’s Library Blend Tea is a mild blend of green & black teas featuring Ceylon, Jasmine, Keemun and Gunpowder teas that is delightfully aromatic with a rich, smooth flavour. Anything but boring, and as great as the classics in literature!
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Because this Library Blend Tea from Murchie’s Tea & Coffee is a blend of both black and green tea leaves, I brewed the tea at a lower temperature (185°F) and steeped it for just 2 minutes to avoid scorching the tender green tea leaves.
This is an interesting blend. I’m not quite ready to call it “tasty,” but it’s interesting. The black teas – Ceylon and Keemun – brewed at a lower temperature and for a shorter period of time offer a mild black tea flavor and they meld with the green tea flavors. There’s a gentle flinty flavor to this. It’s … smoky … but not quite … if that makes sense. It tastes like the soft wisps of smoke when attempting to light a fire: before the fire becomes a blaze.
The green tea lightens the body and the flavor. There are notes of earth, hints of a grassy taste, and the aforementioned wisps of smoke. There is a light astringency to the cup.
The one thing that is holding me back from really liking this is the jasmine. It just tastes a little off. You know me, jasmine is one of my favorite florals, but, it isn’t working for me in this blend. The floral notes here taste contrived.
Overall, I would say that this blend is just OK. Not spectacular in any way, and I found myself wishing that this would have been made a “simpler” blend by eliminating the jasmine. It’s alright, but not a tea at the top of my list to try again soon.
100% Pure Ceylon Tea FBOP1 from Alwazah Tea (Swan Brand)
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Learn more about Alwazah Tea here.
Alwazah Tea is available on Amazon.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t have a lot of information about this Ceylon Tea FBOP1 from Alwazah Tea, as it wasn’t sent to me by a vendor nor did I order it. It was sent to me by another tea drinker, and since what I do is drink tea and write about it, I decided that I wasn’t about to let my lack of information about the brand of tea or the company that sells it stop me from writing about it!
It’s been my experience that Ceylon Tea is – generally speaking – a fairly moderate, middle-of-the-road, easy-going and equally as easy to sip black tea. It’s a medium-bodied tea with a fairly “neutral” type flavor that makes it the usual choice for a tea base when flavoring teas.
However, as I sip this Ceylon from Alwazah, I can’t honestly say that this is an easy to sip black tea. I’m finding it quite tannic. I brewed it in boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes, so this is not a case of bitter tea because it was over-steeped.
There are other flavors within this tea too, and they’re enjoyable: I get some sweetness derived from fruit-like flavors in the tea. I taste notes of stone fruit together with some citrus notes. I’m liking those flavors, but I’m still rather overwhelmed by the bitterness of the tea that it’s difficult to get a lot of enjoyment out of the sweeter layers of this tea.
It’s also quite astringent. I usually note an astringency as either “tangy” – which is when I feel a slight pucker on the inside of my cheeks; or “dry” which is when I feel a slightly dry sensation from the astringency. Here, I get both the pucker on the inside of my cheeks and the dry sensation on my tongue and upper palate. I often embrace astringency but this is too astringent for my liking.
I am just not enjoying this Ceylon. I wish I had more positive things to say about it, but, the most positive thing I can say at this point is that it’s drinkable, but, not something I’d want to drink again.