Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
Only limited amounts of CTC style tea are produced in Sri Lanka, and we are happy to be able to reintroduce this style after a prolonged absence. This offering is notable for a pleasing malty nuance, combined with the classic Ceylon notes of cedarwood and light citrus hints.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! This Kalubowitiyana Estate Ceylon Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports is a very finely cut CTC … but don’t let the small size of the leaf cut discourage you. Just reduce the brew time … I brewed this for 2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch rather than my usual “go to” time of 2 1/2 minutes for black tea, and the result is a cup of really pleasant Ceylon tea.
The most surprising note in this tea is the malty tone … it is MALTY … like a good, hearty Assam! It is rich and flavorful, with a heftier body than I usually associate with a Ceylon. This is like a Ceylon in Assam’s clothing. In fact, had I not known that it was a Ceylon with my first sip, I would have thought it was an Assam.
However, now that I’ve had a few more sips, I notice more of a Ceylon character start to emerge. It has that even-tempered flavor that I expect from a Ceylon, as well as hints of citrus that arrive at the tail end of the sip. Mid-sip, I notice a woody character with earthy notes. There is a moderate amount of astringency to this, which is further accentuated by the citrus notes that arrive at the finish.
This is a really pleasant cuppa – one that would be nice morning or early afternoon tea. It has a good amount of kick to it … so it can get you going just like a hearty Assam would!
Vithanakanda Estate OP1 Black Tea from Empire Tea Services
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Empire Tea Services
Tea Description:
Fancy extra large wiry leaf. Smooth taste. Exceptional.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The above description for this Vithanakanda Estate OP1 Black Tea from Empire Tea Services is short and simple … but it is also spot-on! This cup is indeed smooth tasting and truly exceptional! One of the best examples of high-quality Ceylon teas I’ve tasted.
From the very first sip, I’ve been WOWing on this tea! That is to say, from that very first sip, the first word I uttered is wow! It is smooth from start to finish … absolutely no bitterness. Just smooth, rich taste that starts off sweet with notes of honeyed caramel, and a few moments later, I notice a rich malty tone.
Moments later, a fruity note comes in to play with hints of flower in the distance. The finish is sweet with a citrus taste that is faintly tangy … and it is here that I notice a slight – ever so slight! – astringency. I find that the astringency becomes apparent only when I’m really focusing and trying to find it … so for those of you who tend to avoid teas with an astringent finish, I think this one will be to your liking.
Having recently reviewed another Ceylon from this estate, I have to say that the Vithanakanda estate is turning out to be one of my favorites for Ceylon tea. The teas produced on this estate are of the utmost quality: rich, smooth and delicious and beyond what I’ve come to expect from a typical Ceylon. This is the good stuff!
This tea is very pleasing. A medium to full tasting tea, not what I’d call particularly invigorating the way you’d expect an Assam to be, for example, but, it does have a strong, brisk taste that would make a good pick-me-up when you need something that will recharge you. Enough flavor to hold up well if you like to add milk and honey to your tea … but enjoyable enough to drink straight-up too!
Craigmore Estate OP Nigiri Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
The crepy, bold OP leaves yield a medium-dark liquor. The cup has light cedar notes with a clean, crisp character. While this selection is well-suited for hot tea, it also makes an excellent iced beverage.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Craigmore Estate OP Nilgiri Black Tea from Upton Tea Imports is an excellent Nilgiri – it is everything I expect from a high-quality Nilgiri black: rich, sweet, a little bit malty, notes of earth and wood, with a refreshing, invigorating crispness.
The overall cup is robust yet smooth. My first time I brewed this tea, I measured out a little extra leaf, and I found that this not only resulted in an obviously stronger cup of tea, but also a slightly more astringent one than I cared for. The second time I brewed it, I remembered to be a little more careful about measuring and I found that the second pot was much smoother and more enjoyable.
This tea tends to have more of a woody tone to it rather than a fruity or floral character. Faint hints of fruit and flower can be detected if one slurps the tea to aerate it, and really focuses on the sip. But when casually sipping this tea, I notice more of the wood tones, and I find them quite enjoyable too. The sweetness is like burnt-sugar caramel which complements the malty tones nicely.
I enjoyed this served hot or iced – it’s especially nice iced, served with a thin slice of lemon. So refreshing!
Moditea Estate Assam TGFBOP from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
This tippy broken selection is suitable as a staple in any tea lover’s cupboard. The liquor carries a nice malty aroma with fruity notes. The smooth cup is strong enough to support the addition of a spot of milk.
Learn more about this Assam here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely Assam! This is just the type of flavor I expect when I sample an Assam tea – rich, malty, sweet notes of caramel and fruit … robust and sturdy! This Moditea Estate Assam TGFBOP from Upton Tea Imports is an Assam lover’s Assam!
The dry leaf is a broken leaf, dark chocolate in color with some golden tips (although not quite as many as the photo might lead one to believe!) After steeping 2 1/2 minutes in boiling water, the brew is quite dark, looking almost like black coffee rather than a cup of tea! But the aroma is TEA! It smells rich and lightly sweet.
The flavor – ahh! Malt! I love the malty tones of Assam. It is the malty note that keep me coming back to Assam. Otherwise, Assam tends to be a somewhat temperamental tea (you don’t want to over-steep an Assam or the chances are that you’ll be left with a bitter and very astringent cuppa!), and I probably would be less enthusiastic to try an Assam if it weren’t for those delicious, sweet, malty notes!
There is an undercurrent of caramel-like flavor that melds nicely with the malty flavors. More sweetness comes from the fruit notes in the background. There is a freshly baked taste (and texture!) to this tea as well – reminiscent of a freshly baked loaf of bread. That chewy crust that I love so much in a fresh loaf of bread – I get that essence here with this tea. It’s a little earthy, rich and flavorful, and bold! Just the kind of tea you want to drink first thing in the morning to get that blood pumping!
A really nice cuppa from Upton Tea Imports!
Kenilworth Estate OP Black Ceylon Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
This estate produces some of the best whole-leaf teas in Sri Lanka. For the Ceylon enthusiast. Drink with or without milk. A choice lot with a bold-leaf style. Steep for five to six minutes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having had several very finely chopped CTC teas from Upton Tea Imports lately, I was happy to see the long, wiry leaves of this Kenilworth Estate OP Black Ceylon Tea from Upton Tea Imports. The dry leaf fragrance isn’t particularly noteworthy, it smells like black tea. The brewed tea aroma is sweet with notes that evoked thoughts of molasses, with hints of warm earth … a very inviting scent!
This tea has a nice, smooth, well-rounded flavor. It has a bold flavor for a Ceylon, although it certainly isn’t as hefty as an Assam would be. It does have a nice, caramel-y undertone that keeps me sipping. It has a smooth delivery from start to finish, with a light astringency toward the tail that is slightly dry and tangy.
Notes of fruit are abundant in each sip, although I don’t know that the fruit flavors are necessarily distinguishable. That is to say, it tastes like “fruit” but, it’s hard to say which fruit I’m actually tasting. I do taste a certain “citrus-y” note that comes through toward the finish, and this melds with the astringency to create that sort of citrus “tang” that is almost characteristic of a Ceylon tea.
There are also notes of earth and flower throughout the sip. This is a very pleasant cup of black tea … I don’t think I’d call it exceptional or anything like that, but, it has a very enjoyable flavor that would work as either a hot tea or an iced tea … would take the additions of milk and honey well if served hot … and would be nice served iced with thin slices of lemon or other citrus fruit.