Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: KTeas
Product Description:
Fresh from the Grower!Direct from the Morawaka Tea Estate in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)!Orange Pekoe leaves tend to be long, thin, and wiry. It may seem counterintuitive, but these larger grades of leaves produce a lighter or paler liquor–but this is due to the fact that the leaves are whole, not broken and bruised to expose more of each leaf to the water. The taste is also lighter: more delicate than that of the Ceylon leaf’s broken compatriots.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been reviewing a lot of the Morawaka Estate Ceylon teas sold by KTeas in the past few months. We (the SororiTea Sisters) had a very unique opportunity to each of the grades of tea from the Morawaka Estate, and I have really enjoyed them. It is nice to be able to not just try a selected one of the grades, but each of them so that I can really taste the difference between the grades.
This is Orange Pekoe-1, which means whole leaf, not a broken or cut leaf. And what is interesting here is that of the Morawaka Estate Ceylon teas that I’ve tried thus far (I still have the Pekoe-1 to try) is not how similar they tend to be, but how different they are. This OP-1 is much lighter in taste than the others that I’ve tried. It doesn’t have that malty taste that I noticed in the Morawaka Ceylon FBOPF, or the robust quality of the Morawaka Ceylon FBOPF-1. It doesn’t have that same “burnt-sugar sweetness” that I noticed in these other two varieties.
But what this does have is a true Ceylon taste. What I’m tasting now is true to the flavor that I’ve come to expect from a Ceylon, only better. It has a freshness to it that I don’t typically experience from a Ceylon. It is light, mild and even-toned. It tastes crisp and bright. There is a sweetness to this as well, but it is more like honey than burnt-sugar or caramel. While this doesn’t have the same bold body of the broken leaf, it has a briskness to it that is very refreshing.
So which do I prefer? I like them all! I think that this particular Ceylon would be best suited for an afternoon tea, while the smaller, broken leaf Ceylon teas would make a very pleasing breakfast tea. I could see having several varieties of this estate Ceylon on my shelf depending upon the occasion.
Another excellent Ceylon! Cheers!
Kilauea Forest (Hawaiian Grown) White Tea from KTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: KTeas
Product Description:
Hand-plucked Single-Estate tea: Volcano Village – Home Grown Estate FarmGrowing elevation: 4000′, Volcano Village, Hawaii USAThese leaves are long, loose, downy. The flavor of this shade-grown tea remains delightfully floral throughout multiple steepings.
Taster’s Review:
LOVE!
I really love this tea. This is definitely my favorite (thus far) of the Hawaiian-Grown teas that KTeas offers (although I haven’t yet tried their Oolong, that one is next on my list!) This white tea might even be my favorite white tea I’ve ever tasted. Yes, it’s that good.
The leaves are long and slightly curled and covered with white fuzz. They brew to a light, clear amber color that smells fresh and somewhat earthy, with hints of flower in the background. The aroma does not reveal what is about to be experienced by the palate, though.
The flavor is amazing. At first sip, I noticed many similarities to a high quality Bai Mu Dan. But, after a couple of sips, the complexity of this white began to reveal itself: a lush sweetness and hints of a grassy flavor. A floral quality that begins ever-so-quietly and develops as I continue to sip – and develops even more as I steep these leaves for a second and third time.
The tea has a rather hearty flavor and is surprisingly rich for a white tea. This is not a delicate white tea! If you love tea – try this one! If you have tried white teas in the past and found them to be too softly flavored for your liking – try this one! Everyone should really try this tea!
Morawaka Ceylon BOPF (Teabags) from KTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: KTeas
Product Description:
These teabags contain Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings grade tea from Morawaka Tea Estate’s Low Country Ceylon plantation in Sri Lanka. With the convenience of a teabag, you get the benchmark Ceylon color and flavor in your cup. No stale left-over Dust, here: these teabags were manufactured in February 2011, February & March being the First Flush of the Ceylon tea world, providing the prime quality teas which have been selected to fill these teabags.
Taster’s Review:
This may just be the freshest bagged tea I’ve ever had! The tea in this teabag was harvested in February of this year and immediately processed into teabag form. Now, I really don’t know when the tea on the grocery store shelf was harvested and manufactured, but I suspect it was longer than seven short months ago.
And you know what? The proof of the freshness is in the taste. I’m blown away at just how good this Ceylon from a teabag tastes. It is a bold and bright. It has a good, strong flavor to it … and even some malty undertones. The best way I can describe the flavor that I’m experiencing right now is that it is a cross between a rich Assam and a brisk Ceylon… falling very close to the middle between the two … veering slightly more toward the Ceylon. It has that briskness you might expect from a Ceylon, but a rich, malty undertone that is common with Assam tea.
I steeped my first teabag at 3 1/2 minutes, and I found that it was just a little too astringent for my taste. Still good and certainly very drinkable, but after that cup was gone I decided to brew another bag, this time at just 2 1/2 minutes and found that this was perfect. A deliciously inviting cuppa!
This makes a great breakfast tea and goes great with milk and honey, if you like to add them to your breakfast tea. It is also tasty without any addition if you prefer it that way. It is also good iced with lemon or lime.
This is a wonderful alternative to those store-bought teabags. These teabags provide the convenience of teabags and the freshness of loose leaf. That’s a win-win in my book!
Morawaka Ceylon FBOPF from KTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: KTeas
Product Description:
“One of our best Tippy Grade offerings,” Morawaka says of this Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings grade Low-Grown Ruhuna or Ceylon tea. This tea presents larger leaf cuts with a fair amount of tips. Not what we’ve come to think of as “fannings”, to be sure, but that’s what the grower calls this grade. Produces a lighter liquor with a rich aroma and flavor.
Taster’s Review:
Don’t be afraid of the final “F” in the FBOPF here… even though it stands for fannings, these leaves are not as small as what you might think of when it comes to store-bought fannings. These are the upper-scale kind of fannings!
I think I may have used a little too much leaf in this steeping, because this is NOT a light liquor! But that’s OK because I’m really liking it just the way I brewed it. It is robust and strong! Much stronger than I would typically note a Ceylon to be.
But even with all it’s stout robustness, I don’t taste bitterness. Just a good, strong brew. Even some malty tones. This tastes a bit more like an Assam might taste than a Ceylon!
There is a fair amount of astringency to this cup, an astringency that is both tangy (almost citrus-like!) and somewhat dry. It finishes with a sweet aftertaste.
To be fair to how it was intended to be brewed, though, I decided to brew this one again, this time using the right amount of leaf and it does produce a lighter infusion. It is crisp and rich in flavor, but, it lacks the robust flavor and some of the malty tones of the first cup. Both are tasty though!
I like this tea’s versatility. If you want a good, strong cup of tea to fuel you in the morning – this tea can be that for you. If you’d prefer a light and pleasantly brisk cup – perhaps an afternoon pick-me-up? – this tea can be that for you as well. Great served over ice with a thin slice of lime!
Makai Black Tea from KTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: KTeas
Product Description:
Each sip of this black tea reveals new dimensions in the flavor profile. The terroir of Hawaii imbues these high-quality leaves with a clean, smooth, refined flavor profile in which you will likely find no astringency nor bitterness. Some of the growers’ descriptors serve best: Crystalline amber infusion. Thin, crisp body. Delicate notes of caramel, varley malt, and rice syrup. Slight taste of roasted sweet potato.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tasted several Hawaiian-grown teas now, and I must say that I’ve been impressed with just about every one that I’ve tried. This Makai Black Tea from KTeas is no exception.
The color of the liquor is lighter than I expected it to be; it is a clear, medium-to-dark amber color much like the liquor of a dark Oolong. There is something else to this tea that reminds me of an Oolong – the texture. It has a softness to the mouthfeel that I often experience with Oolong tea.
This has such a nice complexity. Beautiful malty tones and a rich sweetness that I would describe as somewhere between honey and (as the description above suggests) rice syrup. I also get the hints of caramel here, as well as the faintest note of cocoa. There is some astringency in the finish, but rather than being dry or tangy, I am finding it to be somewhat starchy. This starchy dryness accentuates the cocoa taste. This starchiness also highlights some of the sweet potato taste that is also mentioned in the description.
I infused these leaves twice and they produced two delightful yet different cups. The second infusion was a bit thinner in texture than the first, and it possessed a more subdued flavor. I notice a little less of the cocoa note but there is a delightful spice-like tone in the distance with this infusion. It was delicious and certainly well worth the effort to infuse this one twice.