OP-1

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!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea