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.
Decaffeinated Green Tea from Sarabeth’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Sarabeth’s
Tea Description:
Green Tea is one of the most natural of all teas and contains many of the natural compounds which make teas a healthy drink. The preference to green teas lies in their light, delicate and refreshing taste. It is meant to be consumed without milk or sugar and is a pleasant accompaniment to a meal thanks to its digestive properties.
Learn more about Sarabeth’s teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little hesitant to try this one. I admit it. I’ve had a few bad experiences with decaffeinated tea (long ago) and those experiences have stuck with me, and when I see “Decaffeinated” on a tea, the memories of those bad experiences come flooding back.
Since then, most of the decaffeinated teas that I’ve tried have been pretty good. I’ve even had a few that I might not have known that it was decaffeinated had I not brewed the tea myself and read the packaging. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to determine with this Decaffeinated Green Tea from Sarabeth’s: does it taste decaffeinated?
The answer to that question would depend on what you meant by “decaffeinated taste.” Does this taste chemical-y or just … weird or off? No, it doesn’t. It tastes like a light, refreshing green tea. But it does have a slightly thinner taste than a caffeinated green tea might. In that way, it does have a slight decaffeinated taste. But it isn’t an unpleasant or off-putting taste – not at all! It just tastes and feels a wee bit thinner than a green tea from Sri Lanka would otherwise taste.
The flavor is lightly buttery, sweet, and slightly vegetative, reminiscent of lightly buttered lima beans. It doesn’t have a chemical taste (or aftertaste). It’s a pleasant green tea, and the fact that it is decaffeinated makes it quite alright to drink any time of the day and not worry about whether or not the caffeine will keep you awake past bedtime.
I would definitely recommend this to someone who either can’t have caffeine or is looking to limit their caffeine intake, but still wants to enjoy a tasty green tea.
Earl Grey Tea from Sarabeth’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sarabeth’s
Tea Description:
Earl Grey is one of the most famous black teas in the world. This light tea was made fashionable by Earl Grey, the British Prime Minister after a visit to China in 1830.
Learn more about Sarabeth’s teas here.
Taster’s Review:
As TeaEqualsBliss mentioned in her review of this tea, this Earl Grey Tea from Sarabeth’s is a more softly flavored Earl Grey tea. In fact, had I not known I was opening a tin of Earl Grey Tea this morning, I would not have guessed – at least, not from the aroma! – that I was about to brew a cup of bergamot flavored tea. The fragrance is very indistinct. It smells nice … but when I smell an Earl Grey tea, I want that powerful bouquet, and I just didn’t get that when I opened this tin.
The tea brews to a coppery color, lighter than I’d expect from a black tea, and the aroma wafting up out of my teacup is that of black tea and bergamot: gentle earthiness with whispers of citrus-y fruit and perhaps even a hint of flower. Just as the dry tea didn’t offer a strong fragrance, neither does the brewed liquid.
The flavor, however, is enjoyable. It is a very softly flavored Earl Grey tea. The bergamot is very subtle. It tastes citrus-y. Whereas most Earl Grey teas have a powerful punch of flavor, this tastes like someone might have slipped a drop of bergamot juice into my black tea. They might have squeezed the fruit over my cup, allowing only a drop of the juice to splash into my tea.
While I personally prefer a stronger bergamot note to a cup of Earl Grey tea, what I appreciate about this particular variety of Earl Grey is that the bergamot doesn’t taste “off” like bergamot can sometimes taste. Yes, it is a delicate note here, but, it doesn’t have that weird perfume-y or soapy taste. It’s just a delicately flavored tea … and I guess what I’m trying to say is that I prefer a delicate, good tasting bergamot to a strongly flavored bad tasting bergamot.
Not my favorite Earl Grey tea – but not bad either. I found that doubling up on the tea bags does enhance the flavor a little. I also found that I prefer this one iced. It makes a very refreshing iced tea.
Acai Green Tea from Sarabeth’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Sarabeth’s
Tea Description:
Green Tea is one of the most natural of all teas and contains many of the natural compounds which make teas a healthy drink. The preference to green teas lies in their light, delicate and refreshing taste. It is meant to be consumed without milk or sugar and is a pleasant accompaniment to a meal thanks to its digestive properties.
Learn more about Sarabeth’s teas here.
Taster’s Review:
My youngest daughter has become more health conscious, and one of the things that she’s wanting to incorporate in her diet is more green tea. OK, I’ve got no problem with that! So, now, every time I’m preparing green tea, she asks me to make a cup for her. (Unless it’s too late in the day for her to consume caffeine.)
So, when I was making myself a cup of this Acai Green Tea from Sarabeth’s to review, I made her a cup of it too. Her thoughts: It’s good!
Unfortunately, “It’s good!” all by itself doesn’t make for a very good review, does it? I mean, it tells you what you might want to know: it tells you that the tea tastes good. But, you might want a few more specific details so let’s see if I can provide some of those . . .
The aroma of the dry leaf is very berry. I’ve only tasted acai berries as a dried/dehydrated fruit, so, I only have that to compare it to, but, the smell of the dry tea reminds me of the smell that I experienced when I opened a package of dehydrated acai berries. The brewed tea has very little fragrance: mere hints of the berry notes I could smell with this tea in dry form.
The flavor is indeed “good” as my daughter said. It is quite tart (not surprising as that tends to be my overall experience with acai berries), but, there is a hint of sweetness in there too, and I find that the soft, buttery taste of the green tea curbs some of those tarty notes a little bit, making it more palatable for me. (I’m not big on really tart flavors.)
It’s an easy to drink tea. It tastes refreshing. The tart notes seem to have an awakening effect on the palate – this is the cup of tea to drink if you need to enliven the taste buds! But even though it’s invigorating like that, it tastes really smooth, sweet and buttery so it seems to glide over the palate.
A pleasant cup of tea to share with my sweet daughter.