R29 Ceylon

Many, many, many thanks to Ricky for sending a generous amount of this to me (in the most beautiful little Kusmi tin)!

I made some rugelach for the holidays yesterday, and wanted a completely classic tea to go with it. The one instantly came to mind. I knew it would be perfect even though I hadn’t tasted it yet because a) It’s from Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea and b) it is a Ceylon which tastes so good with pastry!

Yay, I was right! This tea is so balanced: medium bodied but good with a little milk and sugar. Classic tea flavor. I usually taste a lemony profile in Ceylons but I did not taste it in this one. This has a much sweeter round flavor to me – much more like an Assam without the boldness. Absolutely spot on with the rugelach. It did not compete with the buttery cinnamony puff of heaven-in-cookie-form, but rather supported it. Nice.

I was so excited to try out this new offering from A&D! Although I’m not a huge fan of Ceylons (from the few I’ve tried) , I trust that A&D has sold me only the very best of its kind.

Both dry and after steeping, this tea has a light fruity, malty scent.

The taste seems almost like raisin bread—but it’s very very subtle. They’re not kidding when they say this is “delicate”. It’s so mild, it’s almost not there. Totally innocuous.

So, in an effort to extract more flavor, I’ve kept this steeped for double the recommended time, but it has retained its gentle, smooth nature.

With this kind of “tame” flavor profile, I’m reminded of the “No Reservations” Holiday Special last year, where Tony tempered almost every acerbic comment with the disclaimer: “… [and I meant that] in a non-denominational, generic way.” This is sort of like that. I think this tea accommodates all tastes in an unoffending, non-denominational, generic way.

With that said, I think this will be a good choice for all those that prefer a mild-mannered, unassuming, well-behaved cup of tea.

But as for me, I just can’t help but wish that it stood out more—had more character, distinction or “kick”. But I guess that’s not how Ceylons are and I can respect that.

Skipping over a backlog of tasting notes numbering in the mid 30s. I had hoped doing that the first time was a one time thing; now I’m just hoping this doesn’t become a habit.

This tea had been pretty meh and generic to me. Nice, but not something I find myself reaching for. It isn’t very strong so I don’t find myself drinking it in the morning when I can’t decide what I want either.

So I have started to tinker with it. I’ve really only had a it few times so far. I increased the steeping time and the amount of leaf I used a little.

Now it seems like a more solid version of its former self, if that makes any sense, and I do like it more this way. I don’t know how much more I could increase the steeping time or leaf amount without it veering into too bitter or too strong tasting.

It paired well with a mango and some strawberries and made for a tasty breakfast.

Ack! I’m the first person to write a tasting note for this tea! Oh the humanity! Words cannot describe how I have no words to describe tea without prompting!

I quite enjoyed this tea. It seems to be a good afternoon tea. It isn’t full and dark-tasting like an assam. It tasted clean, if that makes sense. Pure tea. It wasn’t astringent, and had a smooth mouth-feel, but not heavy. I think I’ll enjoy another cup of it tomorrow afternoon, and pay closer attention (I was, truth be told, rather distracted today with a holiday party and work and such). It still tasted good even after it had completely cooled. I bet it would taste lovely iced.

I’m beginning to think that while I enjoy flavored teas, my heart really belongs to straight tea, maybe with some jasmine thrown in for good measure. I think I get more out of them simply because I’m not struggling so much to taste the flavor that I think I should taste. Food (or drink) for thought, I suppose.

Steeped for three minutes at boiling, as per instructions.

I love Assam and Ceylon teas so naturally this one was a winner for me! I love the packaging. The small painter’s tin is original. When I opened the tin, it was a no-brainer that this one was a nice smelling Ceylon. It smelled malty and warm with fruitiness to it.

The brew was a nice dark amber. This is a bold tea that can be tampered with to make it more or less bold. Upon my first sip, it wasn’t very bitter, but I wanted some milk with my tea. I’ve been drinking cups of milk these days! I can taste the bread-y, malt flavors with fruit undertones. It makes me happy to sip this cup! The milk didn’t really bring out any flavors but it did make it less bitter. Good tea overall! Now I am off to do my night shift!

Once more the weather here is gray and wet, good thing I typically prefer rain over sun most days. On top of the cold wet weather today was the first day of finals and lucky me had my worst two on the first day, History of Soviet Russia and a lab practical for a lithics (stone tools) analysis class. But after two more finals (North American Archaeology and one for a women’s studies class on wild women having already finished my independent study last week), I will be home and starting my internship two days later. After the long day of tests and a weather induced migraine I curled up with a mug of this and an article on a possible ritual associated assemblage of cattle skulls at a Viking Age Icelandic farmhouse.

This tea is not too malty and has a cocoa and somewhat raisiny or other fruity note to it. The mouthfeel is creamy but does have a slight bitter note when cool. It also paired well with a few oat flour cookies with cranberries, raspberries, and apple puree baked in. A nice end to a rather stressful day. It is something that is relatively light in flavor and can be sipped mindlessly while doing work.

I got #8! A decent tea. I was hoping for a repeat of their previous Ceylon, but this one isn’t quite as rich for me (but there’s nothing wrong with that).