257/365
Another from my Varieteas box. There are at least a couple from this brand included, but this one seems the most ordinary. I could do with a dose of ordinary today, not to mention more black tea than I’ve had already, so it was an obvious choice. I don’t think I’ve tried a specific variety of Ceylon before, or at least not one that was branded as such (so not knowingly, is what I really mean). I don’t imagine it’s going to be a whole lot different from the Ceylon blends I’ve tried, but I’m willing to be proved wrong.
The presentation is ordinary enough – a paper bag containing finely shredded leaf. It brews up very quickly to a medium amber-brown (less than 2 minutes, I’d say). I removed the bag at this point, because I’m drinking it without milk. I’d have left it longer if I’d been adding milk, and I have no doubt that it would have continued to get stronger. Probably considerably so.
Fortunately, it makes for a smooth and lightly citrussy cup. I wasn’t expecting excellent things, but it is actually pretty good. I feel like it has more body than the Ceylon I’m used to drinking, which usually appears as a base in flavoured teas (or occasionally straight in those single-serve Twinings teabags you sometimes get in hotels). It’s malty as well as citrussy, and is more engaging somehow than I was expecting. It’s not a tea that’d stop traffic, but I did look back at it after taking my first sip. It was almost as if I could believe this flavour had come from that cup.
There isn’t a lot I want to say about this one, other than that it’s clearly a quality Ceylon. It has a real depth of flavour, and more personality that I thought it might. I’d happily drink this again if the opportunity arose, and if I were looking to keep a bagged Ceylon in stock then it would be a strong contender. I might even choose it over some loose leaf – Adagio’s Ceylon Sonata has nothing on this, for example.
A pleasant surprise, considering it came in a bag.
