Tea: Ceylon Estate

A Ceylon Black Tea from Octavia Tea

Picture of Ceylon Estate
Brand:Octavia Tea
Style:Ceylon Black Tea
Region:Uva, Sri Lanka
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Loose?Loose
# Ratings:1 View All
Product page:Ceylon Estate

Review of Ceylon Estate

AromaFlavorValueTotal
9 of 105 of 55 of 593 of 100
SuperbExcellentOutstanding

I loved this tea; it was one of the best Ceylons I've ever sampled. Robust, warming, and surprisingly multifaceted.

Dry leaf has a very pleasant smell, suggestive of dried fruit.

Brews a lighter reddish-brown color; rich and complex aroma, suggesting wood, spice, dried fruit, and malt. I find the commercial description spot-on. It's ever-so-slightly smoky, and it does have a slight burnt quality to it, almost like burnt honey. Flavor is strongly savory/umami (unusually so for a black tea) and only moderately bitter and sour...the bitterness comes in the finish, rather than as an up-front bite.

I steeped 3 minutes, and then 5 minutes. The second cup was as flavorful and rich as the first, and had tones of clove and burnt toast.

The dry leaf still smelled quite strong, and I suspect I may have been able to brew a third cup (quite unusual for a black tea), but this tea was strong enough that I felt satisfied and did not.

Pricey for a Ceylon, but definitely well worth every penny, especially given how many cups you can brew with the leaf.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.


FacebookTwitterInstagramTumblrPatreon