I'm reviewing the version of their loose-leaf "Premium" that comes in a 400g resealable plastic sack, which I got new/unopened at an estate sale. The leaves are very finely chopped, small, almost granular, as if they were part of a mechanical, one-size-fits-all process for both bagged and loose-leaf offerings. The wording on the container bag basically admits this: "Dilmah is packed in the most advanced factory using high-speed automated machinery...". So I suspect there's no real difference between bagged and loose-leaf version of this, except for the fixed allocation that comes with a single-serve bag.

The advantage is that I can dole out a larger amount for a stronger brew, as is customary with me and loose leaves. So it was. The loose-leaf aroma (sniffing the container) was mild and plain, but pleasant and reasonably fresh. I can say the same about the flavor, after watching the tea brew up through an initial orange color to a deep, dense orange-brown with time. With mild teas, steeping a finely chopped leaf for a long time seems to max out the flavor one can extract. In the end it was a moderately robust, about average Ceylon taste and body, a generally pleasant drink, with no particularly outstanding flavors other than straight tea. If I try hard, I might infer some smoke and/or woody essence.

In short, this is a decent "daily tea" type drink, if you can find it at an inexpensive price, better than, say, a Lipton or Twinings Ceylon, but it's not premium in quality. The experience was very much akin to, but a notch below, the similarly mass-packaged, finely chopped Tea Tang Nuwara Eliya product I reviewed here a few years ago.

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