Tea: Altınbaş Çayi (Altinbas Cayi)
A Black Tea from Caykur (Çaykur)
Brand: | Caykur (Çaykur) |
Style: | Black Tea |
Region: | Turkey |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 2 View All |
Product page: | Altınbaş Çayi (Altinbas Cayi) |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 501 of Black Tea
✓ 954 of Pure Tea (Camellia sinensis)
✓ 3 of Caykur (Çaykur)
✓ 3 from Turkey
Review of Altınbaş Çayi (Altinbas Cayi)
April 21st, 2014
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
8 of 10 | 5 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 83 of 100 |
Excellent | Excellent | Outstanding |
I recently sampled this, mentally comparing it with the Filiz Cayi from Caykur. I thought this tea was delightful, I think a much better tea than the Filiz Cayi, which was pleasant, light and smooth, but without much depth.
Using a teaspoon of leaf and a 3 minute steep, brews up a light body, with a clear liquor. Flavor is smooth, with a light bitterness. Just enough astringency to impart some body, light without being thin. Aroma is complex, herbaceous with tones of spice. Compare to a lighter Darjeeling or high-grown Ceylon, but with very different aromatic qualities. I like brewing it a little more strongly, which makes the cup darker and richer without being too strong. The leaf is sort of airy and lightweight, taking up a lot of space in spite of being finely broken, so I think you need a bit more volume to get the same weight of leaf.
Very low price, especially for a tea of this quality. A tad pricier than some of the other Turkish black teas under the Caykur brand, but still cheaper than most black teas in this price range, readily available for under $7 a pound (some of the other black teas are under $5 a pound, in my opinion it's more than worth paying a few extra dollars for this one). Plus it's organically grown (as all tea produced in Turkey is, although it doesn't have organic certification).
I definitely recommend this one. I have yet to try all the other black teas from Caykur, but of the ones I've sampled, this stands out so far as the best.