Another exquisite tea from the Bitaco estate in Columbia! This was a smooth black tea that tasted top-quality, but was a bit weak on the resteep. Tastes better when brewed strongly. I served this tea to two different people as well and they both loved it.

I've been trying different grades and batches or variants of the black tea produced in this tea garden lately, from different companies, and it's been fascinating. I love all of them, but there are substantial differences. This one was evidently a higher grade tea, but I think I liked it less than the cheaper, lower-grade versions.

Leaf big and dark, slightly curly, and very fragrant, smelling very sweet. The leaf is very irregular looking, with some leaves curled up tightly and others loose and flat, but all are almost completely intact.

This cup is exceedingly pleasant. Aroma toasty, with vegetal hints and a hint of wintergreen; a lot like a high-end Kenyan tea. Upton's description seems accurate, the "inviting toasty aroma" and the "very smooth" cup with a "cocoa mouth feel". I get all of these things! Kudos to Upton for writing such outstanding descriptions.

Upton recommends a first steep of 4-5 minutes, but if steeped 5 minutes or longer, the resteep is too weak for me to enjoy, with a weak flavor and body: mild and honeylike, still with a pleasing, sweet aroma with notes of wintergreen. I preferred a 3 minute first steep if I wanted to resteep, and then the second cup I steeped a full 15 minutes.

I thought this tea a little overpriced. It surprises me because Upton is usually so cheap when you compare similar teas against each other from different companies, and this was in the "season's pick" section, but was actually the most expensive of these teas I've tried so far, and the one I liked least. That said, it's still a great tea, and I think if I hadn't tried other, cheaper teas from Bitaco estate that I liked better, I would probably be raving about this one even more than I am!

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.