Pure Ceylon Tea (FBOPF "SP")
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Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 1 review
89 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Alex Zorach (1452 reviews) on Mar. 7th, 2018
Wow, this tea offers the most exceptional value of any tea I've ever tried. It was $6.50 for a pound, yet was better than many artisan teas I've had for over 6 times the price. Similar to Ahmad Tea's Ceylon (one of my favorites), but a smidge cheaper and I think I slightly prefer this one.
The leaf consists of fairly large, broken pieces, and it smells pleasant, but not very strongly until brewing. Because the smell wasn't strong, I initially didn't expect much.
When you brew this tea, however, it becomes richly aromatic. The aroma is malty, with a toasty quality and some floral notes. Like a top-quality Ceylon tea. The flavor is what I'd expect from a middle-of-the-road Ceylon, strong, but a little less than a typical Assam.
The flavor is bold but surprisingly sweet too. The sweetness is something I rarely encounter outside of top-grade teas, unbroken grades (GFOP, TGFOP, and up). The cup is very smooth. The color is very rich, a dark reddish-brown, thick looking, and thick tasting, but surprisingly low in astringency for a tea of this strength and price.
This tea is very easy to brew, and compared with other broken-leaf teas, it surprised me by resteeping well. If you use a heaping teapsoon and steep for three minutes, you can get a second, perfectly flavorful cup by making a long (8-12ish minute) second infusion. Alternatively you can use a little less leaf and steep it 5-8 minutes and do it only once. It's very good both ways. A longer steep brings out the toasty notes, shorter emphasizes the sweetness. Astringency is surprisingly low.
I can't emphasize how much I've been wowed by this tea. I think I have discovered a new staple that I will probably always keep in my cupboard. When I'm not reviewing small-batch artisan teas, I drink a lot of strong black tea, and this far exceeds my expectations for an everyday tea. It's wonderful!
Alex Zorach (1452 reviews) on Mar. 7th, 2018
Wow, this tea offers the most exceptional value of any tea I've ever tried. It was $6.50 for a pound, yet was better than many artisan teas I've had for over 6 times the price. Similar to Ahmad Tea's Ceylon (one of my favorites), but a smidge cheaper and I think I slightly prefer this one.
The leaf consists of fairly large, broken pieces, and it smells pleasant, but not very strongly until brewing. Because the smell wasn't strong, I initially didn't expect much.
When you brew this tea, however, it becomes richly aromatic. The aroma is malty, with a toasty quality and some floral notes. Like a top-quality Ceylon tea. The flavor is what I'd expect from a middle-of-the-road Ceylon, strong, but a little less than a typical Assam.
The flavor is bold but surprisingly sweet too. The sweetness is something I rarely encounter outside of top-grade teas, unbroken grades (GFOP, TGFOP, and up). The cup is very smooth. The color is very rich, a dark reddish-brown, thick looking, and thick tasting, but surprisingly low in astringency for a tea of this strength and price.
This tea is very easy to brew, and compared with other broken-leaf teas, it surprised me by resteeping well. If you use a heaping teapsoon and steep for three minutes, you can get a second, perfectly flavorful cup by making a long (8-12ish minute) second infusion. Alternatively you can use a little less leaf and steep it 5-8 minutes and do it only once. It's very good both ways. A longer steep brings out the toasty notes, shorter emphasizes the sweetness. Astringency is surprisingly low.
I can't emphasize how much I've been wowed by this tea. I think I have discovered a new staple that I will probably always keep in my cupboard. When I'm not reviewing small-batch artisan teas, I drink a lot of strong black tea, and this far exceeds my expectations for an everyday tea. It's wonderful!
Page 1 of 1 page with 1 review