This is my last plain black tea from Teakruthi. (Thanks as always for the sample.) I loosely followed Eastkyteaguy’s parameters and steeped around 4.5 g in a 355 ml mug at 195F for 3, 5, and 7 minutes.
The dry aroma is of pine, prunes, malt, and something pleasantly sour. The first steep has notes of pine, prunes, roasted almond, malt, toast, honey, and (thanks to Eastkyteaguy’s review) orange zest. There’s a fuzzy, not unpleasant astringency. I also get a hint of green grapes as I’ve done in a lot of Ceylon black teas. The second steep has softer notes of roasted almonds, honey, toast, malt, wood, and tobacco, along with a coppery aftertaste. The third steep is much weaker, with notes of malt, tannin, wood, and minerals.
This is a pleasant, complex black tea that’s still a lot more mainstream than Teakruthi’s other black tea offerings. I think it would be a good starting point for exploring Ceylon black tea.
Flavors: Almond, Grapes, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orange Zest, Pine, Pleasantly Sour, Tannin, Toast, Tobacco, Wood
