Etambagahawila Estate Ceylon OP1

This was one of the teas that I got from Ost’s Stash Sale! She had a few of Capital Teas in small sizes, so I got all three, since I could not decide on which one to get.
I have a couple more Ceylon teas in my cupboard that I have yet to try. I decided to try them all in the next few days to compare and contrast the flavor profiles. I have also been reading up on the history of the region to get some insight. I love doing mini research projects on tea!
Lucky for me that Ost did not like this! It’s my first time trying anything that Capital Tea has to offer, and I like where this is going. I managed to get three good infusions in my Camellia Sinensis porcelain-lined travel tumbler. The dry leaf is black-brown, with short, thin, twisted leaves. I smelled the ho hum woody-ness and malt. But when I brewed this tea up, I got a sweet nectar of pure honey, fresh and ripe stone fruits, with the lightest hint of milk chocolate. I had to make sure that I did not put any sweetener in my mug before steeping!
If you are someone who wants to try many different estate teas from a wide range of areas, give this one a go and check out capital tea! I am really going to have to look up their teas now :D

Another tea from Ost. Thank you!!!

Meh. I couldn’t coax much flavor out of this one. It wasn’t bitter or astringent, and I picked up a little cocoa and maybe stone fruit as the tea cooled. Other than that it was pretty bland. I added some sugar at the end which highlighted the fruity note. If I have this again maybe I’ll try it with sugar and cream.

Also got a sample from Capital Teas Ltd of this tea. The description on steepster says:
“Cherry, Cocoa, Honey, Malt, Molasses, Plums”
I wasn’t too thrilled when this tea smelled only of wood while steeping. But as I began drinking it, I discovered cherry and cocoa notes among the wood flavors.
While wood is the main flavor in this tea, the cocoa and cherry flavors make it much more drinkable.
It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be while it steeped, But I probably won’t drink the rest of it. I’ll find someone to pass it off to, I’m sure! This one isn’t for me!

The first steep is very malty, dark, and probably would hold up well to some milk. Full bodied, and full flavored. As it cools a bit of a raisin note comes out. There’s also a dark sweetness, not quite molasses, but like a dark honey.
Second steep is more sweet than the first. A bit of malt and cocoa Lots if molasses end of sip and lingering after taste, with a bit of honey and cherries.
The third steep was more molasses but with a dark fruit (plum?) thrown in.
Again I am amazed by how much flavors I’m getting from a type if tea that I thought of as bottom tier. I need to stop assuming things about teas I haven’t tried. This tea seems dark, but in a sweet kind of way. Like a good girl who’s had her heartbroken and turns “heartless”: a darker version of her sweet self, but the sweet can’t really be hidden by the dark.