Ceylon Star

Mmmm. To be honest I wasn’t sure how excited I’d be to drink this again. It was so hit and miss from what I remember. (Sorry ShayneBear) So, because of this I’ve sorta had this 25g pack sitting unopened on my tea shelf for MONTHS.

Today was the day to crack it open, and it’s great. This mix has so many anise stars in it – at least one for every cup I’ll make, and that’s a big part of what I want from this tea. The base is smooth, and slightly sweet – I can definitely taste the licorice, chocolate and coconut. OMG.

Just, OMG.

I was going to make chai this morning, as the cooler weather is making me want cozy teas, but I saw a picture of the new sugar plum tea and saw the star anise and decided I’d rather have a cup of this old favorite. Unfortunately, I think age is getting to this tea. Not as fresh as it used to be. It’s still okay, but doesn’t amaze me anymore. Or maybe it’s because I like less flavored stuff now. Oh well, it gave me that star anise I was craving. :/

Thank you Isaila for my sample of this!

For preparation, I steeped up 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf in 8 oz. of boiling water for four minutes. Although now I’m wondering if that wasn’t enough leaf or enough time but I’m not getting a ton out of this. Boo…

What I do get, is a fairly creamy black tea with light (emphasis on the “light”) notes of chocolate and a whole lot of cinnamon. Odd – I didn’t think there was cinnamon in this blend? When it was really hot, I got some coconut notes but now that’s it’s cooled down a lot I’m not getting any of those either. And sadly, I certainly don’t get any anise which is what I was really looking forward to. It also has a sort of oily mouthfeel.

Also, now that the mug is almost done my tongue sorta feels funny? Like – very numb…

Oh well – thank you Isaila for the generous sample! I have a couple more cups worth left to see if I can produce a better cup, but right now I’m thinking this one just isn’t for me at all which is ok because at least I didn’t have to spend any money to find that out.

Snacking for dinner this evening. First, some leftover pasta, next up roasted yams and baked zucchini fries.

This tea really doesn’t go with any of it. But that’s OK. I wanted something sweet and desserty that would take cream well. This works for me. It’s not my favourite tea, but I can see why people like it.

This one never disappoints me. What a delicious, relaxing cup of tea before bed.

That is all.

sipdown! thanks to courtney for sending this along. I’d only had this in the store as a sample, and i can confirm that now that i’ve had a chance to brew it on my own…i still don’t like it. lol it’s just not for me. ah well, glad to have gotten to try it again.

Oooh… finally trying this tea. Massive apprehension due to the star anise (honestly, I contemplated picking it out, but figured that would be rather silly of me…)

The aroma is pretty much chocolate/coconut/star anise. Thankfully, the anise isn’t a super strong aroma, and I’m hoping it stays that way in the flavour as well (I think other people’s reviews have said that it’s not too bad??)

Yep, turns out they were right… but I still don’t love the tea! It tastes as described, chocolate, coconut, and a touch of star anise… but it’s not really working for me. I can see how other people love it, and I should love it… but… I’m not. Perhaps it’s that there’s almost a bit of cinnamon in there, and it’s coming off to me strangely… ah well. I tried!

ETA: Second infusion is a weaker version of the first, with a bit more anise. After this infusion, the leaves smelled just like star anise…. so into the compost they went.

I finally remembered to pick up some of this tea! I’ve been intrigued by it for a while, but it always slipped my mind when I was at the store. The dry smell is fantastic in this one, very chocolate and creamy and yum. I must be in a chocolate and sugary mood this week haha, that’s the only teas I have been craving!

I steeped for 5 minutes, as this is a black tea and I was worried it might get bitter. There was a big chunk of star anise in my basket, and a lot of coconut! I’m not a huge licorice fan, but I don’t mind it and fennel so this one didn’t deter me. The steeped smell is like hot chocolate, with a bit of licorice and spice. Smells sooo good.

The taste is very interesting actually! It is not as chocolatey as the aroma, but it still has a fair amount, and it’s a more milk chocolate flavor. The star anise is mild but still there to add a different sort of sweet note, and the coconut kind of ties it together with the richness and cream it brings. I’m thinking it will also get creamier as it cools.

Overall, this is a tasty little tea. I’m not sure if I am in love with it yet, but it is tasty, and not as sweet as I expected, which is kind of nice as it’s not overwhelming. I do wish it tasted a bit more like it smelled, more cream and chocolate! But I might try steeping a tad longer next time to melt down the chocolate more haha. Happy to finally have tried this, and so far won’t have a problem finishing up my 25 g of it :)

This smells like chocolate and I do pick that up in the taste but mostly it is a lot of licorice. Thank you Whiskey Buzz but this one is just not for me.

I didn’t bother to read what Ceylon Star was when DavidsTea first posted the note, I just read the name and assumed a straight ceylon for some reason. And that would have been okay.
Then once we reached December, I reread it and ohhhh yes.

So last minute text messages went out on Monday to my boyfriend of “can you make sure to get me half an ounce of Ceylon Star? It’s new!” So all the tea I made him get me, all $42 worth, $42 I don’t even have right now for tea, is finally mine. I couldn’t decide where to start but I knew I wanted one of the black teas I picked out, and I am on a white chocolate kick so it’s perfect.

There is a lot of star anise. The smell of the tea reminds me of the pizzelle cookies my grandma used to make.

The tea is sweet and slightly spicy from the anise and coconut. I didn’t really get much of the white chocolate, though I’m not even sure any made it into my steeper. It wasn’t as creamy as I was hoping it would be.

They used quite a nice Ceylon for this, because after steeping it I thought, wow, I really don’t like Ceylon when it’s steeped more than 3 1/2 minutes. But this, I might even save the leaf to resteep tomorrow morning because I’m sure it has a bit more life in it, and the star anise is the FULL star so it must still have something to it too!

I kind of wish I got more than half an ounce, I’ve never actually cooked with star anise so I didn’t realize how heavy it is.