Sinharaja

Ok, this is a Ceylon tea? It seems the teas I always got with Ceylon were so astringent, I kind of wrote off the variety. This is smooth, rich, robust, and reminds me of a blacker oolong tea I’ve have had. I love that there’s nothing bitter about this tea. This has opened my eyes of what Ceylon varieties can offer.

I added like a touch of milk, but honestly, it needs no additions.

Decided I’d spice things up a bit and go for a GM sample. Picked this one, and steeped it with some rock sugar. The smell of it is pretty strong, kind of smelling prunes? some sort of strong fruit smell is definitely there.

First sip tastes kind of bitter and strong. I’m thinking i should listen to the package and get some cream/milk. Since I only drink skim milk i added a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream and sugar. The taste is much better.

It’s definintely not my favorite sort of taste, but i’d imagine if i put more sugar it would get more sweet. The cream definitely made a difference on the bitter taste though.

It’s a good tea, and I could see it being great on a really cold day, but it’s just not for me.

Yumm, Yumm, very very nice tea, with an almost sweet finish and a nicefull body, with indeed, molasses or caamelized sugar overtones, not heavy , but full and rich.

I was very excited to try this one since it gets such high reviews. But, another black tea that just tastes like black tea to me. It is a nice strong black tea with a malty flavor. It has a little peach flavor to it at the very beginning of the sip. It has something interesting in the smell – like wet peat. I probably won’t buy more, but I enjoyed the sample.

Added a splash of soy creamer and a touch of agave nectar.

Sometimes I like to read what you say about a tea before I say anything. Sometimes I’m inspired by your words, sometimes I’m inspired to completely disagree with you. =) Sometimes I just borrow some of your vocabulary to avoid getting repetitive. In this case, I gotta tell ya, I’m feeling a bit bad about having read your reviews, because I’m afraid I’m going to pull the average down on this one. I’m really glad you love the tea; I just wish I did, too.

Reminder: I’m a tea-ophyte and especially new to black tea. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a Darjeeling and a Ceylon; until recently, I didn’t know there was one. I read some of your reviews talking about flavour profiles and notes of this and that, as if you were describing a fine wine1, and honestly, I feel like my senses must be dulled or something. =) This smells like black tea. Molasses? Caramel? Sweetness? None of that. About the most nuanced I can get about this tea is that it smelled to me like “green” black tea. This makes sense, if indeed it’s picked from land bordering a rainforest. I do agree that that “green” smells and tastes somewhat roasted.

I like strong flavours and I like flavour infusions. While my most recent foray into black tea (the Nepalese afternoon tea2) left me wanting more, this Sinharaja just made me want to get through it so I could try a different one. It’s not bad for what it is, I think, it’s just not my cuppa, so to speak.

1 I don’t get wine, either. It all tastes like grape juice + rubbing alcohol to me. =)

2 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/126825

Ok, so I finally had time to get back to tea tasting.
Unfortunatly, I don’t much care for this one. I’m still new at the different tea varieties so maybe it’s that I’m not fond of ceylon. To me this tastes closer to coffee then other teas. (and I really don’t like coffee). I do get the “fertile rainforest” tastes but I don’t care for it. I tried it plain and then with cream and sugar but this follows the trend for me that adding sugar and milk doesn’t help me with teas I don’t like plain. Anyway, not for me. I’m curious though if it’s just because I don’t like ceylon as everyone is saying this is the best ceylon…

This is the best Ceylon I have ever had. It’s creamy, strong, smooth and I can brew it directly in the pot and it doesn’t get bitter even over a half hour!!! Amazing! I LOVE this tea!

Hummm….Perhaps I’m just not a Ceylon fan. Today was the second time I had this tea. I can’t remember if I added anything to it the first time but I remember a very bright tea flavor but I just wasn’t wowed. This time I thought I used plenty of leaf, but after adding some milk it just seemed completely overpowered. Too mild for a breakfast tea for me – and I can just imagine hubby complaining about it being tasteless. Could be an afternoon tea, but I just have so many more better options than this for the few times I manage to get in an afternoon cup of tea.

Bold like an assam, but beautifully balanced and very delicious. Possibly the best Ceylon tea I’ve had (generally not a fan). The immediate impression involves a wonderfully smooth toastiness. Has some woodiness, along with an unexpected sweetness at the end of the swallow that lingers. Package says it takes well to milk and raw sugar, but it’s so good I didn’t even want to add them (and I’m usually shameless about that stuff!). I would definitely order this again.

I love this tea when I’m in the mood for black. It’s initially milky, with a smoky hint, later full bodied caramel with toasty aftertaste. I could sip this all day, and I love to re-steep my teas. I let it steep a little longer than most.