Ceylon & India (Orange Pekoe)

Horrifying! This is the only tin of this tea I have ever purchased, and I see here I bought it about four years ago. Well, the tin is almost empty. I guess the reason it has stayed around so long is that I bought it back when hubby only drank black tea with milk and sugar, so I bought lots of Ceylons for him so we could have tea together and I just bought more than we could drink. Plus, he finally developed a taste for other teas and finds that he prefers them plain, so now he usually asks for green, white, puerh, or oolong.

Wednesday Tea Party was moved to Monday this week because we are supposed to stay off the roads tomorrow and I knew this storm was coming! Miss tea party? No! Reschedule!

I served this first so that the flavors of the other teas would not conflict with our cookies. My guest really liked it, and said it tasted like a very high quality tea to her. I agree. This is a nice every day drinker. When I first started loose leaf five years ago I preferred the milder Ceylon Extra Fancy and found this one to be a little strong to me for drinking plain. Now? I like it plain just fine and don’t find it too strong at all. I would reorder it gladly, but first I have to drink the backlog of other Ceylons I bought around the same time.

It went wonderfully with our cookies, and is always great with cheese.

My city had the most snow in the state today. In a couple of hours, ice is supposed to start coming down and continue for a full 24 hours at least. We have brought up wood and have the Buck Stove fired up so if the power goes out, we will at least still have heat, and can even cook a bit!

Found a bag of this lingering in my work stash. Finishing it off…it’s pretty darn good for being as old as it is!

This is often my early morning wake-up tea. I find it best if mellowed by a splash of milk.

I had a sample of this tea at the bottom of my tea box. It was the loose leaf, rather than the sachet. I’m glad I found it.

This is straight black tea. It’s not trying to be anything else and that’s refreshing. I brewed up one cup hot and it was a nice, well rounded tea without any bitterness. I then brewed the rest of it up as iced tea and found it delightful. Add some ice and a twist of lemon and you are in business.

So if you’re looking for a no nonsense black tea, this is it.

In comparing this to Assam, I can definitely taste the Assam, but there is a light briskness atop the Assam in which I think I can attribute to the Ceylon. Just like Assam it takes milk well. But that Ceylon adds a little bit extra on the pallet.

The color is lighter than Assam, more translucent and more of a malty color.

Another bagged party leftover I likely wouldn’t have tried on my own. I made a large mug with the intent of icing it down, but it’s half gone already. It’s as close to a “just tea” that I’ve ever had from H&S, but it’s clearly a step up from grocery store and food service Orange Pekoe—none of that nasty acidity. I’m thinking it would be a good base for milk/sugar and (well, maybe next time) iced.

Smells more bold and earthy than I was expecting and tastes a little brisk up front but has a smooth finish. I’m curious to try this iced, seems like a good candidate for an iced black tea.

Not as bold as I like. Smooth and good enough for an afternoon pick me up.

Had a quick cup this morning. Forgot to taste it before I added some half and half! My guilty pleasure! It is very tastey classic black tea good for the morning and does well with milk and I am sure sugar would be good too. Not the boldest/ darkest black tea but not too light either. I had this blended with orange blossom and iced in the shop. I only ordered iced because we had baby with us, but it was a really good mix of a black base with fruity ness!

As I do with almost every tea I get, I tried this tea both hot and cold steeped as iced tea. It’s good, but not great either way.

When enjoyed hot, the malty sweetness of the Assam shines through even as the brightness of the Ceylon is ever present. When iced, the sweetness is mostly gone. A little of the malty flavor is present “towards the back.”

It kind of reminds me of Lipton tea for grownups.

It’s like a lot of other Harney and Sons teas. There’s nothing really wrong with it, it just doesn’t pop.

I still a good cup of tea.