Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Ceylon Tea’

Today I decided to review a herbal tea from Distinctly Tea, a new tea shop in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. The tea is Ginger-peach Supreme. To the eye, the tea contains black leaf tea with white tea buds, sunflower petals and some other white flower petal that I could not identify. Upon reading the ingredients I found out that the black leaf is Ceylon tea and the white flower petal is Calendula petal. You can definitely smell the spicyness of the ginger and the sweetness of the peach from the dried leaf.

This steeps quite a satisfying beverage that is easy to drink. It has a gingery spicy-ness to it, you know that sort of sting-y feeling you get from ginger, so there was something to hold on to, yet it was smooth enough to go down easily. The initial sting-yness sort of dissipates as the tea cools but the gingery taste is still always there. I think the peach and Ceylon tea acts as a good counter-balance to soften the taste of the ginger.

It can withstand a second steeping, although a little less sweet. I taste less of the peach and more of the ginger this time around. The taste of the Ceylon is also more apparent. As I reach the bottom of my gaiwan, the dregs make the liquor taste very, very gingery but I notice that even with extended steeping although the infusion gets dark orange it does not get too overly bitter. This is a very nice tea, I’m glad I chose it.

You can purchase the Ginger Peach Supreme directly from the Distinctly Tea website.

I was so excited to sample Adagio’s version of Chocolate Chai, which is one of my favorite blends. I just cannot resist the classic pairing of chocolate and peppery spice, as celebrated in movies like “Chocolat” (with the irresistible Johnny Depp) and as celebrated in the fragrant Mexican mole poblano sauce. So, with fantasies of Johnny Depp and I savoring a romantic meal at a beachside restaurant in Mexico floating through my mind, I had high expectations for this tea. Unfortunately, the reality collided with fantasy.

Succinctly, this tea is just “Meh…”. The aroma in the tin was fragrant with cinnamon notes and upon inspection, the blend did contain pieces of chopped cinnamon sticks. However, the chocolate flavor had an odd chalky after- taste. The chai flavor was not a well-rounded spicy flavor and mostly tasted of cinnamon and cloves. The overall flavor of this tea was a watery-chalky- cinnamon-y brew. So, bottom-line, this is not my favorite version of Chocolate Chai.

You can purchase the Chocolate Chai directly from the Adagio website.

Boston Tea Company says this is “hearty, strong and flavorful”…and this is true!

This is one of the most lovely Ceylon’s I have ever had! It seems to be the strong-silent type. It’s VERY flavorful for a plain Ceylon but it’s also very smooth and ‘laid-back’.  I think it’s great for a late morning, mid afternoon, or even early evening.

You can purchase the Ceylon Symphony directly from the Boston Tea Company website.

The Product Description from LeafSpa certainly describes the color and origin perfectly. As for the taste… I found that it’s fairly basic… a medium strength Ceylon… yet very clean and smooth.  It’s a good tasting tea and a great Ceylon to add to any personal tea collection or stash!

Because it’s not super strong or bold I am not sure if I would personally drink this as my first cup of the day but it would be ideal – for me – in the late morning or afternoon.

I’m very proud to add this to my personal tea stash!

You can purchase the Organic Ceylon Tea directly from the Leaf Spa Tea website.

The leaves are small and black. The dry leaf smell is of tea, a really good quality Ceylon tea. I can smell the tiniest hint of green? Can this be possible in a Ceylon black tea?

I brewed up 2 tsp. in the ingenuiTEA by Adagio for 2 minutes. The tea package clearly indicates that brewing over 3 minutes will produce a bitter cup of tea. The leaves danced around in the hot water.

First sip note: This is not bitter. It is smooth, amber in color and smells like I think black tea should. It’s the kind of smell that invokes memories of yesterdays gone by, the sound of someone mowing the grass, the smell of fresh cut grass. I know this is a black tea, but I do detect a bit of “green” in there also. The wet leaves do have a green hue to them. You take a sip of tea, it is not flavored with anything other than tea leaves. This is a simple tea that does not require milk or sugar.

Added ice and WOW! Decided to do a second infusion and put in my iced tea pitcher for later this afternoon. It is nice hot, but the Pekoe flavor really pops when this tea is ice cold.

You can purchase the Organic Ceylon Tea directly from the Leaf Spa Tea website.