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I enjoy Ceylons, and so when I got this sample ages ago from [b]Terri[/b] and it said “Champaign of Ceylon” I was looking forward to drinking it. I’ve brewed it both hot and cold, but either I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write a review, or steepster swallowed it. Anyway, Champaign of Ceylon it is not. Champaign of dryness and astringency, maybe. There is nothing of the lovely “teaness” of Ceylon, nor of its brisk and cheerful brightness. Great Ceylon tastes like TEA in all capitals, oftentimes with lovely fruit thrown in. This tea was boring, with no distinct flavour – just a muddy mixture of astringency, dryness and acidic flat tea.
If you hate Ceylons, this will reinforce your hatred of them. If you love Ceylons, I doubt that you will enjoy this one much.
Thank you very much for the sample, [b]Terri[/b]. There’s a box of tea on my table waiting to be shipped to you (and Sil) in September, once the post office returns to normal working hours (they are now on summer hiatus, and their hours are ridiculous).
Going to rummage in the tea cupboard after something delicious to wash this tea’s flavour away.

Had a lovely cup of this, shared with three coworkers, at work this afternoon. This is a lovely tea, especially in the afternoon, and even if you aren’t a huge bergamot fan.

Another busy morning at work, so when I had a breather, I brewed a super strong cup of this and had it with milk and sugar. I needed a morning kick, and this tea delivers.
It also has the added effect of reminding me of the cute Tea House Covent Garden shop.

I like white teas, but this one failed to impress, despite the “wonder” in its name. Could be that the temperature was wrong, could be that it needed more steep time, but it tasted like a watered down green tea, just a little sweeter. Teabox recommends 10 min steeping at 85-90 degrees, so I will give it another try with those parameters, instead of my standard white tea ones.

Ceasefire is thankfully continuing. Here’s to hoping that it becomes permanent.

Crazy morning at work. Came in right after a major upgrade, and a lot of things weren’t working. Spent most of the morning chained to my chair, fixing problems. At 11:00 I snuck off to brew me some tea, and literally grabbed the first box at hand – not even looking at it until I brewed it.
I love this tea. It is such a surprise, since I thought it would be a boring breakfast tea, but it is delicious and charming instead.

Working my way through this tea, because I happen to love it and because I want to clear room in my tea cupboard. Had it with a hint of maple syrup and brewed stronger this time, just to see how far it can go. The leaves grow large (although they are broken) if you give them enough time, and the coconut flavour was kind of lost in a strong brew. Brewed it lighter and it was much tastier. A testament to what brewing time can do to tea.

This is a bold Assam. Not for it the mellowness of meeker Assams, or the timidness of Assam blends. You will get a sharp caffeine kick from drinking it, and the malty flavours are coupled with a brisk bitterness and a notable astringency that loves to be tamed by milk-and-sugar. Today I’m drinking it with a bit of maple syrup, since I want to feel at least some of its invigorating bitterness, and no milk. It is a great morning companion that I may have to relegate to the office, since it is getting woefully neglected at home.
The caddy is the wonderful F&M caddy (very beautiful, extremely functional, great for stacking), and the dry leaves are a mosaic of warm walnut brown with flashes of gold in between. It smells deliciously dusky, as if warning of you of the potent kick that it holds.

For now there’s a ceasefire, which is good. Let’s see how long it holds. Yesterday wasn’t great with two terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, and a coworker’s son that is in critical condition in hospital. He’s been stabilized, but is still far from recovery.
Where there is tea there is hope.

I need to logon to steepster from a proper computer and not an iPad to up this tea’s rating. It has become my favourite morning tea with milk brew. There’s something about it that just comes to life with the creaminess of milk.
Yesterday at around 17:00 there was another rocket siren. I was still at work, so we made our way downstairs. A lot of parents with kids were stuck outside the building, so on our way to the underground parking lot we let them in.
Hoping for peace and quiet. Drinking tea in the meanwhile.

I brewed this per recommendation now (3-4 minutes instead of 2, as I did previously), and the slight prefumy aroma has become very dominant. If you like perfumy teas, you will like this tea. I don’t, so I’m not recommending it and I’ve adjusted the score accordingly.