Dry it has nice size dark twists that smell a little sweet almost like raisins and a little like a warm tobacco field. The wet leaves smell a little fruity, too. The cup brews a dark orange/brown and smells malty. The taste is mostly malty assam with a slight astrigency especially as the tea cools, but there is an underpinning of ceylon. The second cup I added a little sugar which I think brought out more of the ceylon flavor without losing too much of the malt. I tried a little milk after that and it became more malty again but lost it’s astrignecy. Overall a good breakfast tea, a nice break from the more ceylon based breakfast teas I usually drink.