I had been really hoping that my tap water at home was the cause of the flavorless tea I was brewing. But now I have to accept that my two ounces of Ceylon Breakfast from 'T' An Urban Teahouse is either an old batch that has been left open too many times, or just an inferior tea than what I am used to , for twice the price. I always take my container of tea to work with me because the water there seems to have a good oxygen content and brews some pretty good tea. I am never late to work, sometimes even early, because I can't wait to brew myself a good cup. I know my water at home is bad, but didn't think it could be bad enough to completely un-flatter a quality whole leaf Ceylon tea. I was right, it wasn't my water.
While brewing a cup at work did make it slightly more flavorful and fuller bodied, it never achieved the scent or taste that the 'champagne of teas' is famous for. There was never a pleasant aroma lifting from the cup, more like a stale cardboard box aroma. The flavor was still just a little better than a bag of Lipton. I tried it two days in a row, and I increased the measure of tea by about a half teaspoon the second day. This did not bring out any more flavor at all, but it did give it a bit heavier body which I enjoy. I did notice that there was a bit of a frothy malty top to the leaves in the infuser basket, which is a treat that I never get at home. Still this leaves me hoping this is an exception and not a norm for the teas carried by 'T'. I am going back soon to have them prepare me a cup of their Golden Monkey, which is one of my favorite 'rare treats'. That will be the deciding factor, to see if that tea will be a fresh high quality Golden Monkey, or something I would rather not pay $22 for 2oz of. Until then, I'm stuck finishing off this stash of Ceylon Breakfast from 'T' An Urban Teahouse.
Enjoy a nice cup for me will you please.
--Sean
$22 for 2 oz of Ceylon seems exorbitant unless the tea is really something special. Ceylon teas generally don't get as expensive as the higher end of Indian or Chinese teas. The most expensive Ceylon in Upton's catalog is under 10 for 125g, which is about 2 oz.
ReplyDeleteI've also found more disappointment overall with Ceylon teas than any other kind of teas...but I know it's not that I dislike all teas from that region. I recently tried a tea from Greenfield estate that I like, and I've had good experiences with teas in the Nuwara Eliya region of Sri Lanka. I also love Ceylon green tea.
No they want $22 for 2oz of Golden Monkey. Yea I like the Nuwara Eliya teas too. Haven't tried any Ceylon green before. Sounds interesting, thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDelete