Posted by Gravecat at 11:03 am under Tea Reviews, Twinings. Comments (3)
(This review has actually been sitting in my drafts folder for a couple of weeks, since I’ve just had more important things to post here lately. But it’s been a while since I’ve posted a tea review, so here you go.)
Back to the familiar safety of random numbers again, this time die Maschine came up with 14 a second time, making me question the supposedly random nature of the numbers. The joke’s on the RNG, though, since I delete each choice as I go along and shuffle the list up to fill the gap, this time making 14 the rather pleasing choice of Twinings Ceylon. Shut up, I have a lot of Twinings.
On the upside, I was hoping for a black tea sometime soon, so I could review something a little more traditional and commonplace, something your average Joe is slightly more likely to recognize. While not my absolute favourite of black teas, Ceylon is fairly easygoing and pleasant from what I recall, so I’ve got no qualms with today’s choice.
For those who don’t know, your average “builder’s brown” kind of tea tends to consist of a blend of different tea leaves grown in different places around the world, combined to produce a specific flavour. While there are somewhat more upmarket variants of this idea — such as the yet-to-be-reviewed English Breakfast and Traditional Afternoon (also from Twinings), it’s all the same principle; blend a combination of leaves in such a way as to produce a final, intended flavour.
For purists — or simply for people like me, who are cursed with insatiable curiosity — it’s also possible to find ‘pure’ types, which are all from leaves grown in one specific place. Assam, one of my favourite types of black tea, is one of these types, as is Ceylon, grown in Sri Lanka.
We’ll start, as I usually do, with the bags: The familiar, earthy scent of black tea is somewhat milder than one would expect, but otherwise unremarkable. After all, despite not being a ‘blend’, this is still merely black tea, with no fancy tricks up its sleeve. The finished product, however — hot water and all — is where the scent truly shines, a surprisingly light smell almost reminiscent of green tea, while still maintaining the heavy feel of black. Regardless of what I’m about to say, I think Ceylon is probably the most pleasant-smelling of the ‘standard’ black teas, while not counting the more fancy versions like Chai or Earl Grey.
As far as flavour goes, I’m afraid my uncultured palette suffers greatest here, as it’s difficult for me to distinguish Ceylon from the more commonplace blends, though it’s got a somewhat more light and clean flavour, albeit with an ever-so-slightly bitter edge. It’s a flavour that doesn’t linger at all, instead seeming to vanish almost as soon as it arrives, which I think would make it a good accompaniment for a meal. It’s certainly more refreshing and uplifting than most black teas, though a terrible choice for something to relax with — I disagree entirely with Twinings’ claim that it has “calming undertones”, instead suggesting that it’s more bright and invigorating than subdued and calming.
Discrepancies aside, Ceylon is an overall pleasant — if unremarkable — experience, and worth trying for anyone who enjoys black tea.
Lu — May 8th, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
Ceylon is actually one of my favourite black teas to drink…y’know. Black. It’s a very, very mild tea that refuses to take on any major flavour beyond the tannic bitter edge even after eight goddamn minutes being brewed. Still, it’s one of my favourites to drink, and is very much one of my favourite summer black teas.
I think as far as different flavours go, you’d probably find more success in Darjeeling or Assam. The latter of which is so strong it hits with the force of many boulders coming down a hill.
This being said, I’m still a huge sucker for flavoured black teas, and Lapsang Souchong, Lady Grey and Earl Grey still top my list when I’m scrounging for a black tea to drink. I haven’t actually sipped a blended tea in about two years, now.
Gravecat — May 8th, 2010 @ 3:07 pm
Assam is my personal favourite of the “normal” black teas, yeah. But for the tea reviews I’m submitting myself to the whims of the random number generator, so it’s up to the will of the universe which ones I review and in what order. :3
Lu — May 8th, 2010 @ 3:18 pm
Funny, Assam is one of my least-liked, even with sugar and/or milk. I’m a much bigger fan of Darjeeling and Ceylon if we’re talking straight tea. Otherwise, I’m all about the Earl and Lady Grey, and Lapsang.