Uva Highlands

This tea is strong, with a bitterness and astringency that grows with every sip. I took it in my tumbler to do errands on Saturday morning and I could handle it unadulterated, but just barely. It might be quite good with milk and sugar; I have enough in my sample to try it that way next time. That said, I won’t mind if it isn’t; there’s a plethora of excellent Harney breakfast teas (that New Vithanakande was so good!) so not immediately loving another is in a way a blessing and relief, ha.

another tea in my fall cupboard cleaning bunch…gotta make room for new ones as the weather gets colder. This Ceylon became one of my go-to teas for the occasion that I just wanted a nice, plain cuppa. Its brisk and can be easily overbrewed, but takes to watering (down) like a duck! Hot or cold.

Tried this today from a coworker’s new stash. First off – tiny, tiny, tiny leaves! It reminds me of a Pakistani tea someone brought me – almost looks like instant coffee. Harney site suggests brewing 5 minutes. Coworker said it about knocked his socks off at 5 minutes so I went with 1 1/2. A nice, simple tea for daily use is what I’d say this is. Nothing fancy, just good ol’ tea flavor. Good hot, good cold. I got no hints of mint at all though.

Haven’t had this one in a long time. I asked my random tea generator (my twelve year old daughter) what I should drink today and she said, “Uva Highlands!” So here we are.

This is a rotovaned tea, so I figured it could only withstand a short steeping. I pulled the leaves out at three minutes and I think that was just right for me. It is described by Harney and Sons as a bright, brisk tea, and I would have to say that is accurate. This is a pick me up tea, not like a bold and well-muscled breakfast tea, but it is NOT a sit-and-sip-and-meditate soothing cup…to me. It is an eye-opener. My tongue is tingling. I thought I wasn’t getting the wintergreen aspect, but it really came on as a long-lasting aftertaste. A fun cup for this morning, but not a favorite. I like teas that wrestle me out of bed and into my day, or that pat me on the hand and say, “There, there” when I need it.

UVA Highlands is a brisk Ceylon tea with hints of Wintergreen and background notes of Ceylon tea flavors

Jim (aka TeaEarleGreyHot) has sent me a few teas from his stash and this is one of them, probably, the most basic one. Thank you! I had a long week, returning home around 5 pm (while leaving at 5.30 am from home); and when I have returned, I usually wanted just to take a nap and “leave me alone”. But today! Today I have returned as usual… I wanted to leave earlier, but I couldn’t as I have part-time colleague and I can not leave him alone in the warehouse.

I have returned home, so I took probably the most simple tea in my stash, if I don’t count plain tea teabags and I wanted to try something new well too.

I used 4 grams (with this parameter I can have 20 other sessions); boiling water and my favourite 300 ml glass mug. Steeped for 3 minutes or so, haven’t measured exactly, and it was just so fine! Very bold and strong cup, perfect for mornings, but afternoons alike.

There were leathery notes, combined with wood, a little bitterness and malt. Some sips were suprisingly refreshing, like in A different Eighteen … probably a wintergreen notes which were mentioned by others.

I haven’t noticed any aromas that were offputting, but I wasn’t focused on them this time.

In conclusion, I can say I like this one as I do the same region tea from Basilur. That one is missing that refreshing note, but the woody note there is more pronouced; and liked as weel as here the wintergreen note. I am going to rate it very same, with a chance to lower the rating, or vice versa.

Returning to this one after almost year, making this canister of leaf over 4yr old. I still smell the wintergreen in the dry leaf! In an effort to elicit softer flavors, I reduced the steep temp to 190, and infused 3g leaf for only 1 minute. This produced a less astringent and no longer bitter, but still flavorful, cuppa, so my plan from last year worked! Sadly, the wintergreen still dominates and gives me the impression of waxy mothballs, even though I know what pure methyl salicylate smells like. It must be the cedarwood notes in combination that gives me this effect. The lingering finish is pleasanter, having what I think of as a “Ceylon tea” flavor. I will boost my rating here by another ten points, to 65, and recommend it as an interesting and quality tea, despite being not my favorite.

Very astringent when brewed for 3:30, I’m still looking for the right temperature. There’s a definite fruitiness/sweetness lurking in the background that I’m excited to find.

When I want to get hashtag #WOKE in the afternoons, this is one of my go-to teas. It really packs a wallop and makes itself felt in minutes. Tingly astringent, and easy to over-steep, so watch your weights and times, but done correctly and you’ll be rewarded with a naturally minty, citrusy, vegetal cup that will soothe the soul while simultaneously unleashing your inner beast. (*NOTE: as always, I drink my teas straight, sans milk & sugar. Maybe sometimes I’ll have a biscuit with a cup; more often, not. YMMV with those things added; they’re outside the scope of my notes.)

I have liked teas from this region of Ceylon. This just didn’t do it for me. Way too astringent for my liking. Was similar to a CTC cut for the tea…I am wondering if that is why it’s so bitter. I am sure this tea would be great with cream and sugar, but to me that’s a sign of a poor tea. I will probably use the rest to make chai with.