Iced Ceylon

This is the epitome of plain black iced tea. It is great alone and unsweetened, but I also suspect it would make a fabulous sweetened southern style iced tea too. Probably great with lemon or whatever else anyone would add in. It’s flavorful but not bitter.

I really hate wimpy tea, so I am enjoying how strong this tea is. I didn’t dilute it at all and I am happy with that decision, but I think people who prefer a weaker tea would still like it with more water added as well.

Flavor wise I don’t have a lot to say, except to say that I steeped it for 4 minutes and don’t find it bitter at all. I purposefully didn’t go the full 5 because I was afraid of that. It’s a nice basic black unflavored tea. Nice strength, and I have nothing negative to say. I haven’t tried resteeping it but I bet it would make a second batch well.

My thanks go to Just Organic Tea for this sample! They’re about to release a line blended specifically to be served cold, which is perfect because iced tea season is in full swing here in Atlanta. Sorry, my northern friends. It’ll be there soon.

Now, the sample I’m trying is bagged. I understand that there will be a loose leaf version when this line launches. What I’m kind of impressed with is the size of the bag. For once, there’s actually enough room for the tea leaves to expand! It smells nice, too. The aroma reminds me that I should really try more Ceylons. They’re plain, yeah, but they’re comforting and reliable. And they remind me of all the sweet tea my grandmothers have made over the years.

As it steeps, it gets really dark. Like, alarmingly dark. It’s dark brownish red and I am suddenly not afraid of adding a lot of ice. And sugar — real sugar, for once. I’m going to do it up right. The instructions call for a quart of water per bag and now I understand why. No guesswork here. Just fill your glass with ice, pour, stir, and it’s done.

As far as flavor goes, I guess it’s exactly what I was expecting. Like an Irish Breakfast. Malty, faintly raisin-like, only lightly bitter, and familiar. The strength of it holds up well against the ice. I find myself wanting to put a lemon slice in it. That would just be perfection.

Another iced tea review thanks to the peeps at Just Organic Tea!

I like Ceylon as an iced black tea. It has all the right malty and bright raisin/citrus notes to make it a great refreshing drink with no fuss. I added two little drops of liquid Stevia and a slice of lemon in one of my glasses, and one with nothing else but the brewed tea. Both were great in their own right. The lemon brightened up the brew and added a bit more acidity to the glass and introduced the raisin and citrus zest to the forefront of the flavor. This would make for killer sun tea, classically prepared as my family has always made it: lots of fresh squeezed lemons and a good amount of cane sugar or honey while brewing. My favorite so far!

Thank you for the sample, Just Organic Tea!

It’s very malty, to the point in which it’s bitter. I have three cups left sitting in my iced tea infuser, so I would change the instructions to fit my personal taste by adding another half quart or a full quart of water later. For this cup, I put in a splash of milk to temper the strength, and it works. This Ceylon black is nicely decent, an everyday black tea that makes for a refreshing iced tea for when I’d want something more robust.