Ceylon Pekoe

This was my first free sample from Tea At Sea! I’m happy they are providing us a chance to review their teas, and I adore the packaging these came in. The little cork boat was an awesome add-in too!

I only asked for 2 samples, and they snuck in a third. So they get bonus points there!

Now I thought I’d try this a tea that’s not too challenging, and I was right. This is a nice pekoe, but doesn’t seem to have a lot of depth. I’m enjoying it but I’m not lingering over every sip. I would drink it if I had it around though!

I’m far more excited about the other two samples though, and this one doesn’t disappoint. I just want the other ones more. :D

I haven’t had much luck with Ceylon teas in the past, largely I think because they are relatively simple compared to the Darjeeling and Chinese blacks I usually drink. Still, I took advantage of Tea at Sea’s generous offer of free sample in hopes that maybe this would be the one.

The aroma in the cup wasn’t strong but held hints of malt and vanilla; a promising start. However, I couldn’t fine those flavors in the taste: just a relatively straightforward breakfast tea style. Not bad, but not the sort of tea I crave.

Thanks again to Tea at Sea for the sample

This is the first of my samples from Tea at Sea. I love black tea, but I’ve never had a Ceylon I love, and this is no exception. It’s all right, but there’s not much natural sweetness, and the tea is more bitter than I’d like. It reminds me a bit of Mighty Leaf’s Organic Breakfast Blend, which is an okay broken leaf black tea blend that I use to mix with chai and other things, not drink on its own. As others have said, there isn’t much depth to this tea — and it doesn’t linger at all, except for the dryness it leaves behind. I appreciate the sample, but I don’t think I’d want to try this again. I’m much more looking forward to trying the samples of the two Chinese black teas I got from the company.

I’m doing a head to head tasting with this and the “Ceylon FFEXSP” from the same company. It’s a smooth, enjoyable Pekoe with a woodsy/earthy flavour. Compared to the other, this had a richer aroma while steeping and a bit of a darker flavour. I like it, but probably not enough to buy more of it? I think I’m going to try brewing it darker next time and adding some milk +/- sugar to see what that’s like.

I’m still trying to decide if I prefer ceylon or assam black tea. This one has a nice sweet and earthy scent. It tastes like a smooth, black that goes well with my brunch. Would be good with some added spices. Will try it again with my cinnamon.

This one behaves more like an Assam than a Ceylon. Lots of rye and raisin personality. Very tasty on a Very Cold, Rainy and Blustery Morning. Rabbit would suggest having a second cuppa instead of going outside. Pooh would ask for a Very Small Sploosh of Honey with it. Eeyore would insist we should all just go back to Bed.

I am very grateful that I got to try this tea from Tea At Sea – thank you very much for the sample! I got two samples that were very different to try the range of this company. This is a basic tea, but well done. I can tell that it is high quality, and has a nice bright taste.
Steep 1: Brisk! It has the classic orange pekoe smell, color, and taste, but it is more refined than others I’ve tried. It is very drinkable and comforting. It is not greatly complex, but that’s okay. I am not looking for complexity when drinking an OP. It is a nice, solid, everyday black tea. I drank it in the evening, but I can see it being a really nice afternoon tea.
Steep 2: I don’t know if I used enough leaves for my first steep, but my second was too weak to drink.

got this sample along with my last TaS order – i might have purchased it, or they might have just sent it along, i can’t remember. either way, yay tea!
well, this is a nice good solid black tea. it is, indeed, smooth. HOWEVER i am not the biggest black tea fan in the world. if i am drinking black tea, it is probably early in the morning AND doused in sugar and milk. i don’t prefer black black tea.
this tea is FANTASTIC doused in sugar and milk! but i’m not sure it will serve my purposes for morning black tea any better than the much cheaper PG Tips that i’m used to.
TaS is still a favorite tea company, and i will be ordering from there many times again, i know, but it will not be the Ceylon Pekoe, alas.

I also got a sample of this for free from Tea by the Sea, and I’m excited about it. I always feel really special when I get free samples. First off, the packaging is ADORABLE. I guess that’s kind of a petty place to start, but when I opened the package, I noticed immediately how well marketed and how cute the packaging was. I hope the company continues this trend, because I smiled.

I’m drinking the tea now, and it’s a solid tea. I’m not much of a Ceylon tea fan, honestly, as I find it to be a bit too astringent for me. This tea I enjoy, but it’s not a tea I would pick up on my own (I’m thrilled about the other sample, though, which I will be reviewing and is much more up my black tea ally). This tea has the qualities of a Ceylon tea for sure. It is thin and sharp and also a bit sweet with a definite, and I can’t think of a better word for it, black tea taste. I would describe this as a significantly elevated Lipton bagged tea.

The tea in the package was a dark leaf, loosely rolled, and even though the leaves looked small to me, when it brewed, the leaves expanded significantly. It looked really pretty while it brewed. The color of the brewed tea is best described to me as auburn. It was a red-tinted brown, and it looked like a dark orange when it brewed.

Overall, I like this tea. I would certainly drink it again (very willingly) although I wouldn’t pick it out for myself.

I like Mountain organic Black tea from the same company better, but this is still much nicer than the other black tea I drank in the cafe.