Sadly this tea does not come in one of Williamson’s gorgeous elephant caddies – only their teabags do. I snagged this in Selfridges’s Food Hall, where the didn’t have all of Williamson Tea’s selection of loose leaf teas, but they did have all the elephant caddies, for those interested.
I hadn’t tasted many Kenyan teas before this one (one or two, from The Tea House – Covent Garden and from Whittards), since they don’t seem as readily available as loose-leaf tea sold not as part of a blend. So I was really interested in tasting what seems to be Williamson Tea’s speciality – Kenyan Tea.
This is not as strong as I was expecting it to be, compared to my past experiences with Kenyan Tea, and it was more delicate, not just in flavour but in body too. If you don’t like Ceylon, but want something to fill in for the (unfortunate) Ceylon gap in your cupboard, give this a try. You can certainly brew it strong enough for milk, if you insist. It takes it rather well. But it’s best drunk plain, where it’s slightly woodsy taste has a chance to shine.
Is it as strong and malty as Assam? No.
Is it as sparklingly fresh as Ceylon? No.
Is it as delicate as fragrant Darjeeling? No.
But it seems to have combined the best qualities of all three, into something quite unique.
This tea makes me smile every time I drink it. Give it a try, if you get a chance.