Ceylon Burning Sun by TeaSource
Black Tea / Straight
$11.00USD for 4oz
I received Ceylon Burning Sun as part of my swag bag from the 2020 Virtual International Tea Festival.
First Impressions
Ceylon Burning Sun comes in a shiny black sealed (and resealable!) packet from TeaSource, by way of my swag bag for the 2020 Virtual International Tea Festival. The packaging is nice for the size because all the tea information is on the front, and the back is clear so you can easily see all of the tea leaves. Ceylon, for those unaware, was the name used for the former British Colony prior to gaining independence – and is now known as Sri Lanka. You’ll still find some teas being referred to being Ceylon if they’re from Sri Lanka just due to historical naming – but that’s where it’s from (Sri Lanka).
Ceylon Burning Sun consists of just black tea, with no flavourings. The tea itself is small, broken pieces, mostly dark brown in colour with some flecks of light brown throughout. It has a strong aroma to it, that reminds me a lot of a breakfast blend, with hints of stone fruit (mostly reminding me of dried apricots).
Preparation
TeaSource recommends steeping Ceylon Burning Sun in 212°F (100°C) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did my initial steep for 3 minutes.
First Taste
Ceylon Burning Sun steeps to a really pretty orange colour. It has a nice aroma to it that continues to remind me of dried apricots, but also has a bit of a malty aroma to it as well, which makes me think of a breakfast blend. The flavour is malty, with a hint of astringency and just a mild sweetness that lingers at the tail end of each sip. I find it to be quite full-bodied in terms of flavour to the point that it packs quite the punch. I did end up tempering it down a bit with the addition of a little bit of sweetener and evaporated milk, which did help it along and make it more palatable for myself. It definitely makes for a pleasant cup of tea, once it’s not as strong.
A Second Cup?
I resteeped Ceylon Burning Sun twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep, and found that it did really well with being resteeped. The flavour stayed fairly consistent throughout and was just a little bit weaker in flavour as I resteeped it in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend resteeping Ceylon Burning Sun if you’re looking to get more bang for your buck from the leaves.
My Overall Impression
I liked TeaSource’s Ceylon Burning Sun. I found it to have a great amount of flavour, although I did prefer it with a bit of sweetener and evaporated milk. There’s just a robustness to it that reminds me a lot of a breakfast blend, and I think this would be a great coffee alternative for anyone looking to decrease their coffee consumption, as it might be close to a black coffee. It resteeps decently well for a tea that consists of small leaf pieces, and I find it to take to being tweaked well, so would be a great candidate for a tea latte.
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