Tag: Black Tea

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TeaSource’s Ceylon Burning Sun

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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Dessert by Deb’s Sugar Plum Berry Bars

Sugar Plum Berry Bars by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

Sugar Plum Berry Bars came as part of my November/December subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed about Sugar Plum Berry Bars (besides the name designed to trip me up) was the pale pink pouch. Very lovely and just has a nice aesthetic behind it (I love the colour pink). Sugar Plum Berry Bars comes in a sealed, resealable pouch, with a colourful label on the front of it with the ingredients and steeping instructions printed on it. The idea of berry bars makes me think of like apple crumble tarts or square, just with berries instead of apples (and cinnamon!). So I’ve got it in my head what I’m expecting this to smell and taste like.

Sugar Plum Berry Bars consists of organic: black tea, elderberries, currants, raisins, hibiscus, Canadian maple, raspberry and blueberry pieces, cranberries, brown sugar, and pink cornflowers. The aroma is very strongly berries, and reminds me a lot of a mixed field berry jam (which is delicious, by the way). And I can also make out the brown sugar and maple, which really lends itself to reminding me of a baked good. The one thing that would really make it stand out as a baked good/dessert would be the addition of vanilla (which I also love).

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Sugar Plum Berry Bars in 212°F (100°C) for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to follow the steeping instructions and do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Sugar Plum Berry Bars steeps to a golden orange that has a pink hue around the edges of my cup – which is so difficult to photograph but I wish I had been able to do so because it was just so pretty. The flavour of this continues to remind me of mixed berries – it has a moderate amount of sweetness to it, thanks to the brown sugar, fruity ingredients, and maple. I get a lot of molasses sweetness, which I think is thanks to the brown sugar, and I find that it’s just very pleasant. It’s fruity, and I get a bit of astringency at the tail end of each sip with an almost malty flavour that’s playing second fiddle to all the fruity flavours from the black tea base. I’m pleasantly surprised that I can taste it, albeit being overwhelmed by all the fruity flavours. I do like the blend of berry flavours though, because it just has a nice balance of fruity goodness to it.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Sugar Plum Berry Bars and I was disappointed in it – but not surprised – because the berry flavours were lacking. With almost all ingredients that aren’t tea, the flavours are just harder to come by when it’s not the initial steep. I would recommend Sugar Plum Berry Bars for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Sugar Plum Berry Bars. It just does a beautiful job of invoking the idea of a berry crumble dessert and I think it tastes pretty good! I like the amount of sweetness that the tea has, and think that if you were going to add anything to it some brown sugar or a splash of vanilla would be just the ticket to really make it the perfect dessert. I think it’s a fun black tea blend, and I really liked the fact that I could taste the black tea base! This could be nice as a tea latte, but I had a lovely time sipping it as a straight cup of tea.

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TeaSource’s Earl Grey White Tip

Earl Grey White Tip by TeaSource
Black Tea & White Tea / Flavoured
$12.00USD for 4oz

I received Earl Grey White Tip as part of my swag bag from the 2020 Virtual International Tea Festival.

First Impressions

First things first, this review was completely unsolicited by TeaSource. I just happened to get it as part of my swag bag and decided to add the tea to my queue of teas to review because why not? I’m always down for trying new teas, and why not share my experience about it? Earl Grey White Tip comes in a sealed, resealable pouch – shiny black on the front and clear in the back so you can see all of the leaves. What really intrigues me about this because it’s a blend of black and white teas… and Earl Grey inspired (and if you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I love a good Earl Grey!).

Looking at the tea though, I don’t see a difference between the tea leaves. It seems quite uniform – the leaves are a deep brown, short wiry leaves. Earl Grey White Tip consists of: black tea, natural flavour, and white tea. It has a really strong bergamot aroma, which is one of the shining attributes of an Earl Grey that I greatly enjoy. It has just such a good citrus aroma to it that reminds me of a nice Earl Grey, so already getting some points for that.

Preparation

TeaSource recommends steeping Earl Grey White Tip in 212°F (100°C) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for the initial steep.

First Taste

Earl Grey White Tip steeps to a golden reddish orange colour, and is quite clear (also, how cute is my mug with its messages of positivity on the top?). The aroma is definitely bergamot, which is what I’m looking for. The flavour is primarily the citrus notes of the bergamot, coupled with a mild sweetness, a slight astringency, and just a pleasant malty flavour from the black tea. I don’t really make out any flavours within the tea that make me think that there is white tea in the blend.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Earl Grey White Tip a few times (adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep) and found that the flavour was most similar to the initial steep for the first resteep, but really lost the bergamot flavouring after that. I would recommend Earl Grey White Tip for just one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked TeaSource’s Earl Grey White Tip. As an Earl Grey blend, it’s pleasant and tasty and has all the things that I generally appreciate and look for in the classic blend. However, as a blend containing white tea, I wouldn’t go back to it expecting anything resembling white tea because it’s just not present in terms of the blend itself and within the flavour profile. The bergamot is really what ‘saved’ the tea for me in terms of wanting to continue to drink it, so I’m a bit disappointed that there wasn’t any white tea leaves present when it’s mentioned as part of the blend and the name of the tea.

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