ceylon gem

I am currently drinking attempt two of Ceylon Gem by Teabento. Attempt one was brewed and then immediately after the tea finished steeping, I tossed the leaf, washed the infuser, and took the garbage out. I then managed to knock over my 16 ounce mug of freshly brewed Ceylon Gem, sending tea racing towards all the appliances and the power bar situated on the butcher’s block where my kettle now resides. In my panic to save the electronics, I knocked over the mug again. Needless to say, after all of that, my mug was empty and I had Ceylon Gem all over my floor.

So here I am with attempt two. No spillage so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Anyways, I brewed the tea per the recommended steeping parameters of 3 minutes in 190F water. I then let the tea cool a bit to a more easily drinkable temperature.

Teabentos website claims this ceylon flower black tea has a “delicate taste with hints of honey, berries, citrus and caramel” so I was surprised when the tea was quite brisk/tannic. I suppose that is fairly common in Ceylon teas though so I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Looking past the briskness, I am getting honey and some caramel. I am not getting much in the way of berries and other than that briskness being akin to a citrus pithiness, I am not getting much citrus either.

I don’t think I am the intended audience for this tea. The description lured me in with so many of my favorite flavors but at the end of the day, Ceylons tend to be too strong for my tastes and this is no exception. I want smooth. I want dessert-like. This is sweet but it’s definitely more of a pick-me-up/morning tea.

Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type: Black

Where to Buy: Teabentos

Description

Ceylon Gem is another brilliant black tea from Amba estate, the twin-sister of our lovely elephant CEYLA. Hand-crafted and carefully blended with flowers from the camellia sinensis tea plant, which give the tea a natural mild sweetness. The beautiful look and the delicate taste with hints of honey, berries, citrus and caramel make the tea a true gem. Its delicious nature deserves to be appreciated on its own.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Teabentos