No. 23 Kandy

Full-flavoured, nice colour. My wife, being a big Ceylon fan liked it better than I did, though it was pleasant enough. Well rounded, classically astringent and very drinkable.

I’ve been having terrible insomnia for nearly a week now; I’ve been extremely exhausted, passing out well before my bedtime, but when I go to bed, I lay there and can’t fall asleep. When I finally do, I wake hours later and can’t fall back asleep, so my exhaustion has just been piling up as I get a mere 3-4 hours of sleep a night. I finally think I’ve figured it out; I started taking B-Complex vitamins, and since I take a pharmacy’s worth of medications before bed, for consistency so I won’t forget anything, I take my vitamins then, too. Fairly sure that is doing it. Hopefully if I switch that to the morning (or just discontinue it) maybe my sleep will even back out. Until then, I’ve been getting by on black tea fumes.

I won’t be starting my Autumn Harvest November theme until I return from vacation, so I’m brewing up this single bag of Kandy, a blend of three Ceylon estate teas from Steven Smith Teamaker that I picked up from Ost’s cupboard sale (thank you Ost!) It smells so much like that baked bread scent I always associated as being the “tea smell” that I remember from my grandma’s house when I was a child, so it’s a bit nostalgic… I guess her English/Irish breakfast blends must have been heavily Ceylon in leaf.

This is a black tea that is a bit more heady/strong than is typically to my tastes… but since I’m so dead tired today, I really am not minding it so much. It is very malty/bready but there is a slight wet autumn leaf quality as well, and I’m picking up a pleasant cinnamon spiciness toward the finish. It has a stronger astringency than I recall from their British Brunch (formerly known as Brahmin) but it doesn’t reach into unpleasant territory. It’s quite full bodied and feels rather thick in the mouth. I’m rather enjoying it, and blacks like this usually don’t do it for me. I really think my palate is just acclimating more and more to these types of teas the more I drink them. It’s definitely hitting the spot this morning. I hope I get a few steeps out of the teabag.

A robust Ceylon blend. Pleasant enough.
SST packed a lot into the mesh teabag, I would probably have measured a smaller dose if it were loose.
Happily, the flavor didn’t come out undrinkably strong. You can tell the tea is easy to oversteep, but the bite was muted and not too astringent.

An interesting mix of Dimbulla, Uva, and Nuwara Eliya black teas, this is a versatile, flavorful blend that I could see going over well with those who enjoy teas that are lighter in body. I brewed this one a couple ways. I first prepared this tea using a one step Western infusion. I then made a big jug of iced tea with this blend using a very simple overnight infusion in the refrigerator.

In the glass, the infused liquor showed a dark amber. Aromas of honey, malt, toast, flowers, orange, molasses, and sweet potato were heavy on the nose. In the mouth, I picked up notes of spice, honey, malt, toast, brown sugar, caramel, tobacco, leather, molasses, sweet potato, orange, flowers, and walnut. The finish offered notes of sweet potato, brown sugar, molasses, orange, leather, and spice before displaying a touch of astringency on the fade. Cold steeping this blend resulted in a lighter golden liquor that offered less spice, nut, and leather and more honey, malt, flowers, and orange.

Overall, I rather enjoyed this blend, but I do not think that I will rush to reacquire it. The more Ceylon black teas I drink, the more I am finding that no matter how much I enjoy the flavor, I really do not care for the astringency and the lack of body. You see, to me, so many Ceylon black teas, and especially blends, seem so slight in terms of body. I can certainly say that I found that to be true of this blend as well. And it is not just me. As at least one other reviewer has noted, this blend does not seem to have much of a body; it is very light in the mouth. In my mind, the light body undercuts the complexity of flavor in such a way as to make this tea seem lacking in depth. So, while I wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid this blend and think that the type of people who generally enjoy Ceylon teas might very well appreciate it, I doubt that I will push myself to spend much more time with it.

[To be clear, I think this blend is pretty good for what it is. It just really isn’t my thing.]

The best black tea I have ever tasted! Do use boiling water, as the directions suggest - the flavor is radically different (and not as good) if the water isn’t boiling when steeping begins.

Thanks so much scribbles for this sample in our last swap! I like Ceylon tea, and this is a great blend. Through the tea pyramid you can still get a great sense of honey, malt and citrus. I highly recommend following the directions exactly.

Actual review here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/04/25/no-23-kandy-black-tea-steven-smith-teamaker/

This was a bonus sample from scribbles. Mine is in sachet form. The leaves inside are black and somewhat thin, and surprisingly not very broken. Dry scent is sweet and malty with hay and molasses notes. I let my sachet steep in 8 ounces of 200 degree water for 3 minutes. The string escaped into the cup, harumph!

This one is pretty “meh” in my opinion… The main flavor of it is generic black tea, and I don’t know how else to describe that. It’s somewhat malty and quite astringent, especially as it cools. There is a bottom note of molasses-like richness, and a touch of dried apricot-like fruitiness, and these help to balance it a bit. Still not very impressive for me.

Oh cruel alarm! Dragging this poor body into wakefulness. I do not approve!
So much to do today, I’ll be moving quite briskly through the day.
A serious tea, is therefore required, to drink this.
Kandy is a strong black, but not an obnoxious black. Good and strong, but subtle and easy to drink as well. I approve.