TC85: Kenilworth Estate OP

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Ceylon Black Tea
Flavors
Not available
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Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Rumpus Parable
Average preparation
Boiling 3 min, 45 sec 16 oz / 473 ml

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22 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I’m really loving the color of this tea! It’s a darker burnt orange type brown. This is a nice malty black tea It’s not as biscuity as I was hoping for but it’s more well rounded from start to...” Read full tasting note
    89
  • “I know I have a lot of tea but I have it all organized in my head pretty well. I was looking for my East Frisian Blend from Upton this morning and it seems to have disappeared, along with a...” Read full tasting note
    88
  • “These past few days have made me so glad there is tea in my life – being stressed and sick is a terrible combination. I’m fully recovered as of yesterday, but the boyfriend told me before he left...” Read full tasting note
    88
  • “Backlog: Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending this one my way. The leaves were beautiful … long and wiry. This is a pleasantly bold Ceylon … not quite as bold as an Assam, of course (as well it...” Read full tasting note
    83

From Upton Tea Imports

This estate produces some of the best whole-leaf teas in Sri Lanka. For the Ceylon enthusiast. Drink with or without milk. A choice lot with a bold-leaf style. Steep for five to six minutes.
Origin:
Sri Lanka

Steeping Suggestions: –
Leaf Quantity: 2¼ g/cup
Water Temp: 212º (boiling)
Steep Time: 5-6 min.

About Upton Tea Imports View company

Company description not available.

22 Tasting Notes

89
6768 tasting notes

I’m really loving the color of this tea! It’s a darker burnt orange type brown. This is a nice malty black tea It’s not as biscuity as I was hoping for but it’s more well rounded from start to finish than I assumed it would be, too, and for that reason I really like this!

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88
2816 tasting notes

I know I have a lot of tea but I have it all organized in my head pretty well. I was looking for my East Frisian Blend from Upton this morning and it seems to have disappeared, along with a co-worker who left last week and also likes tea? lol. I would be mad if it wasn’t so silly.

Anyway I made this extra strong this morning and added soymilk and a dab of sugar. I needed it! The spoon could practically stand on its’ own. Maybe I will get some more of this when I re-order the Frisian tea. :)

Doug F

One of my standards!

ScottTeaMan

Love the Kenilworth, & E Frisian. Did you get the Frisian BOP version?

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88
863 tasting notes

These past few days have made me so glad there is tea in my life – being stressed and sick is a terrible combination. I’m fully recovered as of yesterday, but the boyfriend told me before he left for work that his throat felt “like sandpaper”.

It’s a party over here, let me tell you.

I needed something to wake me up but not make me crazy energized, so I went with this tea. I love the way it is both light and heavy at the same time – a true fall/summer black tea. This brightened my morning considerably.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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83
4843 tasting notes

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending this one my way.

The leaves were beautiful … long and wiry. This is a pleasantly bold Ceylon … not quite as bold as an Assam, of course (as well it shouldn’t be, since this isn’t an Assam) but, a bit more out there than a typical Ceylon. It’s flavorful.

Pleasant fruit notes, as well as notes of earth and flower. A really good Ceylon!

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80
59 tasting notes

I think I’ve figured this tea out. If you were to smell the leaves after they have been put in boiling water for only a few minutes, you might find them to smell low-quality or even a little bit disgusting. Kenilworth OP is just not good for longer steeps, and definitely not second steeps; the leathery, morning-breath stench of spent leaves becomes dominant.

That said, this is not a bad tea at all, if you work within these constraints. It’s very fresh, invigorating, and somewhat full in flavor if you are careful to keep the steep under 3:30. If you do wind up with an infusion that feels oversteeped, try giving it a minute. As it cools, much of the unpleasantness and some of the astringency will go away.

If treated right, this is one of the best black teas I’ve had for its low price.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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985 tasting notes

I was reminded that I had this sample by LadyLondonderry and her review a few days ago. (Actually, I put it in my cart at the Upton website and read the description…and then I realized I had purchased a sample previously.) I have to say, it was the ‘biscuity’ reference that drew me in.

I am not an avid drinker of straight Ceylon. I am sure I have had it in flavored teas and blends, though. This one is very good. Definitely ‘biscuity’, malty, and very smooth. I like it, but I miss my China blacks with the cocoa notes when drinking an unflavored or unblended tea. It might be a great addition to my stash, though. I think I need one more test….. And I had the famous cheese toast as a side (notice the tea was the ‘main’ course). :D

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
LadyLondonderry

Glad my review reminded you of this forgotten goodie! Try it with a little milk, if you haven’t already; this tea has enough body to stand up to it, and I think milk amplifies its creamy, biscuity goodness.

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91
45 tasting notes

This summer I’ve been drinking Ceylons with breakfast, as a lighter, more heat-friendly alternative to my usual burly Assams. I am finding them just as satisfying in their own way.

This Kenilworth is my current favorite. I ordered it thanks to a semi-negative review on Upton’s site, from a reviewer who was looking for a lemony Ceylon and was disappointed that this one was instead a biscuity Ceylon — though he found it excellent and gave it five stars anyway. That B-word jumped out at me, and I thought, “That’s exactly what I want, a biscuity one!” The tea lives up to that billing. It’s like the tea equivalent of a Social Tea cookie. (I can’t do a side-by-side test, since I’m severely gluten-intolerant, but I ate enough Social Teas in my youth that they linger in my sense memory.)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec
SimplyJenW

You reminded me that I have a sample of this…… I am putting it in the queue!

Brittany

Assams are always a tempting one to do for breakfast, but sometimes that heat just seems to make it less tempting. I believe I purchased this sample as well (I just have to find it from the other 46 samples…). You’ve piqued my interest- I definitely like biscuity flavors in drinks.

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95
305 tasting notes

Smoooooth this morning. This Ceylon is from the Kenilworth Estate. It hit me this morning as I was sipping, that this tea is veeeeerrrrry similar to GM French Breakfast tea. According to GM, their french breakfast comes from a single estate in Sri Lanka. I would be willing to bet they get it from the Kenilworth estate! If it is not the same estate, it is pretty darn close according to my taste buds. AND, Upton is way cheaper than GM in case you were wondering:)

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec

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71
12 tasting notes

While re-filling some of my small work tins from my larger storage tins at home, I found a sample of this tea that I’d forgotten. I just brewed it up and am having my first cup as I write this note. My black tea preferences run Second Flush Darjeeling > Assam > Ceylon > First Flush Darjeeling with a preference for Assams in the morning and Ceylons and Darjeelings in the afternoon, and this tea will get a place in my cupboard in the future. I’m not as enamored with it as I am with the New Vithanakande that has, until this point, been my lone Ceylon tea, but it is solid tea on its own merits. If this tea and one of my Assams were both beers, this tea would be a black lager to the Assam’s stout. I can taste a hint of the malt of an Assam in it, but that hint never develops into a true malty swirl in this tea. I could see this becoming a brunch tea for me and a tea to share with friends who do not like the strength of an Assam.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 6 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Do you ever drink other types of tea? Chinese Black Tea’s, pu-erh’s? Oolongs?

Patrick M. McLeod

I am branching out, Bonnie. Very slowly! Keemun and Ceylons are in my near future.

Bonnie

Reading your reviews again, I occurs to me that some of the tea’s from Nepal which are Assam/Darjeeling-like and would probably fit your taste from what I’ve read. (I’m more of a later Autumn and Monsoon Darjeeling Tea drinker myself)

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58
72 tasting notes

NOT TOO SHABBY. This was a very decent morning tea. nothing extraordinary, but nothing really wrong with it either. It was a little malty, but not too much. A very decent breakfast tea and very nice with milk.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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