To prepare the first cup, I followed the brewing recommendations by using one heaping teaspoon in boiling water with a four-minute steep.  This resulted in a cup that, for me, wasn’t all that pleasant.  The flavors seemed to consist mostly of Assam, as the cup had a strong bite and malty presence.  Also, with the longer steep-time and with the heaping teaspoon, the brew was very astringent.

For my second cup I used a little less than one teaspoon of leaf with a three-minute steep.  I have found that for my particular tastes a three-minute steep is the way to go for black tea, and the second steep was much tastier than the first.  The cup was plenty strong and still held the malty notes. The flavors blended much better in this cup and the astringency was much lighter.  Although I usually don’t add cream or sweetener to tea, this one would hold both very well.  This tea works well for a morning pick-me-up, and for fans of breakfast tea, I would recommend giving this one a try.

“Pure Ceylon leaf tea, decaffeinated via a natural CO2 process. A light, spicy tea with a reddish color in the cup. This Ceylon Orange Pekoe has a light and lively character punctuated by flowery sweetness and subtle astringency.”

…and I agreed with every statement. The dry presentation for this batch was remarkably clean. The appearance of the leaves was dark, light brown, and twiny. On first whiff, they smelled like a licorice spice perfume.

Brewing instructions were in grams, which threw me off a bit. KTeas recommended brewing 3 grams of tea leaves (1 heaping teaspoon) per 8 oz. cup of boiling water, steeped for three minutes. I did 2 tsp in 16oz of 200F water for the allotted time.

When I first looked at the liquor, I was expecting something full-bodied. More in common with a Keemun or Assam, the brew was a deep copper. The taste contrasted the look by a lot. It was light, floral, and subtlely earthy…much like some of the better high-altitude Ceylons I’ve had the pleasure to peruse. No bitterness.

Added Tip: If you want a real mouthgasm, add stevia and vanilla extract to the second infusion. Trust me on this.

I love this quote on their About Us page:

“The vision of the company is to change the persona of tea from its stigma as a drink for older ladies in fluffy hats and young girls at tea parties to its splendor as an amazing, flavorful resource for all those who need something spectaculicious to drink. Throw yo’ pinkie up and let the TEA revolution begin!”

It doesn’t matter to me that I’m an older lady… I don’t wear fluffy hats, and have a rocker son (17) who loves tea too! I’ve tried 2 already and am excited to try more.

The first Bourgea Tea I tasted was their Irish Breakfast. I am a fan of a good strong pot of black tea in the morning. But I like my tea to be full bodied yet very smooth. In general, Irish Breakfast tends to be a bit smokey for me, but as I read it was a blend of Ceylon and Assam, I was excited to try it (those being two of my favorite teas)

First, the tea arrived in nice sized leaves – not all broken up, which was my first clue that it would be a great tea. It smelled good – like a good Breakfast Blend black.

I decided to try brewing it 3 different ways before writing this review. I often brew my tea loose leaf right in the pot, but many black teas don’t hold up to this well – ending up bitter. I also brew them in a wide infuser, but sometimes this keeps the tea from fully expanding. I also wanted to see how this tea brewed in a single cup infuser.

My first pot was loose leaf in the pot. I used 2.5 scoops (~2.5 tsp) and water that had just come to the boil. At 6 min I poured my first cup and it was smooth as could be! It tasted very much like a light Ceylon with Assam malty undertones. It was not as strong as I expected for an Irish Breakfast, but I loved it! As I drank through the pot, the taste continued to change. The longer it brewed the more the malt flavor came out. It was delicious! However, by the end of the pot, it was bitter, and I was convinced to try the next pot using my infuser.

So the second pot I used my wide infuser in the teapot – same amount of tea, and same hot water. I brewed this pot for 8 min. (I based the time on the timing and taste of the first pot.) Then I removed the tea and infuser. It was a great cup of tea! So great – that I got my husband to drink a cup (he’s very picky and doesn’t like to change blends) and later that day, he used the last in the pot as a cup of iced tea and said it was great!

The cup infuser was great too, but I had to use a full scoop – brewed 5 min and only got one cup of tea, so I would prefer to brew it in the pot with the infuser – more tea brewed for the money.

This is a great tea for those who enjoy black tea British style blends. The two teas Bourgea Tea has used is very high quality based on the extreme smoothness of the brewed tea. It’s a unique flavor blending only Ceylon and Assam and I loved the malty undertones added to the sweet crispness of the Ceylon.

When in the mood for a good blend, this is one I would often reach for!

Ingredients for this blend were a bit of a deviation from the traditional black tea mix. Along with the standard Keemun, Ceylon and Assam black tea leaves, Darjeeling black and Formosan oolong leaves were also included. While this would normally cock an eyebrow, I don’t consider Formasan oolongs to be that oolongy. They have more in common with Darjeelings anyway, in my not-so-humble opinion. In summary, a couple of odd ingredients, but ones that might work.

Chateau Rouge states that the Calabrian bergamot oil scenting was markedly reserved in comparison to most Earls. I would agree with them somewhat. The citrus aroma was less pungent, but definitely not restrained. It was still bold but also beautiful. Not unlike a certain soap opera…minus the cheese.

Brewing instructions were thus: 1 rounded teaspoon in 95-98C water for three-to-five minutes. I erred on the side of light and went with 95C for three-minutes-thirty. I like my black teas on the subtler side anyway. Plus, I had a few tests to run on the second steep.

The resulting infusion looked like cherry wood in color, very robust even when steeped conservatively. I smelled the astringent/citrus kick almost immediately. Malt held steadfast as the foundation, Keemun and Assam dominated for certain. The taste was dry, slightly cottony at first, but settled into crispness. The aftertaste was a bit on the sour side. When stevia-sweetened and given vanilla extract, the brew gentled on the dryness, settling in on its more robust characteristics – the malt-smoke of the stronger blended elements, and the floral aspects from its high-altitude parts. With a little half-n-half added to the sweetened brew, it lost most of its virtue.

For the second infusion, I ignored brewing instructions and let it steep by hunch alone. I wasn’t all that worried since this was a “French Vanilla Creamer Test” to begin with. I know, I know. Sacrilege. But I love it, so nyah. The second steep brewed up just as dark as the first. The added vanilla-ness complimented sweetener and the natural citrus scents of the blend. And as an added bonus, no bitterness.

This is good if only for the second run. First time around, the astringent and sour aspects are a little alarming, but not enough to be a turn-off. If you don’t have time or patience to do a follow-up steep, I would say brew this one even lighter than the recommended three-to-five minutes. Try a Darjeeling-style brew-up of two minutes or so at a lighter temp. It’s versatile enough for it. Maybe try it with some fromage…er…I mean British cheddar. Yeah.

I have ordered several teas from Golden Moon and Sinharaja is one of my favorites. I received several of their teas as samples and Sinharaja was one I was so impressed with that I purchased a ½ lb bag!

My teas were packaged nicely and shipped very quickly. When I opened the bag of Sinharaja, a lovely pure Ceylon smell met my nose. As I transferred the tea into an airtight container I had prepared, I was so impressed with the size of the leaves! (It has stayed fresh in the airtight container and I’ve had it for several months now.)

The leaves are very dark, and tighly rolled, very thin and very long! Some are close to an inch – the full leaf rolled tightly, not little broken leaves like I was used to drinking.

I use a “perfect cup of tea” scoop to measure my tea, and I can not even scoop this tea. I have to reach in and take a pinch and drop it into the scoop… the leaves are that large!

My favorite way to drink Sinharaja is brewed loose leaf directly in the teapot. It brews up a gorgeous dark golden brown, and is actually a much lighter Ceylon than I would normally buy because I like strong bold black teas.

The taste is gentle, yet complete. It has some of the taste of chocolate that Ceylon tea is known for, but it also has an intriguing aftertaste of honey – something I’ve never tasted in a Ceylon!

I brew this tea using water that has just come to the boil. I put the loose leaves in a warmed pot and let them brew at least 6 min. I pour the first cup sometime between 6 min – 10 min. I do not need to be precise because this tea never gets bitter! I brew a 6 cup pot and drink the whole pot myself and though it does get darker and stronger, it doesn’t get bitter at all! This amazes me – but it makes the perfect loose leaf pot of tea for me.

I prefer my Ceylon with milk and a bit of sugar. Sinharaja is great just black, and sometimes I skip the sugar all together and just use milk. Either way, it is the smoothest black tea I have ever brewed – and I never get tired of that unique aftertaste.

I’m thrilled to have found Golden Moon Tea’s Sinharaja. It is my “special” tea for when I need a treat.

Reason being, I love Nuwara Eliya-produced Ceylons, mainly for delicacy. This reminded me of it, if only by dry scent alone – equal parts earthy and floral. Clean, black, robust color on visual presentation; the very promise of a nuanced cup. Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on it, though.

Brewing instructions were sadly absent on the sight. I erred on the side of “light” with this, infusing 1 tsp in 8oz of 190F water for three minutes. The liquor brewed amber-to-brown, definitely on the fainter side for a black, which is what I’d hoped for. The infusion’s aroma was malty, reminiscent of cocoa, just like the Drink the Leaf bio described. Floral hints downplayed the earthier elements sensed in the initial dry whiff. If mahogany had a smell, this would be it. To the tongue…well…

Words and “notes” escape me, really. On first taste, I actually fist-pumped the air and gave a delightful squeal. No astringency or bitterness, nothing vegetal, just a clean, pleasant brew with only a slight wake-up factor to it. Now I’m morbidly curious about their House Ceylon. If this was their second-placer, I could only imagine how wonderful the first would be.

JING makes no bones about it in their description of this tea – they fully admit to the common tea-making practice of most vendors utilizing the absolute lowest-quality tea in Earl Grey, since it can easily be masked with the ever-potent oil of bergamot. However, and as one would expect from the fine folks at JING, this tea utilizes nothing but the finest Ceylon leaves. So that is bonus #1. Bonus #2 is that they are perhaps the best company at balancing flavors. The bergamot flavoring here is neither intensely overpowering (which is common in probably 90-95% of Earl Grey Tea), nor is it too light. The quotient of this final product allows the full-bodied Ceylon flavor to come shining through, while presenting a beautiful bergamot flavor right along side. Bonus #3 is the addition of the lovely blue cornflowers in the blend – this is becoming increasingly popular in Earl Grey blends, and it’s a nice touch.

The aroma of the dried blend is immediately striking – a powerful citrusy bergamot scent as expected, but an after-scent that is sweet and candy-like as opposed to perfumey. 1 tsp per cup with freshly-boiled water, infused for 3 minutes, just seems like the traditional recipe for a quality cup that you don’t really want or need to mess with. A deep, rich and dark copper cup results. The aroma in the cup foreshadows the sips forthcoming: the bold character of the Ceylon is very present on the nose, yet the citrus scent of the bergamot is of-course very tangible as well.

JING has never failed to surprise and delight. The most basic and classic of teas, boiled down to its essence, and replacing typically subpar ingredients with atypical quality. This is JING’s strongpoint, and frankly they should adopt it (or some better paraphrasing as such) as their official motto.

My sample consists of thin, wiry black tea leaves that are a dark greenish black in color. They are smaller leaves with a nice twist to them. The aroma is one of freshness and of peat fires. Just the smell is enough to let you know that you are in for a real treat.

I set up my tea-maker using a rounded tablespoon of tea leaves with a temperature setting of 210 degrees. I set the steep for three minutes. The resulting liquor is a rich reddish gold in color with a nutty aroma.

This is a very gentle tea, well rounded in flavor with no astringency to sneak up and surprise a person. The taste is slightly nutty with an almost caramel flavor to keep it interesting. This is just a twinge of dryness at the end of each sip to clear the palate.

This tea would be great in the afternoons as it has a wonderful flavor. For myself however it isn’t quite stout enough for a breakfast tea as cream seems to wash out the flavors. Not my favorite of the offerings I have tried from JING teas but a very respectable tea.

At first glance, the dried tea is a mix of smallish, deeply oxidized purplish-black leaves, interspersed with cornflower petals. The scent is surprising: other than the sweet and spicy smell of the citrus oil, there is a definite warm pine needle aroma present, which adds a wonderful dimension. I followed the directions provided by Jing, brewing one rounded teaspoon of leaves in 8 ounces of boiling water for 3 minutes. The water became a rich mahogany colour almost as soon as I dropped in the leaves. The scent of the cup is less sophisticated than that of the dry leaves, but it’s fresh, lemony aroma is enticing nonetheless. What is most immediately striking is that the taste of the leaves really shines through. Stout cream, tobacco, burnt sugar and malt notes make themselves known alongside the bergamot. The tannic, metallic finish of the Ceylon mingles with the citrus freshness of the bergamot beautifully. Quite amazingly, despite the strength of the tea base, there is no bitter edge whatsoever. This blend can definitely take milk and sugar. However the leaves provide such a velvety texture that the addition of a creamer is not absolutely needed. The bergamot flavour is not as strong as in other blends but it delivers a persistent and enveloping presence. It shares the stage with the tea base rather being the sole star of the show, as in other Earl Grey blends. After a second 3 minute infusion, the tea is thinner and more focused on the bergamot. The flavour of the tea base is still present, providing delicious toasted bread notes, but slowly receding into the background. A third 3 minute infusion is rather watery and not very interesting, especially compared to the first two.

Jing makes good on their promise of a superior leaf. Deeply satisfying and expertly blended, this offering will please black tea lovers as well as Earl Grey fans. Well done!