I was recently sent some samples of tea from a tea company that I had not previously heard of. That company is called TeaKruthi and they are in Sri Lanka and sell Ceylon tea. In full disclosure, this is indeed the very first time a tea company has offered to send me free samples for review, so that’s pretty exciting for me anyway. I chose three to review and those three consist of two black teas – Southern Malt and Organic Orange and a green tea called Green Valley.
I followed the brewing instructions exactly as they were printed on the bag. I started with Southern Malt.
I expected to taste maltiness as the name would imply, but instead I was hit with something very different. This tea tasted fruity. Like cherry syrup fruity. The texture was a little light and the finish was quite short but the fruit taste was enjoyable. I did a second steep and it was still fruity but a bit of the malt was present as well. Overall a pleasant experience.
Next up was Organic Orange. I hate to say but I was disappointed in this one. It was mostly astringent with a slight hint of fruit on the back end. There just wasn’t a whole lot of flavor in this one. I couldn’t help but this brewing this one gong fu style might work better to bring out the best of this tea. The leaves look great and I had high hopes for this one, so some lower temperature water and short brew times might work better here. I didn’t go for a second infusion on this one.
And last but not least we have the Green Valley. I had never had a green Ceylon before so I was intrigued about this one. I am happy to say that I was impressed. This tea was very sweet. The texture was medium and it had a surprising hit of umami that caught me off guard. It then had a finish of mint. The initial sweetness reminded me of a sencha when you get to the third steep and all the brightness is gone and you are left with the sweetness. This one was my favorite of the three.
The prices for these are as follows: $8.95 for 80 grams of Southern Malt. $5.95 for 80 grams of Organic Orange. $4.95 for 80 grams of Green Valley. Okay let me just say – holy moley that’s cheap tea!
Each tea recommended 2 grams and up to 3 steeps. For Southern Malt that is $.22 per session and $.07 per cup. For Organic Orange that is $.15 per session and $.05 per cup. For Green Valley that is a ridiculous price of $.12 per session and $.04 per cup. 4 cents are you kidding me. This is a great value for that price.
If you want to try some Ceylon teas, I think the Southern Malt and Green Valley are great values and worth a shot. If you have a favorite Ceylon tea, let me know. Cheers!
One Man's Tea Journey 