Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Greenfield Ceylon

From Vietnam, to India, and now to Sri Lanka...This has been an exciting journey of black tea discovery.
This tea is an organic and Fairtrade certified tea from the selection at Arbor Teas.

The Greenfield estate is in the Uva district, which means that this is a high grown Ceylon tea. I would much rather drink a high grown than a mid or low grown. The characteristics that high grown teas display are enjoyable to my specific palate. The lows and mids can be a bit harsh and overbearing.

The dry leaf has quite the array of scents!
Delicate accents of cherry and grape are noticeable, along with a light malty, wheat type aroma.
After all that, fine floral fumes float to my face.

The aroma is evident right as heated water embraces the dry leaves. The sweet smell of honey and the bold aroma of malt and barley mingle together as they rise from the steaming pot.

I enjoy these smells as I watch the leaves dance amongst themselves and release their potent flavor.

The taste is ever so simple;
Malt, cherry and honey, all pulled together by a mild astringency.

This is a tea to be enjoyed, not pondered upon.

This tea seemed like its purpose was to be a part of a blend. It would provide a wonderful base to a black tea blend, or a flavored blend.
But tasting the traits of a specific estate is a wonderful experience that should be savored.
It is akin to meeting a person for the first time, and there are memorable things about him or her that stand out. When one meets them again, they will remember those traits and characteristics and recognize who that person is.

Tea equates to many aspects of our lives.


~billy

5 comments:

  1. I once tried a broken-leaf tea from Greenfield estate, and I was not impressed, but that doesn't surprise me. While I sometimes have had good experiences with broken-leaf, in general, I don't expect too much.

    Maybe I should give this estate another try.

    The Uva region is interesting though. The flavor of its teas are not just a function of its altitude, but also its position relative to mountains and weather patterns. Unlike Darjeeling teas, where the rainy season coincides with the harvesting of some of the most desirable teas, especially first flush that follows spring rains, some of the most desirable Uva teas are harvested following a season of strong, drying winds.

    The degree to which this can affect the flavor is fascinating. Although that one tea I mention was a bit run-of-the-mill, I sampled another Uva tea that had noticeable wintergreen tones in the aroma...something I have never encountered in any other pure tea.

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  2. One of the few Ceylons that I like, which doesn't cost a fortune.

    --shah8

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  3. Alex,

    There definitely are other factors that make a tea what it is! The reason I made an altitude reference is that usually they are characterized by their elevation. I have not had a multiple numbers of tea from the Greenfield estate, but I think it wouldn't be too difficult to distinguish it. It is fairly individual.

    shah8,

    It is just what a Ceylon should be; brisk, clean and flavorful!
    Thank you for stopping by!

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  4. If anyone interested on Ceylon Teas please contact - we are leading tea exporters in Sri Lanka.
    Email - mithula@jvgokal.com

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  5. Hey guys , thanks for trying our Greenfield teas. It's very refreshing to see your passion for TEA and am overwhelmed that Greenfield estate tea has made it to your cup. UVA high season teas are produced during the dry spell from July - September. It's got the wintergreen high notes.
    We will try hard produce better teas for you !
    Www.fairtradeorganicteas.com

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