Teakruthi: Lemon Kandy

Unwittingly, it seems, it's all about Sri Lanka at Laura's Tea Room this week! The past few tea's I've had the pleasure of reviewing have all been from Sri Lanka and this review is no different. This review is about Teakruthi's lush Lemon Kandy black flavoured tea.

It's no secret here on my tea blog that I am a huge fan of black tea. It doesn't matter if it's in pure form or flavoured. I find great warmth and satisfaction in drinking black tea. And I have tried A LOT of black tea so I always approach new tea from new (to me) companies with excitement and high expectations.

Every single time I try a new blend I am enthusiastic. And when I tried Lemon Kandy, I was no different.

You wouldn't be blamed if you thought, due to it's name, that this blend is one of those new fangled dessert type tea's but Kandy, in case you didn't know, is actually a region of Sri Lanka. It's high up in the mountains and produces some of the loveliest tea going. Sri Lankan tea is quite strong by nature, but tends to have a lovely sweetness to it, too. It's the best of both worlds.

I am also partial to fruit in black tea. Normally I tend to veer towards orange flavoured black tea so I was interested and intrigued by this tea which is flavoured naturally by lemon peel. I have tried flavoured tea before and was disappointed as it tasted like washing up liquid. However, I know from experience that we cannot tar all tea with the same brush. And this proved to be a exceptional tea.

I filled my Flo-tea with a generous amount of tea and boiled the freshly drawn water. It advised me to boil to 90 degrees so I boiled the kettle and let the water cool down a while.

Visually this tea is a real treat! It's dark leaves are stunning and the dried lemon peel add a generous splash of colour which contrasts really well with the blackness of the tea. There is a slight aroma of lemon, but it's not overpowering or particularly strong, so I thought I'd brew this for the full five minutes that was suggested.

This tea has a natural rich sweetness which I put down solely to the fact that it's a tea from the Kandy area which is high up and produces stunning, delicious and tasty tea. Although there is a slight earthiness to the tea, which you normally get with green tea, it makes this blend memorable and different. And I do tend to love that natural, grassy element to tea, for some reason it really does appeal to me.

This is incredibly satisfying. Today has been a lovely day but it's been long and busy and and it's just what I needed as I flopped onto the sofa. It's warming and also comforting in a way that only black tea can be.

The addition of lemon is wonderful but it is very light and delicate. It's not a full on lemon flavour that you get with, for example, some Earl Grey's. It's whispy, light and refreshing. It's not at all tart or bitter, but I do feel to get the full force of the lemon you ought to brew it for the full five minutes. Anything less, it would of been lost to the sheer strength of the Sri Lankan base tea. It may be useful if using home made teabags or a infuser to find a bit more of the peel and add it just to strengthen the lemon a little bit. However, it really is lovely to experience lemon in a tea.

The leaves of this blend can be re-infused up to three times which is excellent as it makes the tea stretch a little bit longer. I have infused it three times, sticking to the important rules of using freshly drawn water and brewing to five minutes exactly, using a timer to make sure it is for the full five minutes.

On the second infusion the lemon came through a lot stronger than the first infusion which delighted me. I really liked it and I did like the slight sharpness from the lemon which worked well with the natural earthiness of the tea. I was also pleased to say that this tea did not go bitter on second infusion  it kept it's strong, smooth qualities which I honestly really loved. It had a level, even taste to it.

However, the third infusion, I must admit the tea did go slightly astringent. Now that is by no means a criticism and I personally know quite a few tea drinkers who like to have that sharp, twangy kick to their tea but for me, I think two infusions are enough with this blend. The slight bitterness of the tea with the, by now, quite sharp lemon was a bit too much for me, so I'd stick to two infusions. However, you may well disagree and I'd love to know your thoughts on it!

I really enjoyed this pleasant, intoxicating tea. It would be great to serve up as a afternoon tea, with a light and fluffy lemon cake. It's refreshing, cooling and satisfying and makes such a tasty difference to orange tea.

I do feel that the strength of the Sri Lankan tea does overpower slightly the addition of the lemon but this would be easily remedied by adding just a small amount more of lemon peel.

Overall, I found this to be a wonderful blend, ideal for black tea lovers who enjoy the addition of fruit into their tea. It's pleasantly easy to drink, smooth and delicious and I'm so pleased I got to try this wonderful tea.