When I brewed the first cup of this tea I made the mistake of using too much leaf. This resulted in a cup that was a lot more like a brutal assault of bergamot oranges to the head than a strong, orange-scented, nice cup of tea. Subsequent tastings proved much more enjoyable when I was more careful about leaf quantity and I found that I really liked drinking it, particularly as a first cup of tea as I try to launch into the day.

Jing Tea’s online description of this tea states that they designed it to suit tea drinkers who prefer to add milk to their cup. It is certainly a tea with a strong personality, one that could hold its own even with a bit of taming by milk. Since I do not add milk to tea I brewed it a little weaker than the 1-2 teaspoon to a cup ratio that the company recommends on its packaging. This resulted in a rich and tangy brew, heavy on the bergamot, but not overpowering.

As most tea drinkers know, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) has a long-standing and enormously productive tea growing tradition. But as many tea drinkers also know, a lot of the tea coming out of Sri Lanka and called “orange pekoe” is poor quality and blended from leaf grown in a number of different locations. Unlike these lower quality teas, Plucker’s Pick’s teas are unblended and grown on single tea plantations. So rather than a mixed up jumble of mediocre tea leaves, this tea has a distinct and precise flavor.

To my surprise I really enjoyed the taste of this tea. Its character is a lot different from the Chinese black teas I generally drink when I drink black teas, but it has a lovely rich taste that I can say unreservedly is the best Ceylon tea I have ever tasted. The look of the dry leaf is a little jarring, as I am accustomed to whole-leaf teas, but the finely broken up, very brown leaf pieces produce a lovely tasting liquor. The brew is also quite a pretty, rich shade of red.