Country of Origin: Taiwan
Leaf Appearance: dark, wiry
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: deep reddish brown
I’ve been on a real Taiwanese black tea kick over the last few months so I was really excited to dive into this one. It was fairly robust with notes of cocoa and a hint of spice. Their product description pegs it as a evoking cinnamon. I was reminded more of cloves but I could definitely see where they were coming from. There was some astringency but it never crossed the line into bitterness. I’m not able to read most tea packaging that isn’t in English but this one does say that it is the famous Ruby 18. This cultivar is a hybrid between Assam and the native plants. Although this is on the stronger side as far as Taiwanese teas go, I would not recommend adding milk or sweeteners. While I’ve had other versions of this tea that were higher quality, they were also much more expensive. Overall this was a very tasty cup at an affordable price. There’s a fully oxidized Oriental Beauty from Cameron Tea waiting in the wings. I’ve been a bit behind on reviews but hopefully I’ll get to enjoy that one soon as well.
Taiwanese Sun Moon Lake Black Tea – Ruby sample provided by Cameron Tea.