Blackwood Estate Green Or ~ Simpson & Vail

If you read my Simpson & Vail Incursion, you may wish to skip the following paragraph as i am repeating myself verbatim. xD

Probably the most famous tea Estate in Uva, toward the East, in its own enormous chunk of the province lies the Idulgashinna Organic Tea Gardens. Blackwood is just one section somewhere within that huge tract of land. 1,100 workers and their families live in Blackwood. They enjoy better than usual, almost 1st world lives. Green teas from Uva are particularly renowned for their citral, bold taste and color and Blackwood Organic is no exception.

Blackwood Estate Green Organic was the first tea I sampled from Simpson & Vail, a couple of weeks after receiving my shipment. I’m not sure exactly why i put off doing so for a while, probably just wanted to go through what i still had on hand that was on the end of its lifecycle first. I really wanted to try Blackwood Estate Green since Ceylon Green isn’t very commonly sold in the West. Green production has been steadily growing for a while now in Sri Lanka, but global retail hasn’t necessarily brought them much demand.

Blackwood Estate Green has what i can only describe as a lush grassy meadow aroma.  Blackwood Estate Green nevertheless has an entirely unique flavor and texture. Pan-fried and highly vegetal, Blackwood Estate Green has one of the highest astringencies i’ve come across. It doesn’t taste like Green tea so much as it does freshly cut grass. I would say, Blackwood Estate Green probably exceeds gyokuro in terms of bitterness and chlorophyll. It’s definitely not for the coffee-lover. In texture, Blackwood Estate Green is consistently veiny and thickly caffeinated with an mildly stinging aftertaste. Blackwood Estate Green also has a beautifully mottled looseleaf and a dirty-mojito liquor.

1. Aroma – 92
2. Taste – 93
3. Texture – 94
4. Spunk – 93
5. Price – 92
6. Availability – 97
7. Appearance – 93

Mean score – 93%

A definitely superior Green. If you enjoy the taste of Chinese and Japanese Greens, and you don’t mind drinking grass, you should really give Ceylon Greens a try.