Ceylon BOP ~ Upton

It’s possible all the extra effort i went to in order to review an actual Dimbula Ceylon was fruitless. Today’s tea is so awful i can’t really imagine anyone drinking it by itself.

In aroma Dimbula District Ceylon BOP is reminiscent of burnt cedar. …That’s maybe where the exciting part stops. In flavor Ceylon BOP is just terrible. It’s very bitter with an a slight cedar saw dust aftertaste. As a broken orange pekoe, it has tea grit to spare–a rough jagged mouthfeel that lingers unpleasantly for quite a while. In all honestly, Ceylon BOP should have just been a CTC or fanning. The leaves just aren’t big enough for me to find a decent amount of nuance. However, Ceylon BOP is probably too strong and robust a tea to fit the normally “dull” aspects of a CTC, so the rating fits. Though, in terms of refinement, I would barely have given this tea even an “pekoe” rating. Still, i detest it. I wasn’t even all that taken with the liquor color: a rusty copper penny color. Don’t let it confuse you though: Ceylon BOP is nothing like Penny Royal Tea.

1. Aroma – 93
2. Taste – 91
3. Texture – 93
4. Spunk – 90
5. Price – 92
6. Availability – 95
7. Appearance – 90

Mean score – 92%

And actually that score feels like I’m giving it way too much credit. I’m a little ticked at myself for accidentally buying over 4 oz of this crap, but at least it will work well in my mother’s compost.

I wish i had been able to finagle a more exceptional Dimbula for Ceylon Week, but it wasn’t in the cards. If we suppose yesterday’s Dayagama to be more representative of Dimbulla Ceylon than Nuwara Eliya Ceylon (which it definitely is: i just rebrewed it using a different filter method and had similar results), than I can rest easy knowing I’ve offering an example of all the major styles of Ceylon. Well, except for Adam’s Peak… I’ll save that for next year.