I swear, I never get to review single origin teas as much as I’d like. The problem is, I’m always so attracted to the tasty-sounding names of flavoured teas – English Tea Shop’s “Christmas Cake” tea is being reviewed in a few days, for example.
So, when I realised that Teakruthi Colonial Mornings was single origin, I was over the moon!
Like the single origin teas I’ve reviewed before (use my tea index to navigate), you’ll find that the natural flavour notes of the tea pop out more. Tea itself is a complex, deep drink that has a lot of character. Teas grown in different areas can taste very different, from the soil type and climate, to the plant age and variety, it all impacts the flavour and makes single origin teas so unique.
Colonial Mornings is a single origin tea from Ceylon, which is better known as Sri Lanka.
Teakruthi Breakfast Tea at a Glance
- Tea: BOP1 black tea from the Dimbula region of Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
- Flavour: Medium strength, full-bodied breakfast tea with malty fruit notes
What a tea! I loved drinking this at breakfast time with a good book and cacti friends. It’s similar to an Assam tea with full-bodied maltiness, but it’s rather mellow at the same time. Wonderful when drunk black.
Full Review – Dimbula Black Tea
- Type: Loose leaf
- Tea: BOP1 black tea
- Origin: Dimbula, Sri Lanka
- Flavour Notes: Medium strength, full-bodied, slightly bitter, palate-cleansing, drying aftertaste, malt and fruit
- Aroma: Malt, earth, brisk black tea, honey
- Milk or Lemon: Milk and sweetener if desired
- Where to Buy: Teakruthi
Opening the packet, I’m instantly hit with that brisk and bright black tea aroma that you get when the tea is super fresh! This BOP1 tea has notes of malt, earth and honey, with a tiny hint of fruit – sultanas maybe?
It brews into a very bright amber colour, which is the first indicator that this tea is far better consumed without milk.
The honey and malt notes are enhanced once brewed, giving it a sweet aroma. But this is misleading! The tea itself doesn’t taste sweet. It has a slight bitter note and dryness that makes it an excellent palate cleanser.
Combined with the medium-strong malt flavour and full-bodied mouthfeel, this tea is possibly one of the best single origin breakfast teas I’ve ever tried.
How to Brew Teakruthi Colonial Mornings Tea
I used a generous teaspoon of tea, which was around 2.5g of leaf. If you simply must drink your tea with milk, you’ll want to increase the leaf amount and brew time.
For drinking it black, brew for 4 to 5 minutes. The recommended 3-minute brew time for Teakruthi Colonial Mornings just isn’t long enough to do the tea justice.
You could add some honey, sugar, or another sweetener if you were having this as a dessert tea rather than a breakfast tea. I’d highly recommend drinking it in the morning to pick you up, however. It’s on my Best English Breakfast Teas List for a reason!
Why Teakruthi Pure Ceylon Tea?
This brand is amazing and deserves far more exposure. They source all their tea fresh, rather than stockpiling and letting it sit in warehouses while they wait for orders. They also only sell pure Ceylon teas in their blends and single origin offerings.
Colonial Mornings tea is from Dimbula, one of the first regions in Sri Lanka to grow tea in the 1870s. The Sri Lanka Tea Board describes teas from this region as refreshingly mellow. They typically have bright amber colours, full-bodied flavours, and powerful aromas.
This particular single origin tea from Teakruthi is BOP1 grade (broken orange pekoe) which is good but not exceptional and is Rainforest Alliance Certified which is fantastic news for the growers in the Dimbula region.
Summary
I highly recommend trying this tea. I’d even recommend buying it as a gift, as it will turn anyone who loves typical “builder’s tea” brands into a proper tea snob! It’s a classic English breakfast tea but single origin, rather than blended like usual. You can buy it packets of 80g, 240g, or 20g samples, and it will arrive in a resealable foil packet for freshness.
Tea Recommendation
Technically, this isn’t a tea recommendation… but I highly recommend you check out my article on the best things about drinking tea black. Seriously, this is one of those teas that just tastes so much better with dampening the flavour with milk and hiding it with sugar!