What-Cha Ceylon New Vithanakande FBOPFExSp Tippy Black Tea

Quite a mouthful name right? This was a sample from What-Cha and, as far as I can remember, my first proper Ceylon black tea. I apparently started with a fairly unusual one too: New Vithanakande's FBOPFExSp (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning Extra Special) Tippy is a high-grade, low-grown Ceylon from Sri Lanka's Sabaragamuwa region, with a particularly high proportion of fine tips.

The malt is immediately obvious, but what stood out more was the dark sweetness underneath it. It spreads across the tongue rather than hitting all at once, then hangs around as a sweet aftertaste. Definitely something new to me, and a much more distinctive introduction to Ceylon than I was expecting.