So, it’s been busy around here and we’ve got some new teas and decided to shine a spotlight on them during our Web Party. All of these teas will be offered at 20% off regular price, both on the web and in-store. Prices below reflect this 20% discount.
India, Darjeeling, Jungpana Estate 2nd Flush FTGFOP1, Organic
Special price $9.51 per 4 oz.
I got lucky; this black tea is a steal. Full-bodied (for a Darjeeling), smooth, flavorful, a little fruity (muscatel grapes), and a lingering tingle on the tongue instead of astringency. Excellent black tea at an incredible price.
Special price $7.59 per 4 oz.
Roasted cocoa, that's the aroma of this gorgeous, wiry, twisted leaf. The steeped cup is deep, rich, toasty, slightly sweet, and completely satisfying. This unique black tea is only available in limited quantities. This lovely black tea is grown in northern Hunan province of China. This tea is also referred to as Xiang Cha, roughly translated this mean ‘fragrant tea.’ When steeped, this tea has an almost Keemun like character, i.e. wine-y thickness to it. I strongly suspect this black tea has some of the chemical compound myrcenal (a totally naturally occurring chemical compound found in some Anhui tea bushes) that is generally considered responsible for the classic Keemun winey/sweet taste and aromatic characteristics.
Special price of $7.18 per 4 oz.
If there was such a thing as cocoa-honey, this tea is what it would taste like. Large, golden, wiry, twisted leaves with a sweet, dark aroma produce a liquor that is very thick, velvety, sweet, almost cocooay. This black tea is from Guangxi province in southern China (just east of Yunnan), so it sorts of tastes like a cross between a Yunnan tea and a Keemun tea.
pecial price $14.78
This rare regional oolong, from Wuyi Mtn, Fujian, yields a light liquor, but with great aroma, taste, and texture. You'll experience: sweet nutty, fruity, honey, and silky over many steepings. These long large twisted bronze/brown leaves are produced at more than 1000 feet elevation from the Qi Lan cultivar.
Special price $7.19
This rare white tea from Yunnan is a winter-pluck tea with huge downy buds and leaves from wild growing tea trees and produces a liquor that is mellow, sweet, slightly fruity (ripe plums?), and lingers with a soft floral finish. Can also be aged, as a puer. This tea is from the wild growing tea trees in the mountains around Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China. It is all hand-plucked and processed and rarely seen outside of China. It is processed as a white tea, but is also meant to be aged as a puer. So, in one sense, it is similar to a sheng puer. But, as with many Sheng puers, it is also marvelous to drink as is immediately, without waiting the aging process.
Special price of $34.39 per cake
This tea will be shipped in a special presentation gift box, including a stainless steel puer knife at no extra cost. This 357 gram dark tea cake from the Baise district of Guangxi province is very similar to an aged sheng puer. The liquor is very fresh, vibrant, crisp, invigorating, and smooth with a hint of a toasty note. The leaves (local Guangxi tea cultivar Lingyun White Downy tea) for this tea were grown in 2005, then aged and made into this cake in 2007. An exceptional and very unusual dark tea.
Up & Coming
Our annual big shipment from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is due any week now and we have two new very cool teas coming in. We’ll get these on the web as soon as they arrive.
Ceylon Burning Sun
This tea from the Lumbini Estate, grade of FBOPF, is a perfect blend of strength and complexity-which is pretty rare. The Lumbini Estate has blended many broken golden tips into this tea, giving it a thick/weighty mouth feel, with multiple dark fruit notes, a clarity and brightness as you sip, and a lingering finish with just a hint of briskness.
Ceylon Oodooware Estate BOP
This is a wonderfully aromatic tea from the southern regions of Ceylon. The large wiry leaves produce a liquor that is very smooth, mellow, with a hint of a melony sweetness, in a cup that is very balanced and full-bodied.