This red tea from Nepal has the characteristic, like all the other products from this region on our e-shop, of being grown at an height around 2000 meters. For a red tea the high altitude it’s quite unusual especially because of its processing which expects the full oxidation of the leaves. The temperature and the more rarefied air which influence this tea, in fact, cause a slower oxidation not capable of arriving at its full expression and so it stops around 75%. This different speed of chemical reactions during the processing generate an expression of flavor different from the ones we find in red Chinese teas from Fujian of in the closer Yunnan region.
The infuse of these leaves in particular gives a result similar to the one of a rich Chinese red tea but with a more defined separation between flavors and strong persistency. The first sips reveal a slight acidity similar to the one in some red berries together with a cooling sensation at the end of the palate. While proceeding in the tasting experience it will come out more and more malt sweetness which will also improve the body of the tea and it goes together with the characteristic tannic taste of the oxidized leaves. In the end this tea is perfect to give you the chance to analyze and being confident with the main features of a red tea.
Place of origin
Typeplejung, Nepal
Production
After the harvest the leaves wither under the sunlight for a certain period of time depending on the tea master wisdom before going through a bending phase. The leaves are pressed and rolled to mix the vegetal juices in their and so cause the beginning of the oxidation process. When the leaves obtain the typical dark brown color the last humidity is dried out and after some days the tea is ready to be consumed.
Preparation
We invite you to brew this tea in the traditional Chinese style (gong fu cha) in order to extract more from your leaves. Following this preparation you could use 5,5 grams of leaves (about 4 teaspoons) in a gaiwan of 100 ml so you can obtains more infusions with different flavors. After a brief rinse of the leaves in a 100°C water you can go with a first infusion of 15 seconds and, after that, at the same water temperature, you can do multiple infusion adding 10 seconds every steeping time (15 25 – 35 …)
These leaves could be steep about 5 times.
To prepare the tea in the western style we suggest 3 grams of leaves (about 2 teaspoons) in a 150 ml cup with 100°C water for a steeping time of one minute and a half.
The tea could be filtered if you want to avoid some little piece of the leaves during the tasting time and also the steeping time we recommend here could be modify on your personal preferences.
We recommend you to store this tea in a dry and cool place avoiding the direct sun light on the leaves.