Our 2011 First Flush Darjeelings have Arrived !

At long last, the embargo of 1st flush Darjeeling tea is over and our shipment has arrived.  In addition to that good news, the other good news is that the late winter, early spring weather cooperated this year in the Darjeeling region and the teas are the best that they have been in several years. The flavors are richer, the liquor is fuller in body, and overall the teas have less astringency and ‘green’ taste.

Hooray for a good year ! Our selections this season are:

• 1st Flush Goomtee Estate ( FTGFOP1 )
• 1st Flush Jungpana Estate ( SFTGFOP1)
• 1st Flush Sourenee Estate ( FTGFOP1)

For details please visit our website:
http://www.teatrekker.com/shop/black/india/darjeeling/

Our 2011 Longjings have Arrived !

Yes, oh yes, our 2011 Pre-Qing Ming Longjing teas arrived late today.

And I believe that this year the tea is the best we have ever had. Both of our selections – the Dafo and the Meijiawu Village are dynamic, fresh and vigorous. Just inhaling the aroma from packages as we ripped them open was a treat.

The Meijiawu Village is highly aromatic with a fragrance that is reminiscent of the sweetness of Chinese lychee and loquats.  The Dafo is confidently toasty and earthy, and reminds me of the aroma of fresh greens and new harvest rice in China.

Each are different and both are delicious. It’s a difficult choice  to decide on a favorite……both are exquisite and full of the energy of the season.

Tea for a Royal Couple

I admit it…. I have always been smitten with England ….. the pomp and glory, the jewel encrusted crowns, gilded coaches and shining suits of armor, the manor houses, tidy gardens, fashionable hats, gloves, the riding boots, the bone china, the cathedrals, the history, the cakes and biscuits, the Bronte sisters, Gordon Ramsey, and of course, the Monarchy. So, it is fitting then that we should get giddy and present a lovely tea to commemorate the upcoming Royal Wedding of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton.

Alas, Twinings of London has been appointed to create the official wedding tea, which will be served to guests at the Royal Wedding Reception. It is a blend of white tea with rose and a touch of bergamot, to give it a light Earl Grey aroma. (I wonder if there was a wedding tea created for the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. The notable French champagne house Veuve Clicquot bottled a special cuvee for Charles and Di’s royal wedding. Bob and I purchased a bottle back then and drank it as we watched the wedding hoopla on television and cheered on the newlyweds. For no good reason we still have the emblem-encrusted empty bottle).

But, had we been invited to enter a tea into the ‘royal-wedding-tea-selection-tryouts, I would have entered our new Chinese Elderflower White tea. This is a Bai Mudan white tea with extra buds for good measure and the addition of natural, pale yellow elderflower petals.

This tea is a joyful, lyrical blend of two complementary flavors that meld into one rich, sophisticated, honeyed taste. The lightly sweet, perfumed aroma is lovely without being too persistent.  It is, we think the perfect tea to toast everlasting love.

Sun Moon Lake Black Tea from 100-year old wild tea trees

            

In the region surrounding Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan, black tea was developed for export by the Japanese during their occupation of Taiwan in the years preceding and during WWII.  In 1925 the Japanese tea research center imported tea seeds from Assam, India, with the intent of cultivating tea bushes for the production of  black tea for export in Yuchih Township.

The Japanese succeeded in establishing these tea bushes, and later, after the departure of the Japanese from Taiwan, the Taiwan Tea Research Institute continued the research into suitable tea bush cultivars for the continued production of black tea.

The resulting cultivar was a cross between  indigenous Taiwan tea cultivars and the tea bushes established by the Japanese in 1925.  These tea bushes were named Ruby Red or No. 18,  and came to be the tea bushes cultivated for production of Sun Moon Lake’s black tea.

Black tea production in Taiwan went into decline for a period, but a resurgence in interest in this unique tea has come about in recent years. Today, most Sun Moon Lake Black tea is plucked from large-leaf tea bushes that are descendants of the original plants, and the leaf is carefully plucked by hand.

Our Sun Moon Lake 100-year old wild tea is, however, even more special. It was made in February 2011 by our friend Lisa’s great-uncle, a gentleman and former tea man in the Sun Moon Lake region. It is made with leaf from 100-yr-old wild tea trees ( not the cloned tea bushes ) and it is hand-processed only once a year. He doesn’t sell his tea on the open market but distributes it to friends and family. We are thrilled to be included in this select group of those who are privileged to drink this fine tea.

Our tea has large, twisted leaves and its delicate, woodsy flavor suggests sweet osmanthus, cinnamon, and candied orange ( marmalade ) with a tiny hint of old-fashioned garden mint in the background.

This tea is delicious and has a good amount of dynamic qi, which stems from the organic cultivation, healthy growing conditions and careful cultivation of these deeply rooted 100-year old tea trees.

The quantity of tea that we have to sell is small, so if you are interested in experiencing this truly delicious tea, you must act quickly.

Click here to read more: http://www.teatrekker.com/shop/sun-moon-lake/

More 2011 Tea to Arrive @April 20th

Next week we will received our 2nd round of 2011 early spring teas from China and some lovely winter pluck oolongs from Taiwan.  These teas are in the air as I write this, and we expect delivery to be about April 2oth ( plus perhaps a day or two for unexpected snags at customs, weather delays, etc).

Many of you are asking about certain teas, so this is the latest listing of what is coming on this shipment. When the tea is actually here we will post again to this blog and add the teas to the 2011 seasonal tea listing on the homepage of  www.teatrekker.com. And, FYI, more new teas will bee arriving after this shipment as well.

CHINA:

Green Tea
2011 Pre-Qing Ming Longjing Dafo
2011 Pre-Qing Ming Longjing Meijawu Village

White Tea
2011 Before the Rain Bai Hao Yin Zhen
2011 Before the Rain Bai Mudan

Black Tea
2011 Pre-Qing Ming Bai Lin

TAIWAN:

2010 winter pluck Sun Moon Lake Wild Black tea
2010 winter pluck Li Shan – farmer grown
2010 winter pluck Li Shan – lightly roasted, farmer grown
2010 winter pluck Li Shan – commercial gardens