Country of Origin: India
Leaf Appearance: dark green, long and twisted
Ingredients: green tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 175 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: pale gold
Last month I wrote about a unique silver needle from Teaneer, a small family farm in Nilgiri. I enjoyed that one a lot so I was really looking forward to trying this green tea. It was produced with leaves from an experimental 0.5 acre plot where the tea trees were allowed grow naturally without any pruning. The dry tea was long and wiry with some visible hairs on the buds. They had a strong vegetal aroma even before steeping. The taste was mellow and sweet with an interesting vegetal note that reminded me of the seaweed used to make sushi. I was able to do quite a few consecutive infusions before I become tea logged. There was also a very subtle cooling affect, similar to what I experienced with the silver needle. Suresh from Teaneer tells me that this may be caused by the wild grass or eucalyptus that grown naturally in this region.
You can find out more about this tea here.