This tea is a wonderful, autumnal harvest from an altitude of around 2000m above sea level in the Himalayan mountain range. The tea bushes lie at the foothills of the majestic mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest peak.
Kalapani is a rather young tea production (established 2020) but their work is impressive. They work with experienced tea makers and, unusually, have a female tea technician leading production. The teas play with the borders between typical tea categories, blurring the lines and making them all the more intriguing.
The Himalayan terroir in the very east of Nepal, just across the border from Darjeeling, gives way to a certain complexity and playfulness in the teas’ aromas with this specific tea even being reminiscent of a Darjeeling first flush – the most exclusive of the black teas.
This tea has beautiful, whole leaves and silvery, furry tips. The infusion is golden-green in colour and tastes juicy, slightly herbal, and reminds us of hay, bamboo and white flowers.
Flavour profile: playful, floral, bamboo, fresh, spicy basil
50g
location Hilihang, Panchthar, Nepal
altitude 1800-2030m
cultivar mix of cultivars
harvest autumn 2023
multiple-steeping
water 80°/150ml
tea 5g
time 50s/1m/1.5m/+
single-steeping
water 80°/450ml
tea 8g
time 3m
