Ancient Forest
Origin: China
Description: Yunnan black tea that is a specialty of Southwest Yunnan with a unique history from ancient protected tea trees in China’s protected Blue Mountains of Jingmai Mangjing. This tea is handpicked and handsorted. It brews a rich golden-sunrise colored infusion with a creamy texture and notes of honey and amber. Organic & fair trade. 212°F 1 level teaspoon tea per 8 ounces water; steep for 3-5 minutes.
The Jingmai Mangjing Ancient Tea Forest is situated in the highlands of Yunnan's Lancang River Basin. This region is considered a heritage center for tea and is home to some of the oldest tea trees and tea cultures in the world. This area of Yunnan is famous for its arbor tea tree varietals that make this origin's tea so unique.
The settlements of Jingmai Mangjing consist of various mountainside villages. All the villages within Jingmai Mangjing have ancient tea trees. Jingmai is a group of villages inhabited predominantly by the Dai people and Mangjing is a group of villages inhabited mainly the Bulang people. Each family in the Jingmai Mangjing area relies on the sale of tealeaves for the majority of their annual income.
This ancient tea forest is home to many varieties of bamboo, trees, medicinal and culinary herbs, edible fungus and wild vegetables. The local people have no use for synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or large scale clear cutting to pursue their traditional agriculture. Many of the local foods and herbal medicines used by the villagers are not cultivated but wild harvested in the mountains of their ancient tea tree forest.
The villagers of Jingmai Mangjing's social, religious and economic history are intertwined with the ancient tea forest. The local people of Jingmai Mangjing are descendants of the "Pu" ethnic group, who are known as the earliest tea planters (1066 BC-221BC).
Bulang cultural and religious adherence forbids the destruction of their ancient tea trees. Ancient Bulang proverbs urge their people to conserve the forest and protect the tea trees for future generations.
Bulang Ancient Tea Proverb:
•If we leave the gold you will spend it...
•If we leave the ox it may die...
•We must leave the tea trees so they can grow and provide...
•You should not let others take the tea trees...
•You should protect the tea trees like you do your life and never let them out of your control.
Unlike modern tea farms, Jingmai Mangjing was established by ancient tea planters more than 1300 years ago and is considered an "Antique Tea Garden." Many of Jingmai Mangjing's tea trees range from 800 to 1200 years old, with the eldest tea trees exceeding 1300 years. Over the course of many centuries, the Jingmai Mangjing villagers have nurtured one of the largest areas of antique (100+ years old) and old tea trees (30+ years old).
Showing posts with label black tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black tea. Show all posts
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday's Black Tea -- Assam Banaspaty
Assam Banaspaty
Bold, black and beautiful, this single estate tea is known as one of the stronger black teas with a rich, malty flavor. There is an old saying ``If your strength is your weakness, then Assam is your cup of tea.'' 212° 1 level teaspoon tea per 8 ounces water; steep for 3-5 minutes. Organic, single-estate and fair trade.
The Assam Valley lies about 120 miles east of Darjeeling in the northeast portion of India bordered by China, Burma and Bangladesh. This low-lying valley produces more than 1,500,000 pounds of tea annually. This region produces, for the most part, hearty, bold, malty teas, typical of what you might find in a breakfast blend or as the base for an Earl Grey.
The literal meaning of the word Assam is a bit of a mystery. One theory holds that it is based on the Indo-Aryan word Asama, meaning uneven, or unparalled; unique. Banaspaty literally means flora, fauna and trees. Assam’s tea plants have much larger leaves from their southern cousins and are therefore known for their strong malty flavor.
The Banaspaty garden is an organic, fair trade garden, in an area of Assam where tribal people are a majority. Organic pioneers are slowly rebuilding the fertility of this tea garden situated close to the Bramaputra river. Independent evaluation from the Fairtrade Foundation ensures that communities such as the Karbi Anglong tribal people really do benefit from clean drinking water, improved housing and better education.
Bold, black and beautiful, this single estate tea is known as one of the stronger black teas with a rich, malty flavor. There is an old saying ``If your strength is your weakness, then Assam is your cup of tea.'' 212° 1 level teaspoon tea per 8 ounces water; steep for 3-5 minutes. Organic, single-estate and fair trade.
The Assam Valley lies about 120 miles east of Darjeeling in the northeast portion of India bordered by China, Burma and Bangladesh. This low-lying valley produces more than 1,500,000 pounds of tea annually. This region produces, for the most part, hearty, bold, malty teas, typical of what you might find in a breakfast blend or as the base for an Earl Grey.
The literal meaning of the word Assam is a bit of a mystery. One theory holds that it is based on the Indo-Aryan word Asama, meaning uneven, or unparalled; unique. Banaspaty literally means flora, fauna and trees. Assam’s tea plants have much larger leaves from their southern cousins and are therefore known for their strong malty flavor.
The Banaspaty garden is an organic, fair trade garden, in an area of Assam where tribal people are a majority. Organic pioneers are slowly rebuilding the fertility of this tea garden situated close to the Bramaputra river. Independent evaluation from the Fairtrade Foundation ensures that communities such as the Karbi Anglong tribal people really do benefit from clean drinking water, improved housing and better education.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Sunday's Black Tea -- Ambangalu
Ambangulu
A lively, coppery infusion that is full-bodied with rich, thick mellowness, tending a bit malty. A CTC manufactured tea from Tanzania, the leaves have been cut to a more uniform size, as is typical with many African teas.
What's does CTC mean?
CTC is a process used Tea manufacturing is normally carried out in two ways, 1) CTC and 2) orthodox. CTC refers to the Crush, Tear & Curl process where the withered green leaves are passed in-between two rollers rotating in opposite directions. There is complete maceration of the leaves and the resulting powdery material is referred to as "cut dhool". Enzymatic action is maximum in the CTC type of manufacture. In orthodox type of manufacturer, the withered leaves are rolled on specially designed orthodox rollers which twists and crushes the leaves thereby rupturing the cells. This process results in teas with a bolder flavor.
And a little about the estate ...
Ambangulu Tea Estate is in the northern part of Tanzania close to the Kenyan border and Ngorongo Crater, a prime wildlife reserve.
Ambangulu is a fairly small estate in terms of tea plantations but extremely well managed. This has resulted in high demand for this tea on the world tea trading scene by specialty tea wholesalers as well as the bazaar in Pakistan.
The owners and managers of Ambangulu have been reinvesting in the estate quite heavily providing jobs and security for approximately 1500 workers and their families. In addition to this they now ship their produce in locally made - but to strict specifications - 5 ply kraft paper sacks. In the addition to saving trees and habitat for local fauna the gross shipping weight has been reduced by 3000 pounds saving wear and tear on roads and vehicles. From time to time due to hazardous road conditions and floods, the estate is cut off for periods up to 2 weeks, accessible only by aircraft.
A lively, coppery infusion that is full-bodied with rich, thick mellowness, tending a bit malty. A CTC manufactured tea from Tanzania, the leaves have been cut to a more uniform size, as is typical with many African teas.
What's does CTC mean?
CTC is a process used Tea manufacturing is normally carried out in two ways, 1) CTC and 2) orthodox. CTC refers to the Crush, Tear & Curl process where the withered green leaves are passed in-between two rollers rotating in opposite directions. There is complete maceration of the leaves and the resulting powdery material is referred to as "cut dhool". Enzymatic action is maximum in the CTC type of manufacture. In orthodox type of manufacturer, the withered leaves are rolled on specially designed orthodox rollers which twists and crushes the leaves thereby rupturing the cells. This process results in teas with a bolder flavor.
And a little about the estate ...
Ambangulu Tea Estate is in the northern part of Tanzania close to the Kenyan border and Ngorongo Crater, a prime wildlife reserve.
Ambangulu is a fairly small estate in terms of tea plantations but extremely well managed. This has resulted in high demand for this tea on the world tea trading scene by specialty tea wholesalers as well as the bazaar in Pakistan.
The owners and managers of Ambangulu have been reinvesting in the estate quite heavily providing jobs and security for approximately 1500 workers and their families. In addition to this they now ship their produce in locally made - but to strict specifications - 5 ply kraft paper sacks. In the addition to saving trees and habitat for local fauna the gross shipping weight has been reduced by 3000 pounds saving wear and tear on roads and vehicles. From time to time due to hazardous road conditions and floods, the estate is cut off for periods up to 2 weeks, accessible only by aircraft.
Friday, January 06, 2012
And Fridays will be Flavored tea days
Today's tea is Almond black tea;
The tangy, bright and perfectly balanced flavors of Ceylon black tea is a great canvas for many flavor expressions. The very best Ceylons blend easily with flavors and other teas, giving them excellent depth and complexity. Out Almond black tea is a fine example. Touch of raw almond aroma, plush mouthfeel reminiscent of creamy marzipan, with nutty sweetness upfront and a balanced, clean astringency. A beautiful, smooth, well-blended flavor. See how lovely a simply
dressed up cup of 'plain black tea' can be!
For a special treat, combine it with our Vanilla, Cinnamon or Vanilla Cinnamon black teas.
Friday, January 09, 2009
A relaxing cup of tea
Studies conducted by University College London researchers have proven that drinking 4 daily cups of black tea can help you recover more quickly from the stresses of everyday life. This scientific evidence showed that black tea has an effect on stress hormone levels in the body. The study found that people who drank tea were able to destress more quickly than those who drank a fake tea substitute. The study also showed that participants were found to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood after a stressful event, compared with a control group who drank the fake or placebo tea for the same period of time. Similar results are not produced with a similar intake of green tea, oolong tea or white tea.(Black tea is what some folks would call``normal'' tea. It's the with which tea nearly everyone in America is familiar and includes varieties like Assam and Ceylon)
Conditions of excessive cortisol production cause high blood pressure, thinning of the skin, storage of fat in the abdomen, defective immune function, and mood disorders such as depression.
Black teas and flavored black teas will be available at 10% their regular price from now until Saturday, January 17, 2009. Mention you saw the sale mentioned in this post at time of purchase, or enter the code blog010909 in the special comments section of the online order form.
CelebriTea quote
You don't get to choose how you're going to die.
Or when.
You can decide how you're going to live now.
– Joan Baez (01/09/1941-present)
(A celebriTea is a tea-drinking celebrity)
Or when.
You can decide how you're going to live now.
– Joan Baez (01/09/1941-present)
(A celebriTea is a tea-drinking celebrity)
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