Our March 2017 Box - The Freshest Tea in the UK

This month you’re in for such a treat. We’ve just returned from India with the tea we picked on the plantations ourselves.

Most tea in the UK is over 18 months old by the time it reaches your cup. Even with the best will in the world, once tea has left a tea plantation, you’re still looking at 3-6 months before it gets to you. We do our best each month to source the freshest teas for you, but this time we have really outdone ourselves!

Our teas this month are so fresh that it’s safe to say they’re the freshest sold in the UK today. It was no easy feat and involved BRUU driving to a tea estate, picking the teas and as soon as they were ready we packed them into a rental car and drove 8 hours across India before convincing Emirates to let us take them back as hold luggage. It was not the most economical way of bringing so much tea back into the UK, but we wanted you to experience tea that is so fresh you can still smell the climate it was grown in.  Please savour this tea. Please rejoice in it. If you like tea, seriously, this is a very special moment and something we will struggle to repeat for a while. Most of our usual teas are fresh when they reach you, but this month’s teas were growing under the India sun less than 30 days ago!

The teas are from the The Lockhart Tea Estate in Munnar, South India. They were grown at over 7500ft above sea level which creates a very light coloured tea that is packed with flavour. We had a fantastic tour of the facility, picked our teas in the upper plantations high above the factory and drank copious amounts of tea whilst our order was being packed. Best of all, we learnt a lot about tea.

The plantation specialises in several different tea grades all from the same Camilla Senisis plant. They work hard to maintain consistency and have planted trees strategically across the 50 sq. km estate so that the tea gets shade at certain times of the day. The teas we purchased from the estate which we recommend you enjoy with a little sugar are:-.

Lockhart Orthodox – A full leaf black tea, the highest grade available (OP) offering a light infusion that’s loaded with flavour. It makes the perfect afternoon tea.

Lockhart Gold – The estates pride and joy, this is a broken black leaf (BOP) and the specific size of the leaves creates the perfect surface area for the water to infuse the leaf and release its oils. Enjoy as a breakfast tea.

Lockhart Green – A full leaf (OP) green tea that has been naturally blanched to lower caffeine levels and remove bitterness. It’s light but if you let it brew you get an almost smoky lapsang dimension.

In other news, on the 21st April 2017 we have a stand at The National Tea Day Festival.  Held in the splendour of Kensington Roof Gardens in West London, it’s a mix of garden party heaven and tea tasting with snacks and entertainment, making it the perfect day out.  Buy your tickets at www.nationalteaday.co.uk and come say hello!

We’re really proud that we’re  able to introduce you to a unique tea tasting experience this month – thank you for making our trip possible.

With love
Anneka