Downy Tips Black Tea
One look, one smell, one taste of this superb tea and you'll be impressed with the complexity and balance of fruity and floral, chocolatey and woodsy. This one is a keeper - so smooth, so warming, so energizing in the gentle way that only great tea can be.
Like other black teas from this part of China, this tea will age gracefully, developing depth and complexity for 3 to 5 years!
This beautiful black tea comes to us from the Wu Liang mountains in SW China, an area that Garret visited on his 2012 buying trip. Far-away from cities or busy roads, he was delighted there not just at the high altitude and the beautiful mountains shrouded in clouds and mist, but at how many great teas are raised there.
Our Downy Tips black tea is one of the great teas hailing from there. The leaves were picked at just the right moment and the processing of the leaves into a black tea is perfect, giving this tea a big thumbs-up from us and the folks who have tried it in our tastings at our homes and theirs.
Spring 2024 vintage.
Additional Info
Basic Brewing Instructions:
Black tea should be given a 10-15 second rinse with the same temperature water as used for brewing.
208˚ F water temperature. (Just below boiling.)
Use 1 teaspoon per 8oz. of filtered water.
Recommended first steeping of 1minute. Add 1 minute for each subsequent steeping up to 5 minutes.
Alternately, try one long steeping of 3-5 minutes.
Tea brewing is meant to be a joyful exploration. There are no hard and fast rules. Experiment with the quantity of tea that you use, and steeping times. Enjoy discovering what your preferences are. They may change day to day.