Tea:

Region:

Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya and Dimbula district
India - Darjeeling district  India - Assam district

Grade:   

OP Blend (Orange Pekoe blend)

Manufacture Type:  

Light bodied cup with good flavour and hint of muscatel

Cup Characteristics:

Flavoury with medium body and delicate earl grey and jasmine notes.

Infusion:  

Bright with touch of golden coppery color.

Information:

West of London is the stately Windsor Castle - a home of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. The castle is situated on a hill overlooking the countryside and dominating the skyline of the City of Windsor. When the Queen (or King) is resident at the castle, the royal standard is flown from the masthead of the main tower. In 1993 there was a disastrous fire at Windsor Castle, destroying generations of royal collections, paintings and significant parts of the historic monument. The queen undertook repairs and restoration of the castle and in 1997, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary here with a state dinner; giving the world it’s first view of the restoration.

To commemorate this gala evening a special tea was served. The tea had to exhibit the following characteristics:

- unique and somewhat rare

- stout and resilient as the monarchy

- golden color to signify the nature of the monarchy

- flavory to enchant the guests

- historical to commemorate Windsor Castle

- a new blend to acknowledge the rebuilding and restoration of Windsor Castle

This blend meets this criteria as follows:

*Unique and rare - The Darjeeling is a 2nd flush, only available in limited quantities during 2 weeks in June.
*Stout and resilient - The Assam is a full bodied and full flavored tea with a delicious maltiness.
*Golden colour - The Kenya gives a golden coppery character and the Assam adds depth to this color.
*Flavoury - The Darjeeling is light muscatel flavoury; the Kenya has seasonal (February production) almost flowery like flavour, and the Assam has a deep malty character.
*Historical - All the teas are grown in areas that once were part of The British Empire
*New Blend - This blend was put together specially to commemorate this occasion.
 

Brewing Instructions:

Hot Tea Brewing Method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Add milk and sugar to taste.

Iced Tea Brewing Method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 5 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!