Details:

When British planters first ventured into the Assam Valley in the 1850’s and 1860’s with the view of establishing tea plantations, they faced many difficulties; especially with the wildlife. They had to contend with marauding elephants, king cobras and troops of monkeys, (the monkey’s were more of a nuisance than a threat as they would quickly steal anything left unattended). Perhaps the most feared animal was the mature Bengal Tiger, an animal that could kill with one swipe of its powerful paws and carry away young people.

Historical accounts tell of the planters boiling water and adding locally grown fruits and spices along with the tea to ward off pangs of hunger and bouts of thirst. The fruit would give them the vitamin C their body required; the cinnamon had a curative affect on their digestive system... and the tea - well! what citizen of England could survive without tea! Step back in time and relive a moment or two with the Tea Planters of the British Empire as the faced another day in the ‘Ulu’ with a cup of ‘Royal Bengal Tiger Tea’

Cup Characteristics:

Round cup with good tea flavour. Hints of cinnamon, passion fruit and mango result in a deliciously mild spice and fruit tea.

Incredients:

Luxury black tea, Mango, Lime leaves, Papaya, Natural dried ginger, Calendula and Sunflower petals, Natural flavors.

Infusion:

Bright coppery color.

Grade:

FBOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)

Manufacture Type:

Orthodox

Region:

Sri Lanka - Dimbula, India - Assam

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). Even though milk and a dash of sugar help enhance the flavor character on this tea, it is perfectly acceptable to consume this tea ‘straight-up’

Iced Tea Brewing Method: (to make 1 liter/quart)

Place 6 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. [A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water]. 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!

Tea & Health

No matter what your age, tea delivers a multitude of health benefits that range from: being cardio-protective, a good source of fluid and being friendly to your teeth. As educated people we know the importance of eating a balanced diet that contains five portions of fruit and vegetables, plenty of complex carbohydrates and restricted amounts of saturated fat. However, when it comes to what we drink, even health experts can get a little confused. In a recent survey of health professionals, only 23% of GPs thought that tea could be included in the daily fluid allowance, whereas more than a fifth of practice nurses believed tea to contain the same amount of caffeine as coffee.

Not All Tea Is the Same

Roughly 2.5 million tons of dried tea is produced each year, and about 20% of it is "green tea", which is made by steaming the fresh tea leaves lightly, and drying them quickly. The rest of it is called "black tea", and it involves fermentation of the fresh tea leaves. For medicinal purposes, green tea is considered superior to regular black tea, since it has as much as five times more of the polyphenols that are of interest to us as potent anti-oxidants and cancer preventives. The composition of the green tea varies with the geography, climate, seasonal fluctuations and the methods used in growing it. When tea is harvested, they are supposed to take only the leaf bud and the two adjacent young leaves. Older leaves are considered inferior, and they have much less of the medicinal polyphenols. Usually, a good quality green tea has about 10% by weight of polyphenols. Our teas are of the best quality which promotes the high concentration of polyphenols.