Details:

The primary sociological structure in old Scotland was the ‘clan’. The roots of the system are very ancient, stretching back into Scotland’s Celtic past. The country had been occupied by many different peoples – Britons, Romans, Angles and Vikings – but two races came to dominate: the Picts in the north and east who divided their territory into 7 petty kingdoms and in the west it was the Scots. Originating as an Irish tribe, the Scots migrated from Ulster in the 6th century. The kingdoms of the Scots and the Picts were eventually united by Kenneth MacAlpin in the mid 800’s.

These people were organized along tribal lines, which eventually became known as clans. One of the downfalls of the clans was the propensity to feud. Some disputes simmered for centuries such as the feud between the MacDonalds and Stewarts, which began at Culloden in 1314, finally being settled in the 1600’s. Highlanders guarded their traditions fiercely and were well known for their loyally robust character.

This tea is like a proper Highlander – robust, malty (not unlike a good Scotch) and full of life and vigor. Highlanders liked their tea very strong and insisted on hints of cask oak to remind them of their clan’s own special elixir – single malt Scotch. This blend consists of 2nd Flush Assam tea (thick, robust with delicious hints of malt); January production South Indian tea (high mountain grown that has wonderful flavour notes which accentuate the robust Assam); Keemun Panda #1 which has a delicious winy character further enhancing the stout malty character of the blend and finally a Chingwo County Orange Pekoe which gives the distinct oaky character. This tea is especially delicious with milk, which further lends a malty character to the tea and highlights the brightness of the premium tea, which has hints of a red color.

Cup Characteristics:

Malty full-bodied character with bright flavoury notes and hints of cask oakiness. A bracing Highlander’s cup of tea!

Incredients:

Luxury black tea

Infusion:

Bright coppery color.

Grade:

FBOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)

Manufacture Type:

Orthodox

Region:

India - Assam + Nilgiri, Kenya - Dimbula, China - Fujian + Anhui

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.