Tea: Heritage Orthodox Black

Grower: Rajen Baruah of Heritage Tea

Origin: Dibrugarh, in Assam, India

Harvest Date: May 1, 2014

• • •

A classic Assam black tea, processed Orthodox style for full leaf and high-quality. Robust, assertive and strong, with malt, rose, and raisin flavors. The texture is full with a bright, astringent finish.

Currently, black tea from Assam is predominantly CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl), which is low-quality, fragmented tea. The region is dominated by large companies that make low-quality tea. Rajen Baruah had worked for these large tea companies, but came out of retirement to establish Heritage Tea. This Orthodox style of processing creates a more complex and deep flavor profile. He is now empowering Assam tea farmers to make specialty teas like these.

Heritage Tea grows with locally-sourced vermicompost, and is completely chemical-free.

• • •

Recommended Brewing Instructions: Use 1tsp (~3g) per 250ml cup.
Brew for 2 minutes.

- 195F for a less astringent, lighter profile with slightly sweeter notes.

- 205F for a fuller, sharper profile with deep raisin and malt flavors.

This tea can be rebrewed up to 2 times, with hotter water and longer infusions.