MACHAPUCHRE FIRST FLUSH TYPE DARJEELING

“Superb hand-rolled First Flush Darjeeling Himalayan tea”

Mrs. Radha harvests the leaves from her cloned Darjeeling tea bushes in the spring and rolls them entirely by hand after a withering period. She controls light oxidation and then dries her teas in the sun when the desired color is achieved. The flavors are deep, with a lot of floral, orange blossom type, velvety texture due to the many downy buds, but also complexity with slightly woody, animal flavors.

It's a tea like they were made in the past without any help from machines. The leaves are rolled by hand and the final drying carried out in the sun. It is a tea from artisans who would not even have thought that their teas would be exported to France and offered to European customers. It is produced in small quantities with tea plants from a garden with a breathtaking view of Annapurna and the sacred mountain Machapuchre.

Producer: Mrs Radha & Mr Nandalal, a couple living at the foot of Machapuchre

Altitude: 1600m

Location: Astam, near Pokhara, Nepal

Cultivar: These are clonal cultivars from Darjeeling, Radha & Nandalal don't know which variety. Production method: The leaves are harvested by hand and then withered for a fortnight of hours. When the leaves are ready, Radha rolls the leaves by hand in an ancestral way, gestures which are very rare now in the world of tea where machines have replaced the processes of yesteryear. Then the leaves are spread out and are oxidized for several hours until they reach the desired color. Sun drying is then carried out to obtain the finished tea.

Garden management: Radha & Nandalal have a small hotel with a view of the sacred mountain Machapuchre (6993m) and Annapurna South (7219m) and the rest of the Annapurna range. They have one small tea garden which if harvested intensively would allow the production of around 300kgs of finished tea. They produce teas according to their needs, and sell their teas to hotel visitors by 200g bag. They explain that they have never put fertilizers or pesticides in their teas.

Preparation of this hot tea: Infuse 1.5g per 100ml of filtered water at 80° for 2 minutes.

Prepare this iced tea: Infuse 15g in 1.5L of Volvic or filtered water at room temperature. Place your container in the refrigerator and let it infuse for 3 to 6 hours. When the infusion is ready, filter the leaves using a tea strainer or by slowly transferring the liquor into another container. So! it's ready to eat.

Advice:

- You can add ice cubes, but it's optional, this will keep your iced tea cold, but on the other hand will dilute it, reducing its intensity significantly.

- Iced tea can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.