Nepal Tea Trader Review #1: Khumbu Black Tea

Hello loves

I have chosen this rainy night to write my first review. It only seems fitting.

I will be reviewing a Khumbu Black Tea by Nepal Tea Traders.

First let me say these people are lovely. I found NTT when looking for a Nepal source for a company I am starting. I spoke with Ellen and she was fantastic. She told me all about the teas and how part of the profits go to helping Nepal children. So with out further a due, lets begin.

To start off the leaves themselves are very interesting. Each leaf is twisted and seems to twist and turn, sometimes tying its self into a knot. It is mostly black with a little gold worked into each leaf. There is a smooth finished wood smell. A mixture of light and dark gives me the idea of a piece of cut wood freshly varnished. The leaves themselves are sturdy. A good density that makes it impossible to break one with out a soft crack.

I did about a 3 minute brew at boiling water in a gaiwan.

The wet leaves look good. They maintain a solid dark color with out and splotches or blisters, evidence of an uneven oxidizing process. Once wet you can unroll some of the leaves to reveal a medium sized, mostly unbroken leaf. The smell has matured to a malty mushroom smell, with a slight sweetness in there. It has yield a light brown liquid. Looking at it you understand how black tea was originally called red tea.

Let's take a sip.

Oh how lovely. The tea lavishes you with a medium body that tingles on the front of the mouth and rests in the back. When you first take a sip the front of your toungue is greeted by a medium body with a light sweetness, like honey in wood. As it moves toward the back of your mouth the body gets more heavy and the sweetness transcends into a more malty flavor. Less strong then an Indian tea, but strong enough to let you know this is a black. Toward the bottom of the cup, where I find the best flavor to be, an almost fruit like flavor surfaces briefly before heading down to your tummy.

Overall this seems to be a great example of Nepal teas. The high altitude growth gives the whole tea a lightness to it, while still letting you know its a black. This would make for a great late afternoon or early evening black tea or a tea for a time where you want a light body with out sacrificing the black tea feel we all love so much. This tea can take a little sugar or a little milk, but due to its natural lightness I not much is needed nor suggested.

Read more about this tea and the wonderful charity it benefits at
http://www.nepaliteatraders.com/