August 8, 2009

Nepal Kuwapani Estate SFTGFOP1CL/SP











Every once in a while I get a wild hair up my butt and buy something a little out of the ordinary. Ive never had a Nepalese tea before and thought I,d give it a try. I don't usually spend too much money on these excursions and I,m not expecting too much in return. But this tea surpassed my meager expectations by leaps and bounds. This stuff is good, really good! At just under $10.00 for 100 gms it,s an affordable tea that I,d be hard pressed to find anything anywhere close to the unique qualities this tea has to offer. I ordered this from Uptons two days ago and it was delivered today, now that's fast service. The dry leaf is a multicolored mix of browns, reds and greens with plenty of silver buds. The aroma of the dry leaf is pungent with muscatel and an unusual rustic earthiness. The aroma from the brewed tea comes out swinging. There are so many smells to be savored here. The muscatel aroma is neck in neck with the smell of fresh peaches and apricots. The rich aroma of honey is also there as well as a sparkling clean citrus smell. You know the smell of a freshly opened jar of wildflower honey? I,m not referring to the obvious sweet smell but the smell that lays just underneath that, the smell of the terroir that the bee,s toiled in. That,s the rustic, earthy sweet smell that this tea has. Brews a crystal clear brew of the most beautiful orange, amber color you've ever seen. The teas flavor follows suit with it,s fragrance. A fairly complex cup with a medium body. I could just sit and smell this stuff all day, almost worth the price for the smell alone. I think teas from Nepal are generally considered a Darjeeling wanna be. If this Kuwapani Estate tea is a typical Nepal offering then Darjeeling,s got nothing on them. While Nepalese teas share some of Darjeeling,s characteristics they bring a few of their own to the cup that in my opinion makes for a much more complex cup than any Darjeeling can muster. This is definitely a buy more of this situation here. As far as brewing parameters go I approached this tea like a Darjeeling. About two tsp. per eight oz. of boiling water with a three minute infusion time. I tried this tea using a gong fu approach but it doesn't work, the flavors are washed out after the initial steeping.

6 comments:

  1. It looks like you brewed this pretty strong. Did you go kung fu? What parameters did you use?

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  2. No it,s not too strong. The color in the pics are a wee bit darker maybe. I just brewed this tea like a Darjeeling. I tried the gong fu approach in hopes it could stand up to it but it wasn't to be. A washed out second cup that most of the aroma,s were nothing more than a memory.

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  3. I believe the similarities of Nepal teas and Darjeeling teas (especially the second flush) are there because the Nepal tea-growing regions are just next to Darjeeling province.

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  4. Howdy Tuocha, Yeah I,m aware of the geography. Like I said I had never had a Nepal tea before. If this tea is representative of typical Nepal teas then I,m baffled as to how they dont have quite the esteem of Darjeeling,s. This tea ranks right up there with the very best Darjeeling Ive ever had but at a fraction of the price.The aroma is jaw dropping gorgeous.

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  5. I just had the pleasure of trying this tea (thanks again!)...because I needed something to tide me over after Thanksgiving...and with children around I couldn't break out the pots...

    I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't know how to brew this...because my normal brewing methods is lots of leaf/short infusions. I ended up brewing it in my kyusu. I think the aroma was quite striking, and it had a honeyed floral aroma that you mentioned, but I felt it seemed a little "toasty." I don't drink many Indian teas, but I found this one to be better than most other darjeelings I've had (which isn't much, but still).

    Good to know where it's from, at that price it's quite a steal!

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  6. I know! Isn't the aroma amazing? I brew it like any other black tea, about 1& 1/2 heaping tsp. per 8 oz. boiling water, 3 minute infusion time. You can use the pics on my blog as for what color your aiming for. This is a tea that I do add sugar to, the slightest amount brings out some of the fruity and floral flavors without obscuring the teas inherent flavors.

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