I received this as a sample from a Tea Expo, not from Upton or In Pursuit of Tea….it was just a benign little silver packet with “HIMCOOP Kuwapani Tea Plantation” on a label. it is the SFTGFOP version of their Orthodox black tea. No steep or temperature info…so today I was in the mood for something “else”, and I steeped this for 3 minutes western style at 212 degrees. I take milk and sugar in all my tea, and before I added anything I sniffed the tea. It was like a plank of oak came up and hit me in the face. BAM! Ok, this should be interesting. Not a note that the teas I’ve tried usually have, but let’s do this! The tea is a bit weak with the steep parameters I used to truly stand up against the milk and sugar, but I can tell you I’m still getting the woodsy oak, a bit of cocoa, some astringency and a touch of maltiness. Considering my steep was a crapshoot, this could be a really nice tea. I like the idea of buying tea from Nepal, so I may look into their teas a bit more and get some good steeping info if I ever get another sample!
Flavors: Cocoa, Malt, Wood
