Black tea from plantations in Tanzania

I got a reply from an AC Perchs representative on my Facebook whining, saying that it was strange because they had had a chat with all employees about the 50g sampling possibility, so I really ought to have been able to get only 50g. Next time I go, if I don’t just go back to using the webshop, I’ll make sure to be able to bloody well show them this reply. But honestly, with the two experiences I’ve had so far, I’m mostly inclined to just go back to the webshop from the comfort of my own home and eat the shipping fee. If they refuse to sell me less than 100g either way, that’s just the most attractive option, to be honest.

Anyway, here’s one I fell over in the supermarket recently, when I had gone to do my shopping somewhere else than usual just so that I could look at some different things. I do that sometimes. I figured I would take a leaf out of Auggy’s book and give the stuff a chance. It’s part of a whole range of stuff that promotes things from this part of Africa. You can get chocolate and ice cream too for example. I thought it would fit in right well with Project Africa.

Remember Project Africa? I’ve only done one other tea on it so far, but it’s not forgotten. Here’s a second one! ‘Tanzania’ was all I had to go on origin-wise with this one, so I had to try and do a little research on the matter. I then discovered (very easily actually) that it’s from the Luponde Estate, which apparently was the first one to grew fairtrade organic tea in Tanzania. Now, why do they not write this on the packet? If you are buying a product from a range specifically designed to bring more African goods to the consumers, why would you not want to share this information with them? It’s relevant stuff! Anyway, further research tells me that the estate is in Southern Tanzania, in the Livingstonia Mountains and they grow tea at about 2100 meters above the surface of the sea. So a high grown tea.

I had the hardest time finding the whereabouts of this place on the map though. It helped a lot once I found out that the Livingstonia Mountains are also called the Livingstone Mountains are also called Kipengere Range are also called Poroto Mountains are also called Kinga Mountains. WHEW! A dear child has many names! While I haven’t managed to locate the actual estate on the map, I have made a qualified guess, I think. Take it with a grain of salt.

Unfortunately for me this stuff smells decidedly high grown too. Oh plock! I know what that stuff can be like so I carefully timed it and am hoping I didn’t miss the window in which it won’t put chest hairs on your tongue. This is one of my problems with high grown teas. Soooo finicky! Grassy and spicy notes in the aroma, that smells high grown to me. There’s something leather-y about it too underneath.

Well, I didn’t miss the aforementioned window. Good! It’s still quite a grassy sort of flavour though, and not really the down-to-earth grainy sort of thing I prefer. For what I paid for it and where I bought it though, it’s surprisingly good. I really must get over some of this snobbery and explore further what is available to me (that doesn’t say pickwick on it, mind. Or lipton. Been there, done that. I don’t care how loose that stuff is, it’s still not worth it)

That said, I don’t really care for the flavour of it. High-grown. Very. Sour and grassy and just not substantial enough for my tastes. This disappoints me a little becuase I’ve had a tea from Tanzania before, I think from AC Perch’s but I’d have to check, which was just awesome and I’m afraid I rather expected more along those lines. This is entirely too darj-y and I just don’t get darjeelings.

I’m afraid this tin has to end up on the Consider This First shelf for getting rid of quicker. That’s the danger zone. Things that are old and need to be drunk up or things that aren’t very nice and would otherwise hang around forever. Things on this shelf are never more than two steps away from the bin.

Reference map: https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=211803378882467968316.0004dd9c2591ff5d7d6bf&msa=0

Thanks to Angrboda for this sample tea!

This is the first tea from Tanzania that I’ve ever tasted! The guys and I at the tea shop have been sampling tea’s off and on from Kenya and now Uganda as these tea’s become more available and are increasingly better tasting!
Anyway, this Tanzanian tea was interesting because it isn’t a CTC. (You would typically see a CTC exported to the U.S. as a first offering.)
The tea isn’t very good though. The taste is similar to a low grade CTC. I hope that with time the tea will improve as farmers fine-tune their growing methods.
Wonderful things have been happening with these small tea farms and the benefit to the farmers and tea drinkers like us is mutual.

We can be responsible tea drinkers by drinking tea from poorer area’s of the World.

(End of sermon… kumbaya)

3g / 200ml glaspot.
Single infusion 3m @ 100C

Hm reminds me abit of a darjeeling autumnflush with hint of ceylon tea. very dry. Decent breakfast tea i guess.