Satemwa Estate Bvumbe Handmade Treasure - Black Tea from Malawi

Then text of the original note was scrubbed as I think the site was being brought back to life when I posted. Not feeling too inspired to re-type what was lost.

Inspired to buy because of a well aged (from Leafhopper’s Tea Museam) older harvest previously enjoyed:
https://steepster.com/teas/what-cha/56348-malawi-bvumbwe-handmade-treasure-black-tea

This seems to be more oxidized but still a great black tea with unique flavors. Sparkling jewels of bright ‘orange’ tastes pop through a brisk body with dried cherries and barky bitter tannins. Notable ginger impression with the throat-cooling effect and a totally unexpected cream of watercress soup aftertaste. Very drinkable and also excellent iced.

This was kindly shared with me from Derk, thank you so much! I’ve been having trouble sleeping the last few nights and it is really catching up to me, so I’m hoping an IV drip of black tea at work today will keep my eyelids open just enough to power through.

The dry leaf is long and spindly with a plum-like aroma. Brewed, the tea is high aromatic, with a strong aroma of thick, golden floral honey and apricots over warm, overbaked bread and malt. It’s very smooth… I get a lot of stewed stonefruit and grilled/smoked pineapple fruity notes, with a sort of BBQ sauce umami note as well. The end of the sip is very malty with a bit of drying on the tongue and some lingering honey sweetness.

It’s a very pleasant morning black, and a nice palate cleanser in-between sweet gooey bites of Clif Bar for breakfast.

Thank you, Derk!

This was far gentler than any African-origin tea I’ve tried (most have been dark and earthy). I was a little ambitious with the size of the mug, so the fresh, clean bready scent and taste was muted a little—but even so, it was a beautiful razor’s-edge balance between malt and sweet, smooth and extremely easy to drink. (Thank you, derk!)