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Style: Black
Origin: Yunnan Province, China
Description: Yunnan Province has the oldest tea cultivation history in the world. Mountainous elevations and mild temperatures offer ideal growing conditions for both the native Camellia sinensis var. sinensis plants and the introduced Camellia sinensis var. assamica plants. This terroir, with its unique soil profile, adds to the popular, rich, and mildly toasty flavour of Yunnan’s local Dian Hong (red teas). Big Snow Mountain is the only tea that one single family of tea growers produces each year. Their tea garden is tucked away in higher elevations (1800m) of the Mengku region in Lincang from where many Yunnan teas originate. This lovely black tea was processed with great care from the first flush of spring assamica varietal tea leaves.
Big Snow Mountain is excellent as a milder breakfast tea, or perfect as an afternoon steep. The cup will stand up to a little bit of milk, although we enjoy this one without. This tea offers a range and depth of notes and flavours all wrapped up into one cup.
Tasting Notes: The steep is rich, warm, smooth and well-rounded. Little to no astringency even as the tea sits in the cup, or with longer steeping. There is a slight and pleasant bitter strength at first sip, yet this evens out to a subtle lingering sweetness.
The steep first hints at fresh caramel, with faint notes of sweet, toasty grasses. A malty baked plum and whiffs of copper come through as you sip further. The golden tipped tea buds add a rich sweetness with a smooth honeyed finish, typical of teas from Yunnan. The second steep maintains depth and complexity - this is one you will want to steep again and again!
Brewing Instructions: 2-4g (1-2 heaping teaspoons) per cup (250ml). 90-95ºC water. Steep 2-4 minutes. Re-steep 2-5 minutes.
We recommend: Steeping 2g for 3 minutes for a milder cup or 4g for 2 minutes for a stronger cup.
Adjusting the steeping amount and time, you will find this tea very easy to brew. It is smooth enough to be brewed quite strongly. If you enjoy a stronger quality in the finish, brew for longer. If you find the strength to be objectionable, a shorter steep time will offer a mellowed cup.
*This tea is not organic.
China has a rich and ancient tradition of producing high quality teas of all varieties, and black tea is no exception. This is where tea culture and industry, as we know it, began nearly 2,000 years ago.
Known as ‘Red Tea’ in China, the tea leaves from the Camellia sinensis sinensis plant are smaller and finer than their Indian counterparts, the Camellia sinensis assamica, and prefer cooler mountainous regions. Usually plucked by hand and gently processed, the end result are exquisitely fragrant teas with lesser levels of astringency and a soft body.
Several Chinese provinces are famous for their regional tea selections: Fujian Province is home to the well-known, pine-smoked Lapsang Souchong, while Keemun tea, the official choice of the British Queen, is produced in Anhui Province. Yunnan province produces the ever-popular varieties of Yunnan black tea and is also the region where China started its tea cultivation.
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