The most popular style of tea consumed in Europe and North America, black tea hails from Africa, China, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Delicious alone or with milk or sugar, black tea has been an essential beverage for Westerners since the China Trade tea frenzy began in the mid-1600’s, first with Holland and then with England.

Black teas are fully-oxidized and will brew the “strongest” cup. Black tea is produced in many different leaf styles and flavors: assertive, sturdy Tanzania from Africa, aromatic and smooth Keemun, Sichuan and Yunnan from China, delicate and aromatic Himalaya-grown Darjeeling, robust Assam from north-eastern India, lush, mouth-filling Nilgiris from the Blue Mountains of southwestern India, plus the classic fruity and flavoury Ceylon from the Highlands of Sri Lanka.

Assam tea is produced in the far northeast corner of India. This historically-important tea growing region fills the valley of the Brahmaputra River as it snakes down from the southeastern flank of the Himalayas. With Burma (Myanmar) to the east and Bangladesh to the south, this valley receives more rainfall per annum than any other location on earth. Assam tea is noted for its depth of flavour, dark burgundy-colored liquor, and ‘malty’ taste. Thought of in the west as a ‘milk tea’, Assam tea is drunk by Assamese without milk, but elsewhere in India it is often the base for quality chai, the national beverage.

We offer Assam tea both in the orthodox leaf style and the newer CTC preparation.
 

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Tea offered from the dramatic country identified geo-politically as Sri Lanka is branded as Ceylon Tea. Tea grows all over the island, but 4 regions, primarily in the central highlands above 4,000 feet, are highly revered by tea lovers the world over. Although these 4 premium Ceylon teas are more often identified by Estate than region, we try to notate both.

There are 2 major tea-producing regions in the south; and each of the 6 regions has a different flavour profile and time of production. When one is dormant another is producing, due to distinct climate differences. The 6 regions are: Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Uva,and Dimbula in the highlands, and Galle and Ratnapura in the south. The descriptor most often associated with Ceylon tea is brisk, the term that one Sir Thomas Lipton ascribed to Ceylon tea back in the late 1800’s.

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Darjeeling is a former British hill-station and spa located in one of the most spectacular settings of the entire Himalaya.

Considered the Champagne of Tea, Darjeeling tea is beloved worldwide for its clarity, Muscatel-like aroma and clear, smooth flavour. Developed using 100% China bush, blended China and Assam bush, or using clonal, modern varietals, Darjeeling teas vary considerably from Garden to Garden, much the way that Burgundy wines vary from property to property.

It is easy to get excited about the selection and offer too many choices of Darjeeling Tea, so we try to limit our offerings to approximately 6 to 10 well-chosen lots, from both First and Second Flushes and also the Autumnal picking, which is often some of the best tea from this famous region.

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The Himalaya is one of the most prime tea-growing regions on earth. High altitude combined with plentiful rainfall (and snow melt) provide conditions that encourage tea bushes to thrive.

Nepal, Sikkim and Dooars all benefit from this native terroir and produce small crops of exquisite tea.

We are proud to offer a selection of these fine teas when they are available. They have a clarity that is remarkable, and none of the finicky brewing demands of their cousins the Darjeelings.

Growing at such a high altitude, these teas are incapable of developing sharp astringency; they tend to lush, clear flavours and soft body.
 

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Keemun is a small district in Anhui Province of east-central China. The Keemun hills extend southwest from the high mountains of the Huang Shan that form the southern border of the central Yangtze valley. One of the most legendary regions of tea production in China, Keemun was at the heart of black tea manufacture during the time of British dominance of the modern China tea trade.

Producing mostly black tea, Keemun is the origin for, and base of English Breakfast Tea.

All serious tea drinkers should have a solid grasp of the taste profile of Keemun tea, as it is a building block for quality tea blending much as Ethiopian beans are for coffee blending and Cabernet grapes are for red wine vinification: they are all delicious straight, but also superior as a base for blending.

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Nilgiri, the Indian sub-continent's southwestern region, is home to the stunningly evocative Blue Mountains. Throughout the foothills of this range tea bushes thrive, producing one of India's best-kept secrets: Nilgiri tea.

Traditionally Nilgiri teas are softly-stylized black teas with a full body and tremendous mouth-feel. But today, many growers are experimenting with the intricacies of the other classes of tea, such as white, oolong and green.

We proudly offer several distinguished black teas and one spectacular white tea from these proud Nilgiri growers, who have produced these fine teas in the exotic and mountainous region of Tamil Nadu in southern India.