Kosabei Plantation Kenya Green (Green Tea)

(Natural Dryer Mouth Green Tea)

Ingredients From: Kenya
Region(s): Kericho
Shipping Port(s): Mombassa
Grade(s): Natural Dryer Mouth
Growing Altitudes: 5500 – 6500 feet above sea level
Manufacture Type(s): Rotovane, Non fermented, Unsorted, Small batch crafted.
Cup Characteristics: An awesome tea! Full green tea notes with all the seasonal taste that has made Kenya the Tuscany of tea. Superbly fresh - like drinking tea on the estate
Infusion: Very greenish tending yellow
Luxury Ingredients: Green tea

Information:

The smells of an African tea plantation are something you never forget. They are, to put it plainly, exceptionally natural. The air is heavy and hot. The aromas of fresh cuttings, irrigation and the natural spice of the sweet African earth greet you as your jeep approaches the gates.  Interwoven are periodic waves of floral scent breezing in through the windows as the wind carries the pollen of thousands of flowers and plants that grow in and around the gardens.  You exit the jeep at the factory, step through the front doors and immediately your nose fills with notes of honey, sweet malt, damp green moss and the brisk aroma of fresh leaf sap hanging in the air.  Walking past the dryers the air takes on a distinctly bakey, wheat-like smell as tea is dried and spun.  On most buying trips the ultimate destination is the tasting room and it is here that all the aromas you’ve just experienced will come together the way a thousand brush strokes fill in a great work of art.  

Tasting tables on tea plantations tend to be long.  It is not uncommon for buyers and tasters to be presented with 30 to 50 cups of tea at a time. As the kettles come to a boil and each tea is infused, the aromas of the cups fill the room to tell the stories that will be read by the taste buds of the buyers: the time of day at which they were plucked, the estate section and bush variety the leaf was selected from, elevation, moisture content, the various temperatures at which they were dried, ambient humidity levels at time of production and grade.  Is this cup from the section that borders the neighboring free hold eucalyptus plantation?  Or the section farther up toward the jungle?  These are the questions that will be answered by the aromas and flavors emanating from the cups.  The complete experience is one that never leaves you.  

A pot of Kosabei Plantation Kenya Green Natural Dryer Mouth offers an experience as close to an actual plantation visit as you can get without boarding the Cessna out of Mombassa.  Dryer Mouth green, a recent development in Kenyan tea is pulled from production half way through the CTC (Cut Tear and Curl) process and immediately fired, halting fermentation.  The resulting cup unlocks volumes about the history of African tea, the quality of Kenyan production and the lush majesty of the estates on which it is produced.  A magnificent green tea.  

Note: Kosabei Plantation is a sub-section of Tinderet estate and is certified by Fair Trade and the Ethical Tea Partnership, ETP.

Hot tea brewing method:  

Traditional method (see note below): When preparing by the cup, this tea can be used repeatedly - about 3 times. The secret is to use water that is about 180°F/82°C. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon in your cup let the tea steep for about 3 minutes and then begin enjoying a cup of enchantment - do not remove the leaves from the cup. Adding milk and sugar is not recommended. Once the water level is low - add more water, and so on and so on - until the flavor of the tea is exhausted. Look at the pattern of the leaves in the brew, not only do they foretell your fortune but you can see the bud and shoots presenting themselves, looking like they are about to be plucked.

Modern Method: Bring filtered or freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag or 1 Q3 single serve packet for each 7-9oz/200-260ml of fluid volume in the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Adding milk or sugar is not recommended.

Note: Traditionally, the recommendation has been that green tea be brewed at 180°F/82°C. Regretfully, modern society makes it necessary to consider that water may not be free of harmful bacteria and other impurities. Therefore you need to boil water to kill bacteria. If you wish to use traditional brewing temperatures bring the water to a boil and allow it to cool to the desired brewing temperature – it’s the food safe thing to do! 

Iced tea brewing method (Pitcher):  (to make 1 liter/quart):  Place 6 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea, 6 tea bags or 6 Q3 single serve packets into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 1¼ cups/315ml over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the tea bags. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)                                          

Iced tea brewing method (Individual Serving):  Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag or 1 Q3 single serve packet into a teapot for each serving required. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6-7oz/170-200ml per serving over the tea. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags.  Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional ½ serving. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)

ANTIOXIDANT BENEFIT:

More antioxidants are extracted from tea (L. Camellia Sinesis), or rooibos (Asphalatus Linearis), the longer it is brewed….and the more tea or rooibos that is used, the greater the antioxidant benefit.

Ideal Brewing Temperature: 100 ºC/212 ºF. Minimum Brewing Temperature: 90 ºC/194 ºF.