Tea Discovery
One day, my timing was ‘just right’ when I went for tea at Happy Lucky’s. There was a line-up of tea’s and tasting going on from a new company in Denver (Nepali tea traders) and owner George was keen to carry some of their teas in the shop. But, which ones?
I took my seat at the bar and Andy placed what was left of 12 tasting sets in front of me for an opinion.
“Yes!”, I cheered internally! “I get to taste all this tea!”
I love Nepalese tea, and I picked 4 that I thought would be good for the shop to carry, which matched the tasters opinion.
Later, this Ruby Pu-er came in and when I tasted it, I said it should bump any of the other teas! An absolute must! Best of all the tea’s!
George was on the fence about it at first. Would a small town really respond well to a Pu-er like this one? (He only carried a handful of Pu-er’s in the shop) We talked about the new website which I knew would benefit from having a tea like this one and he agreed.(George is a smart man!)
Nepali Tea Traders donates all their profits to benefit the Nepali Youth Foundation and tea industry growth. (The owner’s parents worked in Nepal so there is a connection with a small area of tea farms)
Happy Luckys had a tasting at the shop which drew 45 people (a large crowd in our town), and the star of the show at that tasting and in the days to since has been this Nepal Ruby Pu-er Style Black Tea!
Taste
The flavor is warm and fruity. Cherries and brandied peaches, walnuts warmed in a skillet, wood and clover honey. All this might lead you to think of some dark and heavy tea but it’s not. The tea is light, almost like a wheat beer in color and smooth.
The second steep was sweet and buttery, a honey molasses stick of candy. No earthiness.
You’ll have to be careful not to over brew or the tea can become bitter. I added a little sugar (might add some honey next time) and the flavor was luxurious.
(If you like a little bitterness, it reminded me of some of the craft beers in town over at O’dells or New Belgium Breweries.)
Nepal is so close to Darjeeling that the tea can taste almost the same but fame has been out of reach for Nepal due to isolation and war.
Love, love, love this Pu-er style tea!
It is my understanding that this is the first Pu-er style black tea from Nepal
