12 Tasting Notes

75

I had never heard of Nilgiri tea prior to a tour of India, so I was definitely curious as to what it tasted like. I’m pretty glad I picked this up since it’s a pretty good tea for the evenings when I want something lighter, with a little less punch than say an Assam. Recently it’s been my default evening tea to help me chill a bit before bed.

The tea was slightly astringent with a bright, brisk feel and a subtle lemony aftertaste. I’ve yet to add lemon or milk to it but I imagine it’d do better with the lemon than with the milk. The box also recommends it for use as an iced tea so I’m looking forward to trying that experiment soon.

P.S. – Strangely when I let the leaves steep for slightly longer time (say about 5 minutes) there are some notes that remind me of a Keemun tea.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95

I bought this tea on a recent trip to India. They claim that this tea is used by the Indian government as a state gift, and has been given to Bill Clinton and Junichiro Koizumi, hence the name “President’s Tea”. The company also claims to have been featured in TIME magazine, but I can’t find any mention of this at all on the web.

In any case, onto the tea itself: it had me at the first whiff of its fragrance. The tea is very fragrant when brewed, floral but not overwhelmingly so; and for some reason it makes me a feel a little tingle at the back of my head when I get a whiff. The liquid is clear with a bright golden color. The tea is mildly astringent, and has a light feel on the mouth with a subtle grape flavor and scent.

I’m already kicking myself in the butt for not buying more of this tea while I was in India, but oh well, that just means I have to save this for special occasions. I would experiment by adding milk or lemon, but given how little of the tea I have I think I’ll just have it straight ;)

In sum, the best Indian tea I have had so far, and something I would recommend to anyone.

P.S. – I have the autumn harvest of this tea so I don’t know what the spring one is like.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Have lived in Shanghai for the past 5 years and love a good cup of tea in the evening.

Location

Shanghai, China

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer