Nilgiri Highland Black Tea by Ketlee

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“Gongfu! This was a freebie sample added into my last order. I sipped it on Sunday as a nice, but short, session whilst cat sitting. This black tea is pretty astringent with a biting bitterness to...” Read full tasting note

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roswellstrange 15678 tasting notes
“Surprise freebie kindly included in my order :) Dry leaf smells very spicy-woody-floral, lots of pine wood and rosewood, undertones of cinnamon and peppermint. The steeped aroma has notes of white...” Read full tasting note

derk 1548 tasting notes

From Ketlee

Nilgiri Highland Black

Presenting our first tea harvested in 2021 and also a very interesting new addition to our Nilgiri Highland collection!

The estate making this tea runs through a steep valley ranging from 5400 to 6900 feet. Winter harvest is one of the most interesting seasons and more so when it is from Nilgiri. Their winter produce is similar to Darjeeling First Flush : brisk and floral with a blast of sweet aromatics. The tender winter buds go through some frosty mornings and cold nights right after autumn, this brings out a distinct palatte of flavours which is unique to the Nilgiri region.

The tea is oxidised very little to preserve the freshness of the young leaves and buds. This enables you to experience the terroir in its truest sense. Every aspect of this tea is a clue to the place it comes from, the dry leaf has a pinewood aroma along with a minty freshness reminding you of the cool aromatic breeze which flows around the plantation areas in Nilgiri. When placed on the heated ware, there is a blast of flowery notes with a creamy undertone. The flowery aroma has notes of white flowers like lily and jasmine. The infusion has notes of white flowers, raw peach and a pleasant high mountain astringency making you crave another sip. Along with that, once you are comfortable with the cup, you get refreshing notes of betel leaf, areca nut, jasmine and rose. Every sip is followed by a long lasting fruity aftertaste, mostly of semi ripe peach and Indian guava. We hope you sit back and relax while experiencing the Nilgiri winters in your cup through this tea!

Appearance : Light yellow

Taste : Lily, jasmine, rose, pinewood, betel leaf, areca nut, peach, guawa

Steeping Time : 4 minutes western style, 20 seconds gongfu style adding 5 seconds every subsequent steep
Leaf Quantity : 4 grams per 120 ml for gongfu and 4 grams for 400 ml western style

Recommended Steeping Temperature : 80°C

Recommended Steeping Method : Works good both ways, gongfu and western style

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2 Tasting Notes

Roswell Strange

15678 tasting notes

Gongfu!

This was a freebie sample added into my last order. I sipped it on Sunday as a nice, but short, session whilst cat sitting. This black tea is pretty astringent with a biting bitterness to the top notes, but there’s some lovely complexities as well. Throughout the session I tasted plenty of dense floral notes, but primarily jasmine, with a unique and hard to pinpoint fruity note. It was like white grapes (or even ice wine) and then something more exotic, but with a pithy quality. I’ve never had a Guava marmalade before, but something is telling me that something in that vein might be more on the right track!?

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQmawsghcWl/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP4Ckv1WiIc&ab_channel=TheQ-TipBandits

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1 comments

derk
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I see in a lot of ketlee descriptions that they do recommend gongfu. I’ve tried steeping some Indian teas in a gaiwan and always get the top bitterness you’re describing here like 2-3 infusions in. This tea made western style gave me no bitterness at all.

derk

1548 tasting notes

Surprise freebie kindly included in my order :)

Dry leaf smells very spicy-woody-floral, lots of pine wood and rosewood, undertones of cinnamon and peppermint. The steeped aroma has notes of white grapes, rosewood, milk chocolate (or is it white?), cooked mango, rose. The taste is like a flowing spring. Fruity notes of guava and cooked peaches; a distinct, soft and warm nuttiness; floral; green chillies, spearmint. Oily, almost creamy mouthfeel that supports a brisk astringency and minerality. There’s an acidity to the tea that reminds me of gooseberries but it doesn’t taste sour or tart to me. Nutty-herbal-peach pit aftertaste. I feel a sense of place drinking this.

Really lovely tea. Complex but not challenging, though temp must be kept low. Once it cools, the astringency really mellows and the tea becomes quite easy to drink.

Flavors: Astringent, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Creamy, Floral, Gooseberry, Green Pepper, Guava, Herbs, Mango, Mineral, Nuts, Nutty, Peach, Peppermint, Pine, Rose, Spearmint, Spicy, Spring Water, White Chocolate, White Grapes, Wood

I Like This

15 likes

2 comments

Roswell Strange
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How long did it take for your order to arrive? I placed an order in early April but it hasn’t shown up yet…

derk
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About 6 weeks for this order which I placed first week of April. Sounds like covid/restrictions hit India pretty hard right after that. Worth the wait, tho. Hope yours shows up soon!