Take a look at the black teas from our Himalaya Collection: Despite their shared origin and category, the visual differences are striking – from a light, translucent color more alike to an Oolong or even a green tea, to a darker brown on the other end of the spectrum. Their flavors range from delicate and floral aromas to more rich and intense notes.
Black tea is at home in the Himalayas
First things first: Our entire collection is made up of pure teas. Unlike blends, which contain herbs, fruit, and other ingredients, pure teas depend only on terroir, harvest time, and processing for their color and flavor. Not every garden can produce the right leaves for every style of tea, and it is often said that a tea from one place cannot be recreated elsewhere. Traditionally, the Himalayas, and especially Darjeeling, are renowned for their black teas because their terroir and processing methods are especially suited for this style. But innovative tea makers have been creating specialties like our Silver Needle Full Moon tea, a white tea from a rare harvest. And, although they’re not as well-known, even green teas have a place in Himalayan tea production.
Intuition meets expertise
Much of a tea’s color depends on the degree of its oxidation. Think of an apple that’s been sliced and left on the counter: The longer it sits, the browner it gets. After the harvest, black tea is left to wither for several hours. Then, the leaves are rolled to break open their structure and initiate oxidation. Drawing on intuition and expertise, tea makers adjust the intensity of the rolling and the oxidation times and temperatures to get the result they want.
Himalaya Spring has a light color and a grassy freshness closer to what you’d expect from a green tea. But while green tea is prevented from oxidizing by applying heat right after the harvest, Himalaya Spring leaves are rolled to slightly oxidize them before drying.
The ripe fruit and muscatel taste of our bright amber Second Musk Flush, which we sourced from Jungpana Tea Estate, will appeal to fans of classic Darjeeling teas. In summer, long days and warm temperatures let leaves grow thicker and stronger, showing their most opulent and expressive character.
Autumn Flush is another nuance darker. Because leaves grow slower in autumn and their flavor is less concentrated, a higher temperature is used to dry them, causing them to darken and bringing out warm, but balanced notes of oak and caramel.
Finally, Himalaya Imperial Black is the darkest tea in our collection. It is rolled slowly and gently before resting on special oxidation tables for several hours, where it develops its deep brown color and rich notes of cocoa and prune.
Now that you know why black teas are such a large part of our collection, there is one thing left to do: Enjoy!
With love from Berlin,
Eduard/
