Second Flush Hand Rolled Himalayan Tips - black tea

This tea is from Jun Chiyabari, a small and exclusive organic estate in Nepal’s eastern Himalayas. The garden sits high in the hills of Hile, a small town in the Dhankuta district. The garden is young and was established from scratch in 2001. The harvests are small and limited in quantity.

Second Flush Hand Rolled Himalayan Tips is a black tea that is hand plucked and hand rolled. Second flush teas are generally stronger in flavour and many experts agree that some of the very best tea is made from second flush leaves.

We certainly think so.

These leaves are wonderfully mature and have excellent consistency. This tea caught our attention because it’s tricky to pin down and is excellent representation of seasonality.

It’s a bit like buying fresh fruit or vegetables. A juicy mango in season is magnificent. A plump peach at its peak is perfect. There’s a point at which produce really comes into its own and tastes amazing.

That’s what’s going on with this second flush tea.

Jun Chiyabari’s vision is to shy away from mediocre, machine processed, volume-based production, an approach common in neighbouring tea regions and standard at many estates.

This innovation and labour intensive approach is evident on the palate. With just a very small micro lot produced, there’s a chance of blink and you’ll miss it.

Jun Chiyabari is certified Organic under EU, NOP USDA-ORG and JAS standards. You can read more here.

Plucking: Leaves are plucked by hand.

Sorting: Leaves are carefully sorted to ensure only the highest quality leaves and buds are included for processing.

Withering: The leaves are spread out to evaporate the moisture and make the leaf pliable. This is important so that the delicate cell structure isn’t damaged during the rolling phase.

Rolling: The leaves are hand rolled which is rare and time consuming, but brings out the most flavour. Rolling releases the chemicals stored in the leaf cells. This chemical change triggers the oxidation process.

Oxidisation: The leaves are laid and the air reacts with chemicals released during rolling. This is what turns the leaves from green to brown, then black. The tea master’s expertise is critical at this stage. If the leaves are left to oxidise even a few minutes too long, the tea will be overpowering and lose its subtlety and layers. If it’s not oxidised for long enough, the complex flavours won’t have a chance to fully develop.