March 2021 – Discovering Tea

SafeTea™, our safety system

26 March 2021

Two weeks ago I promised you that a wonderful Rohini Early Spring would be arriving, and that it would be available after the obligatory food safety analyses. Sadly, we must wait a little longer. At Palais des Thés we follow our own special procedure, called SafeTea™, which guarantees that our teas meet the optimal food safety standards. We carry out random tests on our organically certified teas (AB label). For all other teas we sell, we ensure they comply with our standards by having them analysed by an independent laboratory. Our checks go beyond the legal requirements. But this does mean we have to wait a few days longer while the tests are being carried out, to ensure the safety of our teas.

Tea and chocolate, the perfect match

19 March 2021

Green tea is a brilliant companion for white chocolate. You could choose a Gyokuro Hikari or a Genmaicha (a blend of tea and puffed rice). Japan also has the right teas to pair with milk chocolate or praline: its toasted teas such as shiraore kuki hojicha and bancha hojicha are ideal. And to match a refined dark chocolate, you could opt for a Qimen Mao Feng, a Jukro, a Premium Yunnan Buds or an Imperial Pu Erh.

When served to accompany chocolate, tea should not be boiling hot. It needs to rest a little so that the temperature isn’t too high compared with that of the chocolate. The perfect partnership is one in which each party brings out the best in the other. Here, tea complements chocolate, and chocolate enhances tea.

Rohini Early Spring, a premium tea from cultivar B157

12 March 2021

In Darjeeling, tea grows at altitudes ranging from 100 to 2,100 metres. The lower-grown teas are harvested first, of course, because of the milder temperatures they enjoy. Remember, tea plants enter dormancy when daytime temperatures remain below 12°C.

I’ve just bought a batch of Rohini Early Spring. It’s a delicious tea, and it’s special too, not so much because of the location of the plantation, but because of the quality of the cultivar, B157 (Bannockburn 157). It’s also unusual in that the plot is entirely planted with this cultivar, whereas many sections on Darjeeling plantations are made up of a patchwork of different tea varieties. The planter – who is well aware that his garden isn’t among the best-known names – is hugely creative when it comes to developing rare teas. He really takes care with the processing part, adjusting every parameter (intensity of withering, rolling, oxidation, drying) until he obtains the exact liquor he wants. This is a wonderfully delicate premium tea with a powerful grassiness and intense freshness. It will be available around 22 March, following the necessary food safety tests.

While we wait for Darjeeling, here’s Kotagiri Frost

5 March 2021

The teas of Southern India offer an interesting alternative to those in the north when the latter haven’t been able to grow due to lingering low temperatures. In the Nilgiri mountains, tea is produced in the Darjeeling style, and Kotagiri Frost is the best-known of these at the moment. In the cup, it reveals an intense green freshness that announces the arrival of spring. This premium tea will be available around 15 March, following the necessary food safety tests.