The whole range of these handmade teas deserves to be tried. They are intriguingly varied in character but are all surprisingly rich, sweet and malty with subtle chocolatey undertones and make wonderful breakfast teas. Amongst them, you will find teas seldom seen outside of China and batches made to our specific specification. Most of them are suitable for taking with milk but are equally at home without. The brewing procedure is quite different though, depending on which method you opt for. If you take them with milk brew them like an Assam, for between 5-7 minutes. If you prefer it without milk, brew for two minutes and then using the same leaves you can brew once or twice again. The difference in flavour is most beguiling.
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As low as £16.00An unusual flat, smooth leaf in the style of Long Jing green tea, that is worked by hand in a wok. It grows on the 'big leaf' tea tree, in common with our Tea of Life, in the Fujian Province. A rich tasting, fruity liquor with a lingering aroma of chocolate and fresh raspberries.
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As low as £16.00This is the best grade of the black teas called Fuchow, hence the name 'Monkey King'. You can tell from its appearance with the abundant tips and golden hairs that it will be a rich, smooth tea with a complex character. It is predominantly malty in character with notes of cocoa and according to some of our customers a hint of ginger. Extremely exclusive and a current Imperial favourite.
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As low as £17.00This rare tea treasure is from the fertile gardens in the high mountains of Fujian province. It is a new variety of black tea produced from a new hybrid created to produce a new type of oolong tea. The idea was to combine the buttery, alpine character of Tie Guan Yin with the osmanthus scent of Huang Jin Gui. The tightly twisted, black leaf with fine silvery-gold tips gives a deliciously sweet, smooth, exceptionally flavoured drink with hints of fruit and pepper. It is made entirely by hand from young tips that are withered, twisted, oxidised then dried and shaped before the final sorting is done.
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As low as £15.00
One of the world's best black teas and one from our range with a deeply devoted following. It is deliciously complex in flavour with a rich liquor that makes it a perfect breakfast tea. This is Lion Mountain's finest offering, although only a very small quantity is made. It has a complex, smooth, malty flavour and golden infusion, with a beautifully handcrafted leaf. A superb tea that can take milk and makes a delightful afternoon drink. Hao Ya is one of China's 'Famous Ten' teas.
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As low as £8.00This Keemun from the Lion Mountain in Anhui province to the west of Shanghai is the next highest grade after the Hao Ya teas. Its flavour is malty with a subtle hint of fruit and its famed aroma is compared to orchid, rose and chocolate, which is also evident in the infusion. A very reasonably priced tea for its high quality.
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As low as £18.00This is one of the rarest and finest of China's black teas, indeed the world's. It is a tea master produced, organically grown, long tender leaf variety from the Lion Mt. in Qi'Men with a light bodied, honey-sweet, chocolate malt infusion. It is a tea with a pronounced flavour yet with very little tannin and makes a good afternoon or early evening tea. It is made with the first golden down covered buds of spring, full of nutrition, picked before the Chinese Qing Ming festival. To put this wonderful tea's rarity into context it would make just 200,000 of the U.K's yearly consumption of 60,225,000,000 cups! Remember this is just the U.K, my calculator didn't have enough digits to work out the world's consumption! We can never get enough of this tea to last the year so try it while you can.
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As low as £21.00Lu Yu Golden Thread is a special grade of Chinese black tea produced in the high elevation tea gardens of western Hubei, China. Each year, this 'golden hao ya' tea is carefully selected from the farmers' earliest batches of spring tea. It has a mellow and a smooth, refreshing character with notes of nut, longan fruit and caramel with low astringency. It is wonderfully full-flavored with a rich body and is a treat for black tea lovers. A Chinese poet described Enshi, where this tea is grown as "Endless green mountains to walk on, endless clear water going away".
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As low as £18.00The leaves used to make Magic Dragon Pearls are from the highest-grade spring teas. The leaves are hand picked and hand rolled and made from the Huacha varietal. The liquor is smooth, rich and naturally sweet with subtle chocolate and raisin notes..
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As low as £8.00A blend not dissimilar to our Russian Caravan but with the addition of some Tarry Lapsang Souchong. In truth, this recipe is closer to the original 'Russian Caravan' flavour which has changed over the years to suit the British palate. One can, however, imagine this tea brewing on top of a steaming Samovar and listening to Alexander Pushkin reciting his poems. The malty, chocolate notes of the two non-smoked components of the blend are complemented by the sweet, smoked pine fragrance.
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As low as £8.00The original and best grade of this famous smoky tea is grown in a nature reserve. It is smoked naturally with the authentic Chinese pine root and is gentle, clear and full flavoured.
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As low as £18.00This tea's appearance, long golden buds in a blend shot through with dark, wiry leaves is beautiful but it is in the cup that this tea really shines. It is made by a tea master with the focus being on maximising the complexity of flavour. As well as all the usual spicy, peppery, subtle earthy notes and a sweetness in the finish, this batch has a very clear note of caramel that we love, with a warm honey flavour too. As you can tell, one of our favourite teas of the year.
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As low as £8.00
This is a remarkably fine tea for such a small amout of money. It is thick liquored but will not become bitter, even if brewed for ten or more minutes. Its leaf appearance this year is much larger than usual because of weather conditions, meaning it needs a lengthy infusion time to yield all the flavour locked up in them. In the cup it is delicious, with all the typical Yunnan characteristics evident, such as sweet pepperiness and caramel. It is a splendid breakfast tea on its own and is also useful in a blend, adding great weight and smoothness.
