Expedition Series teas are rare teas from around the world. Many come from traditional growing regions, such as Japan and India. Others hearken from new origin gardens, such as Bitaco in Columbia. Handcrafted by tea masters, these gourmet teas reflect the tradition and art of tea, refined over the last four millennia as well as innovative new trends by creative tea makers.
Our fabulous Jasmine Scented White Needles are hand-plucked by tea farmers in China. Only the best tips are used for this tea, and thousands are needed to make a single pound. It is dried perfectly over fragrant jasmine blossoms and showcases the classic complexities of a white tea.
Da Hong Pao Oolong Tea has another name… Big Red Robe! Da Hong Pao is picked exclusively in the Wuyi mountain area of Fujian province China. Want to get the most flavor out of this tea? We recommend infusing it multiple times. You’ll taste intense flavors like dried fruits.
When we say that our Expeditions are rare, we especially mean this with Sakura Ryokucha. Flavored with actual cherry blossom petals, this tea comes but once a year and stays for a short while – around a month or two. Not only is it accentuated with sakura buds and petals, it also has the perfect balance of Sencha and Kukicha.
The rarest of the six classes of tea, yellow tea is only produced in China, in the high mountains of Hunan, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces. Pickers gather only the bud by breaking it from its stem with a twist. It takes 60,000 of these carefully harvested buds to yield just one kilogram of tea. Because its production is difficult and time-intensive, yellow tea has primarily been consumed by locals. Snow Dragon Yellow Buds Yellow Tea is hand-crafted in small batches in the An Hui province of China. It features a small sturdy leaf that yields a deeply floral sweet flavor that lingers on the tongue.
If we could describe Bai Lin Chinese Black Tea in a word (and we can) we would describe it as BOLD! There is lots of love and care that goes into this tea – evident by the golden tips it exhibits. Golden tips, it turns out, can tip us in the direction of a carefully crafted tea.
Our Satemwa Estate is another family owned tea farm in the most unlikely of places – Malawi, a landlocked country in South Africa. It is rich and deep, sporting notes of coffee and earth, and is crafted in the same style as other Chinese Black teas like Pu-Erhs. Bvumbwe Hand Made Treasure Black Tea is smooth and mellow with notes of peach. A close examination of the leaves shows the quality of the plucking.
Which growing area surprised you most? Let us know in the comments below.