Description
This is a Grand Cru coming from the Satemwa plantation, located in the Shire Highlands in southern Malawi.
The plantation was created in 1923 and today is managed by Alex Kay, a passionate producer who is constantly improving the quality of his teas while respecting the environment and offering his pickers fair wages, thereby helping to support the local community. This black tea is smoked with Guava Leaves (cf. production process hereafter). It has powerful smoky notes of wood, then spices, sustained by a delicious sweet note. Recommended for fans of smoked teas!
A special production processEvery country and every producer has their own methods for making smoked teas.
Here are two differences between the way Spirit of Smoke is made compared with traditional Lapsang Souchongs:
a) Lapsang Souchongs are dried directly over a fire, straight after oxidation. This smoked tea from Malawi is dried twice: traditional drying after oxidation (reducing the humidity level to 5-7%), then smoking.
b) Lapsang Souchongs are smoked over a fire of spruce roots, whereas Spirit of Smoke is smoked using Guava leaves.
Special qualities
- Origin:
- Thyolo, Malawi
- Tea colour:
- black tea (smoked tea)
Tasting notes
Feuille sèche
Appearance: small rolled leaves
Colours: dark brown and black
Scents: smoky wook, ash
Infusion
Scents: smoky wook, ash, mineral
Liqueur
Colours: red
Texture: silky
Flavours: sweet
Aromas: wood smoke, mineral, phenolic note, ash, fruity hint, woody
Aromatic profile and length in the mouth: the marked wood smoke notes are felt from the start and throughout when tasting. These notes develop alongside a soft, sweet taste which makes the whole tea softer.
Suggestion of preparation
With the tasting set: 4' minutes in water heated to 90°C.
Grands Crus: savour the exceptional
Rare and ephemeral, teas identified as Grands Crus by Palais des Thés are the result of alchemy between a tea plant variety, its terroir and the talent of an artisan grower. Meticulously plucked, processed and sourced in the most respected tea gardens, our Grands Crus unveil unique flavours that reflect the refinement of their origins.