Description
Bitaco Leafy Black tea comes from Colombia, a region that is not really known to be a tea growing region. Colombian coffee is well known and regarded around the world but this unique tea is a perfect example of what can be achieved in terms of tea production in the mountainous regions of Colombia. This Bitaco Colombian Black tea is from the February 2024 harvest.
While we have been selling a black tea from Bitaco for some time, the guys over in Colombia are never resting and constantly innovating and improving their teas. While we started with just one black tea version from them, this was improved into three different black teas: Special, Leafy and Tippy. The Special black is the most delicate and the Tippy is the strongest. So we find this Leafy version to strike a really nice balance between lighter fruity and stronger malty flavours. The new batches from 2024 have been further refined in terms of leaf material used and the processing involved.
This tea is grown near the town of La Cumbre, situated high up in the West Andes. The altitude of the tea plantation is between 1,800 and 2,050 metres, making the growing conditions perfect for high grade tea. The prevalent weather, consistent rainfall, rich soil and mountainous slopes all combine to make a perfect but unique terroir. The area is also remote and surrounded by unspoilt natural terrain. This tea is grown at a plantation that is certified as organic under USDA, EU and Colombian regulations.
Bitaco Tea Estate is run by Agricola Himalayas S.A. and they have extensive social responsibility programmes run in the area. These focus especially on education of children in the local area but also provide extensive support for other rural projects.
The neat dark leaves produce a medium strength amber liquor with a slightly malty aroma. This tea is superbly smooth and flavoursome. The character is sweet yet a little savoury with malty, stony and fruity notes. The fruity notes are reminiscent of pomegranate and mixed wild berries!
We suggest brewing parameters of 90°C for 3-5 minutes according to your taste, brewing 2 or more times.
This Bitaco Colombian Black tea was last featured in our April 2024 Curious Tea Subscription Boxes.