Assam Latumoni Xuwola Green

Description

Assam Latumoni Xuwola Green is a fine completely handmade Assam from Latumoni, a very small family-run plantation located in Tingkhong, Upper Assam. The careful hand processing in small individual batches results in large, beautiful leaves and a bright mellow liquor. This tea was harvested in a special batch for us on 2 July 2024 from plants grown naturally and without use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

The small privately-run plantation only measures approximately 2 acres. It was planted by Sailen and his late father. Originally the leaves from this small plantation like those of many others were bought by the larger factories of Assam to increase their capacity. However, with large corporate gardens having full control over the purchasing of the leaves from small scale farmers and little competition have lead to a significant decrease in the price offered to the farmers. This essentially has created a situation where the small scale farmers were exploited by the large corporate estates. Sailen decided to change the way he was running the plantation, to switch to organic growing methods and to start producing his own artisanal teas.

The Latumoni garden is surrounded by small forests of trees and other plants. These are left undisturbed on purpose to protect the tea plants and biodiversity in this garden. This does provide a form of natural pest control for the family. While a complete organic certification is financially out of reach for a small garden like this, the teas here are grown and produced to organic standards, without the use of any artificial pesticides or fertilisers.

We work together with a specialist wholesaler in Assam who only works with small scale farmers like Sailen. They do not just resell the farmers’ teas but also provide support and financial help to small scale farmers to enable them to produce great quality tea – such as investing into machinery and providing them with knowhow. This guarantees small scale farmers like Sailen a fair price for their tea and provides investment into their farm to support their family’s future. This is in complete contrast with teas from many large Assam estates where most of the price paid for the tea ends up with the estate and little trickles down to the farmers.

This Assam Latumoni Xuwola Green tea has long, large and wiry dark green leaves that feature some silver tips. The aroma from the leaves is green, freshly vegetal with just a hint of tobacco. This tea is very far removed from other green Assam teas flavour-wise. A typical flavour of an Indian green tea, especially one from Assam, would have a strong profile, with plenty of tobacco notes and a varying degree of harshness and astringency. This Xuwola green tea, however, is surprisingly different. The very bright and clear liquor has a fresh aroma that is lightly vegetal and reminiscent of a lightly pan-roasted Chinese green tea. The flavours are light, refreshing and bright. There are milky, tangy, lightly vegetal and herbaceous notes. There are further top notes that are sweet and fruity. This tea has a sparkling quality to its flavour and a lasting smoothness. There is no particularly discernible astringency, bitterness or dryness, just a little chalkiness on the aftertaste. It is a really exciting tea that may just change the way many perceive Indian green teas!

We suggest brewing parameters of 80°C for around 3 minutes according to your taste, brewing 3 or more times.

This Assam Latumoni Xuwola Green tea was first featured in our July 2024 Curious Tea Subscription Boxes.