Welcome to our year with tea
Reflections on March....Expansion at our Tea Houses
March is a time of expansion for us : gently feeling out into the Spring. We started the month at our Shatwell Tea House with a beautiful collaboration with our friends Hakko House. In the very early days of Comins we worked alongside Teruko at our Sturminster Tea House & we were delighted to welcome James, Renata and family for a beautiful [if cold] evening of tea & delicious Japanese food. You can learn more about Hakko House and where to enjoy their delicious food here
March has been busy at the Shatwell Farm Tea House with tea drinkers making the short pilgrimage up the stairs to the pop up at the top of the barn. The fire is still on making the space cosy & top of the list is this delicious tea from Buddika
A time for planning Spring Travels
Reflections on March....in the tea fields
As part of our year with tea project we are asking many of our partners around the world to share what activities they undertaken each month - an insight into the work that goes on in tea all year round - and of course a window into what tea everyone is drinking! Here is our spotlight on February from India to China & beyond.
March with tea friends in the Nilgiri Hills Southern India
March with tea friends in the Darjeeling Hills Northern India
From our partner Husna :
10th March '& we are currently picking this year's first few batches of our prized and prize-winning Darjeeling Moonshine Tea. Made from only the most tender shoots of select clonal tea bushes here at Glenburn, Moonshine is an exclusive early First Flush tea - beautiful, artisanal and hand-crafted, made in very small batches with a unique flavour and aroma that no other tea can replicate. It is processed very delicately, similar to a white tea, to not only preserve all its health-giving properties but also to keep the leaves intact right up to its infusion. Glenburn Moonshine tastes like Darjeeling's springtime in a cup, with its light, subtle palate-feel and floral, citrus undertones. Our 2023 Moonshine Tea won the coveted Leafies Gold Award recently and as we herald in the first harvest of 2024, we hope you are looking forward to this year's bounty of Moonshine magic, as much as we are looking forward to bringing it to you. This year let’s also try to push the awareness on Darjeeling tea to our tea drinkers. The region is really struggling with the cost of production not being able to support our farm-gate pricing, and a huge amount of fake tea in the market creating an artificial oversupply - many tea estates are selling out. Fingers crossed for a better 2024 and that we can survive these challenging times'.
18th March 'and we are beginning our first flush harvest. First flush teas are revered by tea connoisseurs for their
- refined flavour and aroma,
- the abundance of silver tips and unblemished leaves picked by the most practiced hands from the most select clonal plants and
- the complex layering of floral, fruity and citrus notes
Through the first flush you can experience the fresh notes of Spring & the unique taste and aroma that characterises one of the finest teas of the year'
Want to try the tea? You can explore here
March with tea friends : China Myanmar Border
March for our tea friends in Ujitawara Japan
