Have had a lot of tea grown on the Pasir Nangka tea estate in Java lately.
Wrote about Java Santosa last year (Startles me awake), and I still like tea from this region. This one might even be better than the earlier one. Maybe.
This one is strong like a good Assam, but not a lot of tannic acid. So it's not at all bitter. That's why I like to use Java tea in blends of black teas. There's something fruity and spicy in the taste as well.
Did a bit of research about tea from this region, and what I learned is that they started out planting tea plants from China here in Indonesia. For some reason, they switched to tea plants from Assam at some point.
Am rather curious why tea grown from the same plant, but grown in an entirely different region, has such a dramatic difference in taste. Any thoughts on that one?
Some soils and climates can have a dramatic effect on the plants grown there. Apparently asparagus favours a dark, volcanic soil, found in parts of Victoria (Australia), Thailand, and South America. Which I am guessing is the reason for the off-season stuff not coming from North Queensland like everything else.
ReplyDeleteWith wine I think they use "terroir" to describe the environment the grapes grow in. I tasted some Pinot Noir grown next to each other but on different sides of the hill. The difference in the fruit was so apparent that the winemaker made two wines, rather than blending them. It would seem that might apply to tea as well.