Green Tea Kilimanjaro Tea Tasting (Tropical Treasures Ltd.)

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green tea kilimanjaro tea adventures

It has been a while but I finally tasted another tea from Tropical Treasure Ltd. (Specialty Tea Kilimanjaro on Instagram). Back in May, I tasted a Kilimanjaro black tea and an Usambara green tea and their ‘Green Tea Kilimanjaro’ was next on my list. As was the case when I tasted the other teas, I do not have information about the cultivar or time of harvest, which makes it even more interesting to taste this tea.

Green Tea Kilimanjaro

As I mentioned above, I do not have much information other than the fact that it’s a green tea and that it is from the area around the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Last time I tasted two of their teas, I did not brew them Gong Fu. Today, however, I’ll try to brew this one using the Gong Fu method to see what it has to offer.

The dry leaves have a very long and twisted shape. Very dark colour with some tints of green. The aroma is a tiny bit fruity and I’m also getting some notes of grass and subtle hay at the same time. A lot is going on here. 

Once the leaves are wet, the colour changes and it becomes bright and vibrant green.  You can also see that it’s a mixture of everything; long leaves, smaller pieces and some stalks. The most dominant aroma is grass but there is some nuttiness as well.

Tea Tasting

  • Water 80°C
  • 5.8g for a 180ml Tokoname Kyusu
  • 1 rinse
  • 6 infusions

Infusions

Infusion 1 (15 sec): the liquor has a very light yellow hue to it and it’s a bit cloudy. This is an infusion without much flavours but what I’m getting are subtle notes of fresh grass. There is some light hay in the finish as well.

Infusion 2 (20 sec): the liquor is a lot less cloudy.  This infusion is rather soft again but in addition to fresh grass, I’m also getting some light umami. This is not a tea that throws everything at you, but you have to look for it. Once you find it, it’s something to enjoy.

Infusion 3 (25 sec): this infusion is completely transparent and only has some yellow tints to it. It got super weird after the second infusion while I was pouring the third. I felt very relaxed all of a sudden. It was as if nothing else mattered; only me sipping some tea. This is exactly the feeling I got when I tasted their other teas. This one has a subtle sweetness at the start and changes into something grassy.  After swallowing, there was also a light astringency.

Infusion 4 (30 sec): the colour is getting a tiny bit lighter each infusion. The sweetness is gone and it’s mostly subtle and pleasant grassy flavours.

Infusion 5 (35 sec): nothing too intense. Just soft and pleasant grass and some light sweetness in the finish.

Infusion 6 (40 sec): very light yellow colour. The flavours have almost faded completely. The main thing that is noticeable is the astringency at the end.

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Conclusion

I have to say it. This was a special tea! Judging from its smell, I thought I could expect some intense flavours. This wasn’t the case as I only experienced subtle flavours of grass and some sweet notes that were hidden somewhere in there. One thing that is remarkable about this tea is the feeling I got after the second infusion. While I was brewing the third, I felt very relaxed all of a sudden. This feeling fell right onto my shoulders and nothing else mattered anymore; only drinking and enjoying the tea. It’s weird but I also experienced this while drinking two of their other teas. In general, this is a more than decent tea. If you’re looking for something that is easy to drink and to relax with, this is the one for you.

Interested in buying this tea? Contact Tropical Tea Ltd via Instagram and they can help you further! 

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