Tea has been a much-loved beverage for thousands of years by cultures all over the world. Each culture brought their own brewing and serving methods to the tea tradition, often accompanied by ritual or ceremony. We’re pleased that tea has survived the test of time, and even in today remains the worlds’ most widely consumed beverage.
While there are many varieties and flavors of tea available, amazingly, they all derive from one tea plant—the Camellia Sinensis, which is an evergreen shrub. While all parts of the tea plant are used to make mass-produced and low quality teas, we use only the uppermost leaves and buds in our fine teas, as these are the youngest and tenderest.
When new leaves sprout, it’s called a flush, and within one growing season a plant may flush as many as two or three times. Darjeeling teas are known to be among the worlds most famous and enjoyed flushes.
A tea plant’s growth may be affected by many factors, including rain, temperature, frosts and altitude, which combine to affect the character and appearance of the leaves. Perhaps the largest influence in the development of exquisite teas is the soil and growing region, which significantly affects a tea’s flavor and fragrance. These influences, along with the manufacturing process, work together to produce all the tea varieties we know and love.