Details
LUPONDECountry of Origin: Tanzania
Grade: BP1 (Broken Pekoe 1)
Manufacture Type: CTC (Cut Tear & Curl)
Cup Characteristics: One of the nicest teas to come from one of the best estates in Tanzania. It has a malty character with nutty-like flavor.
Infusion: Tending rosy with golden highlights.
Ingredients: Luxury black tea
Information:
In 1919, Britain took over from Germany as the colonial ruler of the country. Still, many German settlers stayed on in the country and in 1926, one of them decided to build a large tea garden and factory in the vicinity of the Usumbara mountains. The hilly terrain and rich soil of the district was found to be particularly conducive to growing tea and as time passed other planters moved in and the number of estates increased. One of these was Luponde, situated high in the hills at 1800 meters above sea level. Right from the start Luponde estate proved itself capable of producing some of Tanzania's finest teas, a trait that continues to this day.
The modern era of Luponde is characterized by more than just amazing tea. In recent years the estate has earned a Fair Trade certification and has established an excellent track record of beneficial social and economic developments for its workers. As an example, the estate recently used some of their Fair Trade premiums to construct a mill for grinding maize. While this may seem like a small development, prior to the mill's construction, workers had to haul their maize 7 km away to have it ground. (The estate's workers are given land on which to grow their own crops.) The estate is also renowned for its excellent environmental practices, forgoing chemical fertilizers and other synthetic agricultural inputs in favor of an all-natural style of tea husbandry.