There has been much talk lately about tea reviews and how they may influence tea buying and consumption. The most recent by one of favorite “tea focused with a flair”, writers Lahikmajoe Drinks Tea lahikmajoedrinkstea.teatra.de/2011/10/25/you-dont-really-want-to-know-how-this-tastes-do-you/
So here is a challenge tea bloggers and reviewers. Can you identify this tea?
Test your teaidentifying skills.

Couple of hints.
This is the dry leaf and yes it is a blend with only one other fruit addition.
The flavor is mildly sweet, slightly earthy and the nose is semi fruity.

There is a wonderful lingering hint of fruit flavor left on the palate.
The First Infusion resulted in a lovely sweet coppery color liquid.

Tea export from this country started in 1955. It is from the east where 6500 KG/ha were exported in 2010. The true dry leaf typically is included for tea blending for the overseas commercial market.
If you choose to participate please list
- The country of origin
- Type of tea
- Fruit with which it is blended
If you have reviewed this in the past include a link to your review. Any brave reviewers out there or someone just wanting to take a guess?
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OK, here we go.
The tea is quite red. To me, that suggests a Kenyan tea. They tend to produce that colour liquor. Of course there are reddish teas from Taiwan, but that wasn’t in existence in 1935, and from China, but that has been exporting forever.
The leaves make it clear that it’s tea, not rooibos, and I vaguely recall Kenya cranking up commercially before the second world war. ( I remember reading it, I mean. I’m not that old)
So, then there’s the fruit. It seems white in the “before” picture. That suggests Apple. pear, perhaps dried ginger.But ginger is not a fruit, and there is no sign of any white in the “after” photo. So a fruit that is white dry but that darkens during steeping.
It could be a white peach, but is that exotic enough for this challenge? White nectarine? Same applies
The other white fruit I can think of is coconut. Whilst there are coconut teas, they tend to have either vanilla o mango as well. And it would show up in the after picture as white.
So I’m going back to the peach. Kenya tea, with peach, dryish and sweet.
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Dear Sir; Thank you for your reply Peach, Kenya is a good guess but not the tea that I’m drinking. I will uncover the reveal on Wednesday.
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Given the number clues, it would appear to be a Vietnamese green or a special type of oolong. I’m guessing the fruit could be lychee or dragonfruit, but the dried dragonfruit would have small black seeds. The coppery liqueur is an enigma.
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Latteteadah, thanks for visiting and for the read check back on Wednesday for the reveal.
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Did you leave the (wet) green leaves out for days to oxidize to create the brown (wet) leaves? That is a very strange transformation, indeed.
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Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I am not that creative. I brewed the leaves and that was the result.