Presenting the first black tea from the season, the 2026 Nilgiri Handmade Black Tea. One of the fruitiest batches of this tea ever, we made sure to grab this batch as soon as we had our first few sips from the sample. The absolute best choice for people who prefer zero bitterness and astringency in their tea.
 
Indian estates have been redefining the boundaries of traditional black tea and taking it more and more away from the classic red tea or hong cha which once was the only dimention for black teas. This one even further blurs the line between black and whites, a minimally processed black tea, with a limited oxidation and delicate handling done completely by hand, we can honestly get away with calling it a white tea. With black teas here, the aim of the first harvest season of the year is to preserve the fresh growth juices with just a touch of oxidation and make it shine through the processing method we understand the most, orthodox black tea processing. The leaves develop all these intense and fresh winter/spring notes only after it is left to oxidise post rolling, that is when the tea is undergoing the controlled oxidation process and the leaf juices interact with each other resulting in these interesting flavours.

This particular tea though, goes through a bunch of unique steps. The withering is done using cold air instead of hot air. The temperature increase also happens by using hot water pipes opposed to flames. This adds a stability to the temperature and helps with preserving the wintertime character. Also, the tea is hand rolled on a purpose built Sri Lankan wooden board and we have seen the big difference it makes, in India as well as in Sri Lanka tea estates we visited a few years back.
 
The dry leaf has fruity sweet aroma, resembling pears. When placed on the heated ware, you get hints of fruit along with a paan like mint note. As you have the first sip, you experience a fruity sweetness, resembling pineapple and oranges. There is a honey note as well. Along with the taste of honey, the liquor offers a good thickness, coating your tastebuds for the perfect aftertaste. You can experience notes of guava and paan in the aftertaste. There a little bit of floral notes on offer too, resembling clematis flammula. You can enjoy this juicy cup of tea from the first to the last sip, only increasing in intensity. All of the tasting notes come together to bring you the "Nilgiri Handmade Experience", fresh from the 2026 winter harvest!
 
Appearance : Bright yellow
Taste : Pineapple, orange, honey, guava, paan(betel leaf), 
Steeping Time : 3.5 minutes western style, 20 seconds gongfu style adding 5 seconds every subsequent steep
Leaf to water ratio :  1.2 gram per 100ml for western style, 4 grams per 100ml for gongfu style
Recommended Steeping Temperature : 90°C
Recommended Steeping Method : Works good both ways
Harvest Season : Winter 2025-2026 ( January 2026 )