Rwanda Rukeri Estate OP

More from Capital Tea Limited! This was a tea recommended to me by yyz (along with several others). So that was part of the reason I chose to try it, along with the fact that I have no experience with African teas and it sounded interesting! For some reason, I have a strong urge to try teas from the more unusual locales. Anyway! The leaves and long and thin with stems included, and they smell heavily floral with some hay notes.

Wow, this is an interesting one, and definitely not what I expected. There’s so much going on. I would say, in a nutshell, this tea reminds me of a Darjeeling mixed with perhaps some kind of Chinese black and some Assam as well. It has the floral and herb/spice notes of a Darjeeling, but then there’s also sweet potato and brown sugar from perhaps a Yunnan tea, as well as strong malt and intensity from an Assam. Definitely complex, but still approachable. I’m at a loss as to what the rating should be, I think I’ll drink it a few more times before assigning a number.

This tea was sent to me as a sample with my Capital Tea order. I was excited as I have been interested in trying some of their African teas. This tea has beautiful dry leaves that are tightly wound dark needles that smell floral and spicy and citrusy. The first time I steeped this tea I used a sugar spoon from a tea set to measure the leaves and I realise I under leafed it. It is a testimant to the quality of this tea that even these first steeps were very good and rich in flavour as I used only about 1g of leaf. Later I used 2g of tea. The broth in both cases is a clear medium orange-red.

First steeping:

3 min. Scent: Molasses, citrus notes, sweet potato, cocoa, spice, stone fruit.
Taste: Cocoa, sweet potato and roasted skins, brown sugar, darker tones of malt, a touch of molasses, roasted notes, dried stone fruit.

As it cools, it tastes lighter in the tongue and becomes spicy and cooling with hints of pepper and herbs with touches of rosemary and tthyme, over the other notes.
Sweet, rich and savoury. The tea itself is very smooth on the tongue.

4.2min The resteep is spicy with herbacious, floral, spice and pepper notes over sugar/molasses, sweet potato and sweet red fruits with cherry and plum. This steep is still rich but feels much lighter on the tongue. There is a touch of butter.

6min. Scent: weet, more citrusy and spicy
Taste: Malt, spice, butter, fruit, cocoa

2g. 3 min. With more leaf the scent is similar but with stronger malt tones and more distinct cocoa, fruit, and roasted tones and spice notes.

Sweet potato notes are stronger and more biscuit, with a bit of briskness, and a deeper malt tone. Along with spice and fruit.

Altogether this is a rich sweet tea with savoury, spicy, fruity tea with cocoa and malt notes. Both lighter and heavier leaved options are excellent. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to try this tea!