Tanzania Luponde Black

Got this in January’s TeaRunners box, and at that time I tasted it hot, and it was good but unremarkable, you know? Typical African black tea, full bodied and brisk, big assamica vibes. But then yesterday I drank it after a long (nearly 24h I think?) cold steep and I was blown away by the fruity notes that emerged! Like purple grape juice, blueberry compote, blackberries… I’m not sure why I was so convinced that the colour of the flavour was dark purple, but the impression persisted for the entire mug. So I set up another cold steep last night, same parameters (5g in 500ml DavidsTea Nordic Mug) and I was so impatient I had a little taste this morning and… no fruit notes. Hmm. So I’m going to keep steeping and cross my fingers that it wasn’t a fluke and just needs more time. :)

I haven’t been able to figure out where Tearunners sourced this from, which is a bit annoying, because if I can make that fruit thing happen again I’m definitely gonna want more. Most places selling a black tea from Luponde Tea Estate online have it in CTC form (BP1 grade), which I think they’re sourcing from Metropolitan Tea Co, which… excellent, multiple domestic vendors to choose from. But the tea I actually got was definitely orthodox, not CTC… probably FOP or BOP from what I remember of the dry leaf. My best guess is that Tearunners sourced it from Simpson & Vail at some point in the past (actually, yeah, I just went back to look at https://steepster.com/teas/simpson-and-vail/90857-tanzania-luponde-black-organic-tea-fop and the description of the tea is the same) but it no longer even exists on the S&V website (for comparison, their Kenyan black FOP still has a page on the website where it’s marked as being out of stock). What does that mean?? Yes, I know I’m overthinking this. Anyway, if anyone on steepster has the CTC black from Luponde please go cold steep it and report back on your results, lol.

Small, choppy leaf pieces; an edge of sweet funk from the warming leaf, like a packaged caramel custard. Dark amber brew gives up something vaguely floral; florals on the wet leaf, too; I don’t get any of the cinnamon TR describes. Mostly tannic, crisp, biting, drying. I wouldn’t drink this by itself again, but I can see it complimenting a fatty, salty meal.