TeaChat

So my friend returned from India a little while back and picked me up some tea as a favor.

He came back with a Darjeeling, but also with this, that I am rather curious about.

It's labeled "Moonar Tea" and is in a sealed transparent plastic sleeve. I haven't opened it yet, but I can tell that it has a "grainy" texture to it - they aren't full leaves by any means.

My friend tells me he bought it directly off a farm - but that's about all the info he as on it.

Anyone have any details on what this is?



Bigger
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/455 ... 03a7_o.jpg

Apologies for the terrible picture quality - all I have with me is my cameraphone.

It could be referring to the Indian town of Munnar. It is located in Southwest India and most of the town's residents are employed by the tea industry.

Munnar, Kerala, India

Well Munnar is an estate in India. But what they have done to that tea is hard to say. The sweeps?

Victoria wrote:The sweeps?

If you mean the leftover sweepings, that's what I was thinking. It was by no means an expensive tea.

It does rather look like the fannings... Similar to what you would find in a teabag.

Does it look granulated into tiny Pebbles, in that case it could be a CTC (Cut Tear Curl) Tea, which is actually rather common in India I believe, though not so much anywhere else.

I say CTC as well. Some CTCs are very granulated depending on the machinery used.

They are more common from Assam than Darjeeling. I never had or saw a CTC like this from Darjeeling, though I guess they exist.

Hmm, very brown for a Darjeeling as well. Could be another growing region's being sold as a Darjeeling since after all there is more Darjeeling sold than produced

hooksie wrote:

Victoria wrote:The sweeps?

If you mean the leftover sweepings, that's what I was thinking. It was by no means an expensive tea.

Yes that's what I meant "fannings" like others have said.
Well ... brew it up and tell us about it! Watch the
weight and the time, less will be better till you know.
Good luck!

AdamMY wrote:Does it look granulated into tiny Pebbles, in that case it could be a CTC (Cut Tear Curl) Tea, which is actually rather common in India I believe, though not so much anywhere else.

Looking it up, perhaps this could be a good tea to try making chai with?

No no no, you're ALL wrong, they were just trying to write "Manure Tea" ... Who wouldn't like a hot, steaming pile... er... cup of... tea... ?

That's disgusting!

Maybe it´s Monsoon flush Darjeeling that´s been CTC processed?

So, hooksie, have you tried any, or are we just going to stare at it? It won't kill you. You can always flavor it or use it for chai if necessary.

And how was the Darjeeling?

hooksie wrote: It's labeled "Moonar Tea" and is in a sealed transparent plastic sleeve. I haven't opened it yet, but I can tell that it has a "grainy" texture to it - they aren't full leaves by any means.
Anyone have any details on what this is?



Bigger
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/455 ... 03a7_o.jpg

I was in Munnar about 2.5 years ago. It is a beautiful mountainous area that is a major tea growing place about 1500-2000m in elevation. It's a wonderful place to visit in Kerala, South India. Very refreshing as the weather is quite a bit cooler than at sea level.

As Victoria and Dresden said, these are fannings, tea residue after processing. Unfortunately, I never saw or tasted high quality tea from this area. It is not comparable to Darjeeling but for masala chai or tea with milk and sugar, it's fine.

I agree with Tead.

Munnar's a lovely place to visit, and one of the few cooler places in sweltering South India, and has a similiar climate to the Nilgiris.

What you have there is what in India is called Tea Dust. Very strong, and you need very little. Good for a strong cup of Chai... cooks easily so don't overbrew. For Chai you need high temperatures, but reduce the cooking time by half. Experiment with tea quantities... start with less, and increase if you like.