Spectacular aromatics from a Winter-picked Nilgiri Frost. Citrus blossoms, transparent jasmine and lemon oil in a unique Black tea.
It is very unusual to taste a tea which is picked in the coldest months of winter.
But, in the high mountains of Nilgiri, a special Winter tea can be produced if the conditions are just right - it is often called Nilgiri Frost.
The daytime temperatures in Nilgiri during winter still reach a balmy 20-23 degrees Celsius with plenty of sun. But during the night, a massive chill drops temperatures by more than 20 degrees to sub-zero.
This huge swing in temperature puts the plant under stress, and it produces lots of sugars (which act like antifreeze) and other aromatics like Methy Salicylate and Methy Jasmonate to handle the thermal shock.
Nilgiri Frost teas are picked in the night or very early morning when the leaves are slightly frozen or covered in frost.
They are then hard-withered for an extended period to lose over 65% of their moisture iver around 16-20 hours.
But because the leaves have ice crystals from the cold temperature, they break up the cell walls during thawing. This 'micro-maceration' increases the interaction of chemicals in the leaves to make an abundance of aromatic 'top-notes'. Often during this wither you can hear a cracking sound as the leaves thaw and dry.
The purpose of the 'hard-wither' is to create a lot of aromatic complexity and leave the producer with quite dry leaves that will hardly oxidise at all after rolling. This preserves the brighter florals developed in the wither.
So, the leaves are only briefly rolled without any vertical pressure in cool rolling rooms.
If a standard rolling process was used then the dry leaves would break up excessively. Instead, with frost teas, only the very green and dry outer edges of the leaves will break off giving a characteristic appearance of silver brown rolled leaves and larger green flecks.
The leaves are then not oxidised at all and sent for a low-tempearture firing (around 80 degrees).
All of these careful steps are used to maximise and maintain the unique floral and liniment brightness from the winter-stressed tea leaves.
It is also worth noting that Nilgiri Frosts cannot always be made each year and the batches are very small. Often the nights become too cold and the leaves are destroyed or there is rain during these months which affect the quality of the tea.
This Parkside Nilgiri Frost is a masterclass in Winter tea.
The aromatics are overflowing with winter stress-response top-notes.
Citrus blossoms, lemon oil, wintergeen, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, soft rose and eucalyptus all jump out of the pot. It is a dizzying romp through cool florals and mentholated botanicals.
But, with the hot Nilgiri days, there is also a warmth of fresh turmeric, ripe mango, ginger, steamed sponge cake and honey.
The texture is brisk and bright and the finish is cooling with winter air and high mountain freshness followed by a little gingery spice.
Lemon Blossom Frost is a pinnacle batch of a very unusual tea and it needs to be experienced to understand the unique joys of Winter tea.
