Northern Tea Merchants: Wa-Koucha Black Tea

(Photo sourced from www.northern-tea.com - sorry had camera issues!)

I have long been a black tea lover, as regular readers will know. I love it pure, flavoured, Earl Grey being a particular favourite, as I often say.

Today though, I have experienced a black tea that, in all honesty, I believe, is the finest example of black tea I've ever tasted. It was love at first sip.

And it's a tea I'm really serious about.

The little treasure that I write about today is Wa-Koucha Black tea from Northern Tea Merchants.

From the moment I snipped open the packet of this Japanese black tea, I knew this was going to be a tea that I'd really enjoy and when I actually tasted it I knew this was something special. And I loved it so much I'm on the third pot already.

The tea has a wonderful aroma that is gentle and fruity and is instantly alluring. The first thing I do when opening a new tea is to inhale the aroma of the tea when dried and again after brewing. Sometimes they can smell quite differently after infusion.

I was very cautious regarding the brewing process as advised on Northern Tea's page for the Wa-Koucha tea. I decided on the first infusion to brew for two minutes and increased it to three on the second. Personally, I preferred it after the three minute infusion, but was careful not to go over the three minutes.

The tea brews to a lovely dark mahogany colour, with a vibrant copper tinge which is very attractive indeed. The tea comes from the second 2012 harvest.

Without a doubt Wa-Koucha is extremely flavoursome, whilst at the same time, retaining a delicateness that is a pleasure to taste. It is very unique as it's a black tea that has some of the qualities of green tea that I love most, a slight grassy flavour, a ever so slightly astringent but pleasant aftertaste that dances merrily on your taste buds.

In addition this tea does have fruity tones, too, which makes this tea. It reminds me ever so slightly of a plummy flavour which adds another layer of taste to a tea that is just wonderful to drink.

And the smoothness of the tea, and it's texture is perhaps one of the elements that I love most about it. It is as smooth as honey, easy to drink - a delight for every one of our senses.

This morning I was on the sofa really struggling to get warm and in a fair bit of discomfort due to my bones which are thinning due to a medical complaint - I was feeling pretty gloomy I don't mind admitting, and tired too after a long shift at work last night, but as I took my first sip of the tea, experiencing it's wonderful texture and glorious taste, this really lifted my spirits, boosted my energy levels and after a couple of cups, really started to feel more like Laura then I have in a couple of days.

Wa-Koucha is just about a perfect tea as you can possibly get. The aroma is gorgeous (both dried and after infusion), the texture is smooth and mellow, the flavour is full and enjoyable but retaining a charming delicateness, it's after taste a little stronger but pleasant. This tea has all the elements of a tea that is about as close to perfect that I have yet to experience.

It's safe to say this is a tea that I, unknowingly, have been searching for for a long, long time.

But the only downside is Wa-Koucha tea is extremely rare. As James from Northern Tea Merchants explains that he has only been able to acquire 750g's. That's all. He has divided it into 15 packs of 50g's so if you want to try this gorgeous tea, then get in quickly (this morning, a Twitter friend of mine brought a pack, so there is one less available!!!!).

I know that I almost always write positively about tea, but this blend exceeds expectations. It's special because it tastes exquisite, in addition the value available is very low so if you want to try this wonderful tea I'd do so now!

As regular readers know I am incredibly fond of Northern Tea because they never let me down on the most important thing as a serious tea drinker - quality. And with Wa-Koucha I continue to be impressed.

If you really, really want to be impressed then you HAVE to try this tea. Do not let this gorgeous, superb blend slip away. And at £4.99 for 50g's it's an affordable piece of luxury.

Once you have tried this tea you will never look back. One experienced you will never forget it. And somehow the tea you always thought was your favourite will never quite seem the same again. This tea creates a impression and as someone who has tried many different tea's, that is hard to do.

Thanks to James for introducing me to this glorious tea!