Kenyan tea characteristics?

The Kenyan tea that I know is good, but not special. At the moment I have a black tea from Tanzania to flavour with fresh fruit. It is good, it is nice and smooth; but it isn't special. You shouldn't forget that in India and China they cultivate tea for ages, and the teas that get into the specialty tea shops here are the best of the best of those areas. (The rest will be melanged away in teabags or sold at reduced prices to the locals.) Choice in Africa is less, so don't expect extraordinary tea now!

A few tips: As long as the tea isn't bitter you can infuse longer. Some teas do better with cooler water than boiling.

Peter

Most (99%) of Kenyan tea are meant to be used as cheap fillers in teabags. But some (1%) of them are excellent.

I had very good results with an assam from the Marinyn Estate. It was excellent and half price of similar Indian assams. I think African teas can be surprisingly good. It's just very hard to find the 1% high end teas.

Some pointers :

Also. better chance to get a good cup with BOP1 or TGFOP grades.

Julie, thank you for your posts. I've bookmarked the sites you referenced and will visit them to learn more.

I'm going to try Peter's suggestions. I'll send for another sample from a different company and try again.

The results from the first trial weren't entirely unpleasant, but I like heavier-bodied tea. The tea I tried would add a nice mildness in a blend, I think.

Anyway, thank you for your help. M

Kenyan teas are probably my favorites :)

I have been consistently drinking a Milima Estate Kenya from a local tea shop for the last year or so (Upton Tea coincidentally also sells teas from this estate:

What I really like about these teas is that there's no/very little astringency, a well-defined, almost sweet flavor, and a "lightness" similar to that of Darjeelings but still enough "heft" of an Assam or an English Breakfast blend.

Kenyan teas are my everyday, no need for a special occasion teas. I find Assams too full/robust to drink on a regular basis, and Darjeelings too floral. I like to start my day with something black and distinctive in flavor, usually like an English Breakfast, but sometimes I find that to be too robust for me as well.

Kenyan teas are nice in that they have all the qualities I just mentioned, but scaled down so that it's more mild. Sometimes they smell and taste a little floral, and I think that is what contributes to the sweetness I taste.

I usually brew for about 3-4 mins (more on the 3 side) at anywhere from

That's just what I've learned from my experiences, and overall I have been very pleased with them. Hope you can find one you like :)

Diana

As already posted on this thread, 99% of Kenyan tea is black CTC, though it is not generally appreciated how good the quality of the majority of this tea is - for its purpose - which is to brighten up, strengthen and give pure orange colour to the tea bags of Britain, the tea cups of Pakistan, and the tea glasses of Egypt. These three countries drink two thirds of the 200,000 tonnes of tea that Kenya produces annually.

However, the 1% (possibly nearer 0.1%) that is orthodox tea in Kenya is a very different product, and a quality match any day for Assams, Keemuns and Ceylons.

Tea Technology Associates, the sister company to Teacraft, has been making orthodox tea in Kenya for the last eighteen months. TTA has been teaching the KTDA (Kenya Tea Development Agency) how to make orthodox tea again. They lost the knack 30 years ago when they turned over 100% to CTC teas for teabags. The new orthodox teas are exceptionally good in colour and naturally lighter but more complex in taste than the CTCs made from the same leaf.

TTA installed a new purpose built orthodox line in Kangaita Factory. This is sited east of the Rift Valley, in sight of the snowy Mt Kenya summit, and in the middle of the best green quality leaf in Africa. Kangaita orthodox tea sells under the KeTeaDA mark. The only other operational orthodox line in Kenya belongs to Finlay (west of Rift) - who sell theirs as Milima and Marinym - but only make a few tonnes per year and then only to order. This discontinuity of supply is why many suppliers of Kenyan orthodox tea have less than satisfactory samples on their shelves. Old, stale, and full of moisture: though these started off tasting well they lose their flavour and colour during long storage.

However, the KeTeaDA black orthodox tea is freshly made and is a rare treat.

KTDA orthodox tea is sold as KeTeaDA brand and comes in eight orthodox grades. You can find five of the most popular of these grades on the web at

Nigel at Teacraft

Unashamedly proud to have been instrumental in re-introducing orthodox tea production to Kenya.

Dear Sir,

I am amazed at your suggestion that 99% of Kenyan tea are cheap fillers. Kenya is renowned worldwide for its quality teas and are the second largest exporter of tea worldwide today. I would love to here your opinion as to how you came up with your figures? Also, I would be very interested in what you consider good quality tea. Can you tell me the factories in Kenya that produce the 1% of great quality that you claim.

Ireland is regarded as one of the highest quality markets in the world, and we drink the most tea per head of population in the world today. Over 55% of our countries consumption comes from Kenya and most of that from East of the Rift Valley.

Most teas produced from East of the rift valley in Kenya are some of the highest quality teas produced on this planet today. In fact teas picked by the KTDA average 80% two leaves and a bud. Two leaves and a bud produce the best quality tea. In the majority of factories worldwide they use course plucking which leads to poorer quality tea being produced. However there are many groups that do not use the course plucking method.

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