Does anyone know much about this kind of tea? I don't think I've seen it
> discussed here, but I've heard it described as being a good kind of tea. I
> have heard that it is grown in Turkey, and I heard a few positive things
> about the taste, but I don't this kind of tea is rarely mentioned anywhere
> with the exception of maybe two books that didn't say much on it. If
> you've had it, where do you find this tea, and how was it?
Rize or Caykur teas are pretty good Turkish teas, available in any supermarket there. The tea is grown on the Black Sea (Trabzon, for instance). It is very low in tannin and therefore doesn't get bitter easily. In Turkey they normally use the Samovar method, with the tea concentrate at the top of a water (boiling) container. After about 20m of brewing this concentrate is ready to be mixed with the water from the lower container. About 1:5 or 2:3 is what I have often seen. There is always sugar in the tea (cubes) or in the mouth before you drink it. The tea is served in small tea glasses (fit into a fist) on a small saucer. Luks means luxury, i.e. premium quality. A long time ago I read that the Turkish grown tea is low in pesticides (as opposed to the Chinese ones at that time). Unfortunately a lot of Ceylon tea is nowadays used as a substitute for proper Turkish tea (higher in tannin).
JB