ORIGIN
Bihar is a state in East India, bordering Nepal. It is divided by the River Ganges, which floods its fertile plains. Important Buddhist pilgrimage sites include the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya's Mahabodhi Temple, under which the Buddha allegedly meditated.
Doke Tea Estate is a family tea production, run by the Lochan family and focused on the specialty tea segment as well as tea education. Rajiv Lochan, the founder and head of the project, is a famous tea entertainer from India, professional tea taster, and international Indian tea representative. Rajiv has made a great contribution to the development and popularization of Indian tea, winner of a huge number of international awards in the tea industry, and, finally, just a tea person who devoted his life to tea. Having been producing tea in Darjeeling since 1974, he moved to Bihar in 1997 and became the first person who started to grow and produce tea in this area. A wonderful story of a connection between humans and tea, which is passed down from generation to generation.
ORGANOLEPTICS
A beautiful multi-colored tea leaf with colors ranging from white to dark brown and reminiscent of autumn leaves. The aroma of dried tea leaves is sweet and rich, with floral, honey and fruity notes. After warming up, the aroma of the leaves continues with various floral overtones. The rinsed tea leaf reveals fruity and wine motifs.
The tea is excellent in any brewing style and at any water temperature, but I prefer the gongfu cha, where this tea performs no worse than its eastern comrades. If you approach the brewing process creatively and gradually raise the temperature of the water, you can get a wonderful tea experience and a symphony of aromas and tastes as the tea gradually unfolds.
The taste is mellow and sweet with honey, fruity, dried fruit and sugar notes. The infusion has a silky texture and leaves a long, sweet aftertaste with a slight menthol flavor. The tea gives a clear, amber infusion color, with orange tones. With longer infusion, the tea reveals tobacco, woody and a little bit citrus notes and a signature Indian light astringency in the aftertaste.