RUBY BLACK TEA

SUMMER 2014 HARVEST - From the shores of Sun Moon Lake in Nantou comes this rare exquisite black tea. Long lush twisted leaves resembling charred wood splinters are entwined with scarlet highlights that create a most sensual and sumptuous composition. Ruby Black is produced from a hybrid of native Myanmar and imported Assam trees planted by Japanese growers in the 1920's. Black tea has rarely been cultivated in Taiwan, an island famed for its Oolongs. Production of this tea ceased until the great 1999 Taiwan Earthquake, when the devastation of hillsides revealed these hardly cultivars. The reintroduction of this tea revitalized the local economy and created a sensational black tea that rivals any Darjeeling or Assam. Imagine the finest Assam with not a hint of astringency and a sweet malty taste almost dripping down the sides of your tongue and marry that flavor with undertones of cinnamon and mint. The taste is beyond description so light and balanced yet robust. Background notes pick up hints of grilled baby root vegetables, small fresh potatoes and rich earth (like in a primeval forest). American Tea Room was the first purveyor of Ruby Black in the U.S. and has a limited amount of this spectacular tea plucked just for us and expertly crafted before being air shipped to insure optimal freshness.