Ganesha Green - Organic Green Tea

Ingredients

Green tea (camellia sinensis)

Producer

Kanchanjangha Tea Estate and Research Center Pvt. Ltd. (KTERC). KTERC is the first certified organic tea garden in Nepal that was established in 1984 by Mr. Deepak Prakash Baskota to rid his community of poverty. It remains a model social enterprise still today, that runs on cooperative infrastructure and is truly focused on the people and planet before profit.

Production Process of our Organic Green Tea

The production process of our Ganesha Green Tea is quite simple yet a work of art. The process begins by carefully plucking only the finer 2 leaves and a bud from each tea bush. The fresh harvest of green leaves is then brought to the processing factory as soon as possible to reduce the time the tea leaves can react with oxygen. The leaves are placed in withering troughs for a short time to prepare it for enzymer machine. The dry heat from enzymer sucks out moisture from the tea leaves and helps in reducing the oxidation process which would otherwise turn the green leaves to become brown and turning them into black teas. This process also helps in bringing out the smokey and nutty flavors in the organic loose leaf green tea while softening it in appearance.

The soft withered leaves then go through a short rolling process which really helps in shaping the tea while bringing out all the essential oils. While in general, green teas do not go through any oxidation process, we let the rolled teas sit and cool down for about 15-20 mins before sending it to the final drying process. Allowing it to sit for a short time really makes a difference to making those buttery and toasty flavors that define this organic green tea. The decades of experience the tea maker needs to figure out the peaks in the flavor and drying time is an art form.

Origin

Our tea garden is nestled in the foothills of Mt. Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, in the eastern part of Nepal. Located precisely near the western borders of Darjeeling, India and north of the Illam, the most famous tea growing region in Nepal, our small village enjoys the best of both worlds. Situated at an altitude of 1300-1800 meters (4,200 - 6000 feet), the area enjoys a pristine himalayan climatic conditions to produce highly unique and aromatic teas.

Who is Ganesha Green for?

Anyone who wants a light loose leaf green tea with very low caffeine. People who love high quality Japanese Grokuro (shaded green tea), matcha and Chinese Longjing aka Dragonwell tea, will most likely enjoy and appreciate this tea. However, the unique buttery sweet notes are able to turn anyone into a green tea lover.

Who is Ganesha Green dedicated to?

Ganesha (Ganesh) is an elephant headed god in Hinduism who is worshipped to bring wisdom, success and good luck. He is also supposed to be worshipped first in any hindu ceremony (he received that as a blessing from Lord Shiva, his father). Considering the name and the significance, we dedicate this tea to Rita Baskota, our very first and the youngest supervisor in our tea garden. She not only is very sweet and humble, just like our organic loose-leaf green tea, but is a role model for younger women to get into the tea industry at supervisory and management levels.

What are the pros saying about this tea?

• Hanamichi Review
• Life's a Cup of Tea Review
• GONGFU BREWING
• 175 degrees (20 Seconds + 10 Seconds Additional)
• Candidate for Gongfu: Yes
• Evolution of Flavor Profile: Stone fruit, butter, and seaweed to seaweed, pine, nuts, and charcoal
• Body and Aromatics: Wonderful oily/eggy body with persistent down, especially the second steeping, smoky and grilled nut aromas.
• Steeping Parameters: Good as stated. Could increase water temperature for a more tannic brew or flash steep (notes below).
• Structure: Sophisticated smoky, green, and nut profile. Not frequently balanced; each aspect was highlighted in its own steeping. The first two steepings are primarily of seaweed and butter, yielding to smoky, grilled, nut tastes in later steepings.
• Notes: This tea really enjoys a high gram to water ratio with flash steepings. If doing this tasting again I would see what other notes I could get from this brewing method.