Description

Colombia is well known producing coffee and cocoa, but it is only recently that we have started to see tea from Colombia in Europe and as you start to understand the history of the region you will see why.

Given the fact that one of the key factors in how good a tea will taste is terroir, and that tea and coffee plants thrive in similar conditions, it should not be surprising that tea can grow in Colombia. However, although the Colombian government first experimented with growing tea using tea seeds imported from Sir Lanka in the 1950s, only one family was successful in taking tea growing to a commercial level and persisted with growing tea.

The force behind the tea growing initiative was Alberto Llano Buenaventura, whose father already had a thriving coffee plantation, and who died in 1982 having been shot by guerilla rebels.

In the early 1970s, the Colombian Coffee National Federation were on a mission to persuade farmers to change their growing strategy: The aim was to produce larger amounts of higher yielding but poorer quality coffee from the Robusta bean instead of farming the lower yielding and therefore less profitable Arabica variety.  At this time the family chose to switch all their coffee plantations to tea.

Determined not to let her husband’s legacy, which included support and welfare programmes for the workers, measures to protect the environment and a philosophy of working in harmony with nature, fade away, Alberto’s widow (and mother of seven) Marichu de Llano re-established the tea estate as a family owned company which was headed up by Alberto’s son, Alberto Jnr. Unfortunately, Alberto Jnr also fell victim to a violent uprising in Colombia and died in 1993.

By 2013 Colombia was relatively stable and the company rebranded itself as Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea. The company aims to produce the best quality loose tea they can from the plants they have nurtured over the past 60 years and at the same time protect the environment and preserve the social structure set up by the founders.

Bitaco harvests and produces tea throughout the year. The leaves are picked by hand and great emphasis is placed on plucking just one or two leaves and a bud and the teas are produced using traditional, orthodox processing methods.

This Bitaco Colombian Tippy Black Tea has a classic black tea profile that will appeal to drinkers who like traditional strong tea like Assam Mangalam, Irish Breakfast Blend or New Vithanakande type tea. The finely chopped tippy leaves produce a dark ruby liquor with a slightly malty, fruity aroma. The strong but smooth infusion has mineral, sweet, malty and fruity notes. The way this tea has been processed means that this tea can produce a very strong cup without losing the balance between strength, bitterness and flavour.

Like our Irish Breakfast and Prince William blends, this is a tea that goes well with milk. We suggest brewing this tea at 95°C for 2 – 3 minutes if you drink your tea plain, or for up to 5 minutes if you prefer a stronger brew and/or wish to drink your tea with milk.

DE-ÖKO-006 Non-EU Agriculture

From controlled organic cultivation