What is organic coffee and how is this tea grown?
The Jun Chiyabari tea garden sits on Nepal's Himalayan foothills, facing Darjeeling between 1,650 and 2,100 meters. It is certified organic by the International Maritime Organization and farms without nitrogen fertilizers or pesticides. Slow-growing tea plants produce a mellow, long-lasting flavor, and the autumn tea carries a Muscat grape aroma.
At high altitude, tea plants photosynthesize intensely by day, then slow down sharply at night. Polyphenols and minerals accumulate, giving a strong sweet aftertaste. The Muscat note traces to the green fly, an insect common in naturally farmed gardens that bites the leaves. Readers comparing what is organic coffee and rainforest alliance certified organic coffee will notice similar certification logic.
The Jun Chiyabari tea garden on the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, located opposite Darjeeling at an altitude of 1,650 to 2,100 meters, is certified organic by the International Maritime Organization. Here, natural farming is practiced without nitrogen fertilizers or pesticides, tea plants grow slowly, and the flavor is mellow and long-lasting, with autumn tea carrying a Muscat grape aroma. Front Street Coffee selects the lightly heat-treated batch, presenting fresh floral and fruity notes. This article details the tea garden's terroir, flavor formation, aging suggestions, and brewing techniques, giving you a comprehensive understanding of the unique charm of Nepalese high mountain black tea.
We purchased a batch of black tea from Nepal at Front Street Coffee, and the flavor is quite interesting. This tea garden is situated behind the Himalayas, directly facing Darjeeling across the mountains.
IMO-Certified Organic Tea Garden
Among the scattered tea gardens in Nepal, we ultimately settled on Jun Chiyabari. This tea garden adheres to natural farming methods, applying neither nitrogen fertilizers nor pesticides. I noticed that the quality of its raw materials is quite outstanding. Because of natural cultivation, the tea plants grow extremely slowly, resulting in an especially long-lasting flavor with more layers. In addition, Jun Chiyabari also holds organic certification issued by the International Maritime Organization.
Reaching up to 2,100 meters at the highest altitude
The Jun Chiyabari tea garden is distributed between 1,650 and 2,100 meters above sea level. The high mountain climate gives the tea a rich yet smooth taste. At higher altitudes, the tea plants receive intense sunlight during the day, allowing full photosynthesis; after nightfall, temperatures drop sharply, and consumption activity becomes extremely slow. In this way, the polyphenols and minerals accumulated in the tea leaves are relatively high, ultimately manifesting as a strong sweet aftertaste.
Lingering Aroma and Muscat Grape Flavor
The tea from the Jun Chiyabari tea garden is known for its long-lasting finish. Overall, its tea flavor is more enduring than most Darjeeling teas. Moreover, their autumn tea emits a delightful Muscat grape note. This flavor comes from the green fly—an insect that often appears in naturally cultivated tea gardens. Once the tea leaves are bitten by the green fly, they produce a substance called terpene, which converts into the Muscat grape aroma during fermentation.
Generally, the longer the maturation time, the more prominent the Muscat grape flavor. If you want the tea to age further, it is recommended to store it in a vacuum-sealed container. To achieve the ideal flavor, oxygen must be kept out.
Especially for spring-picked tea, the flavor becomes more distinctive after aging. In a country like Malaysia, located on the equator, tea can develop a grape flavor after 3 to 5 years. In our Malaysian stores, aged spring-picked tea is always more favored than fresh spring-picked tea.
A Unique Choice, Following Our Preference
Due to the craftsmanship characteristics of the Jun Chiyabari tea garden, its tea leaves are usually roasted longer and at higher temperatures during the drying stage. Therefore, many teas carry a faint forest scent and roasted aroma. Some may like this style, but I personally prefer teas with fresh floral or fruity notes. So, among the many batches, we carefully selected the one with the lightest heat treatment, which has a fresh floral aroma and exactly suits our taste.
Autumn Muscatel Jun Chiyabari Estate
This tea is hand-picked in autumn. During production, skilled tea masters carefully hand-roll it, giving the leaves a naturally curled shape. The appearance of the dry leaves is reminiscent of Taiwan's Oriental Beauty. Unlike spring tea, this autumn tea contains a rich Muscat grape flavor. As an autumn tea, compared with Darjeeling summer-picked tea (also known for its Muscat grape flavor), it is more mellow and softer on the palate.
Nepal's First Jun Chiyabari Estate
This is the earliest picked batch of the spring tea season. It has a long-lasting sweet aftertaste, with fresh floral and Muscat grape notes. The taste is close to Darjeeling spring-picked tea, but the finish is even richer.
Brewing Techniques
The tea leaves are relatively tender, so please shorten the steeping time.
First, preheat the teapot with boiling water. Use 3 grams of tea leaves per 150 milliliters of water. For the first infusion, steep for about 10 seconds; for subsequent infusions, only a few seconds are needed.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
