Mozambique OPI Monte Metilile – organic 100g

Mozambique OPI Monte Metilile – organic 100g bag

Character: Dark brown, slightly twisted large pieces of leaf make for a very pleasant cup, though not quite as strong as an Assam

OP= Orange Pekoe relates to the quality of the tea leaves.  Orange does not refer to the colour but to the Dutch word “oranje” meaning “royal”. Pekoe (in Chinese pak-ho) can be translated as “white” – the colour of the fine fluff beneath young shoots.

Infusion: deep golden-coloured

Ingredients: organic black tea

Brewing method: Brew 1 teaspoon of tea in 200ml (7fl oz.) filtered and freshly boiled water for 3 minutes.

Country of origin: Mozambique

Province: Gurúè, in northern Zambezia

Portuguese colonial tea businesses first started planting tea on an experimental basis in 1920 in this area, but was abandoned in the late 1930s. The enthusiasm was such that by 1950 there was more land covered by tea plants in Mozambique than any other African country, an honour it retained unbroken until overtaken by Kenya in 1960.

This area was once the most productive growing region in Africa, but Mozambique’s tea gardens lay fallow during decades of internal war, from 1977 until 1992. Local farmers are now working with esteemed plantations around the world to re-establish the dormant tea gardens and increase tea production in this part of Africa.