This month the spotlight is on the wonderful Pride of Africa, a rich blend of African black teas. Pride of Africa captures the finest teas of the East African highlands in a brisk, sienna cup - perfect for those looking to try something new without straying too far from a classic black tea.
Africa is one of the biggest tea producing regions in the world - the majority of which being black tea. Kenya is by far the largest producer in Africa, ranking third in tea production globally. Tea was first grown in Africa around one hundred years ago and was initiated by the British in order to provide for domestic demand and provide income. The climate and soil make it ideal for growing the robust and copper red brews that the region has become known for. Kenya gained independence in 1963 and tea production grew under local governance.
East Africa is renowned for the fertile red soils that make tea produced here so special. The climate in tea producing regions is equatorial, meaning steady growth, and the rainfall is spread out throughout the year, keeping the bushes well-watered. East Africa is also home to beautiful, verdant highlands, where tea bushes enjoy the high altitudes, good drainage, and lower temperatures that they enjoy.
A majority of African tea is created for the mass market household brand names we are all familiar with, particularly in Europe, but there are also plenty of smaller tea gardens that are producing high quality tea for the growing speciality market. At Newby we seek out these top producers for our blends.
We only source tea from gardens with the optimum geographical characteristics, and they must also have a dedication to what we like to call ‘the craft of fine tea’. For this blend we sourced from the fertile highlands of Kenya. Higher altitude tea gardens produce more sophisticated teas as the cooler temperature is better suited to the tea plants. In addition to this, we only source prime season leaves - which is a major factor in the flavour of the tea. While tea can be harvested for much of the year, the tea picked in spring and early summer is of superior quality and the resulting tea has a more desirable character.
Kenyan tea is known for its deep red colour and brisk flavour, which is a central feature of our Pride of Africa blend. Pride of Africa is earthy, slightly spicy and the refreshing strength is extremely reviving, making this the perfect morning brew, or ideal for an afternoon pick-me-up.
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