Tea Rebellion’s Thyolo Roasted Green | Tea Review

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This week, I wanted to taste a green tea from Satemwa Tea Estate in Malawi, Africa, which is the same producer as the white tea from last week!

Description: “As all green teas, this leaves are heated to prevent oxidisation (a chemical reaction which turns the leaves black). This tea has a very refreshing note and feels like a great everyday green tea.”

Instructions: Use heaped spoonful or 3-4g of leaves for a large cup | 85- 90°C | 1-2 minutes | avoid steeping too hot or too long

Review: I quite enjoyed the white tea (top) I had previously, so I was excited to try this green tea (bottom) as well. The dry twisted leaves were deep forest green and dark brown colour. It had a roasted, nutty, and mineral smell. Like last week, I used 3 grams of tea versus using a “heaping spoonful” to fairly assess the tea.

After a 2 minute infusion, the twisted leaves were olive green and reddish brown. It had a wide range of smells from fruity, mineral, roasted, steamed vegetal, and damp earth. The leaves had not fully unfurled after 2 minutes using 85 °C water.

The liquor was a tan yellow colour with a nutty smell. The roasted processing of the tea was quickly apparent as the liquor had a strong nutty and roasted taste, followed by notes of mineral, earthy, and steamed vegetables. The flavours fluctuated between nutty and roasted to mineral and earthy between sips. When cool, there was some dryness at the back of the mouth.

This green tea had a unique taste and it took me a few tries before I was able to identify the mineral notes, which gave the tea a distinctive taste. I brewed this tea on a few separate occasions and the flavours grew on me. I also tried the tea with aged cheddar and the tea brought out the nutty qualities of the cheese. I am interested to try more teas from Satemwa Estate (3.5/5 rating)!

The question of the post: What tea have you had that grew on you the more you tried it?