Gurkha Havildar's Tea (Nepal)

2 oz. (25 cups) or 8 oz. (100 cups) Named for the legendary Nepalese soldiers of renown, Gurkha Havildar's Tea is a striking, tippy black tea picked during the monsoon season in Sandakphu, Nepal. After plucking, the leaves are 25% withered, then rolled in mechanical rollers. The tea is then shaped and further dried, producing uniformly curled leaves resulting in a beautiful Himalayan tea. It has a rich, deep amber liquor with notes of malt, clover honey, and burnt sugar, highlighted by aromatic notes of apricot and clove. The name is a nod to Rakkasan Tea's origin in conflict and is a reference to the black tea consumed for hundreds of years by elite Gurkha soldiers serving in the British and Nepalese armies. Known for military prowess and the kukri, a forward-curving knife, Gurkhas received nearly 5,000 individual awards for gallantry and bravery during World War I and World II, including in combat against Nazi Germany. A "havildar" is the equivalent of a sergeant. "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha." — Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Brewing instructions Amount: 2 grams (1 tsp) of loose tea per cup of water Temperature: 212 ̊ (A full, rolling boil) Steep time: 3 minutes About Our Nepalese Tea Grown in the Himalayan foothills, Nepalese tea is extraordinary. However, years of industry underdevelopment, coupled with a decade-long civil war, served to stunt Nepal's economy. Development of tea farming in the country suffered as a result. Since the signing of a peace accord in 2006, Nepal's tea growers have sought to share their product with more and more drinkers around the world. Our Nepalese tea comes from small farms near Mount Everest to others in Ilam and Panchthar, a region just 45 miles west of Darjeeling, at an altitude of between 5,000 and 6,000 feet.