Kanoka Tea Estate is a small, family-owned tea farm in the middle of Assam. The area’s heavy precipitation and humid climate contributes to the robust, malty taste of Assam tea. The gardens cover a total of 6 acres, and are headed by brothers Pallabjyoti and Pranabjyoti Nath, together with Pranabjyoti's wife, Manmoyuri.

The estate uses all-natural Vriksayurveda agricultural techniques. These ancient Indian plant sciences focus on the health and lifecycle of the plant and soil, using natural herbal medicines to help boost them. Kanoka Tea Estate is also a member of Assamica Agro, a local cooperative that is promotes sustainability in tea, with the use of local vermicomposting and cow-based fertilizer. The members of the cooperative are continually working to develop new techniques.

In the Assam region, tea workers struggle to profit from their labors, as they don't have the knowledge or ability to craft quality teas. Tea pluckers are paid USD1.50 a day at most for very difficult work that has no path to a better future. Small growers are also paid very little for selling their raw leaf to the factories. The region mostly produces CTC (Crush Tear Curl) tea, a low-grade style of tea for tea bags.

Supporting small-growers like Kanoka Tea Estate and empowering them to set their own prices through direct trade empowers them to make a decent living crafting quality teas. The estate's smooth, complex teas are the result of careful handcrafting using natural materials. Every step of the tea-making process is done with great attention, from hand plucking to hand processing the tea.

Kanoka Tea Estate tea leaves are hand-processed to create a high-quality organic Assam loose leaf tea with a very unique taste and flavor. Handcrafting results in large, full leaves and more depth and strength. It is best drunk without milk, to appreciate the nuances in the complex profile.

Provenance:

• Origin: Panchnoi Village in Tezpur City - Sonitpur District, Assam, India
• Grower/Teamaster: Kanoka Tea/Pallabjyoti & Pranabjyoti Nath
• Harvest Date: Summer 2022
• Cultivar: Camellia Sinensis Assamica.
• Cultivation: Natural (Organic, no cert.) While there are other all-natural estates in Assam, many of them are in conversion from conventional agriculture. Because the Nath Family is the first to cultivate this land, no pesticides or chemicals have ever been used on the land or on these tea plants. To keep the garden from becoming overgrown, the team weeds the fields manually.
• Plucking Standard:
• Processing Notes:  Handcrafted Assam. This tea is fully oxidized, turning the leaves to a deep brown
• History/Pedigree: A beautiful handcrafted version of Assam tea. The classic Assam tea is much more commonly found in the CTC (Crush/Tear/Curl) version for the commodity tea market or in machine-manufactured “Orthodox” for the fine tea market.

Brewing Suggestions¹:

• Water: 195-205˚F
• Tea: 2g per 4oz of water (about a level 1 TB²)
• Infusion: 1-2 minutes. Or you can do more of a “western” steep of 3-5 minutes.

Tasting Notes:

Rich, full-bodied amber color with a malty flavor that is somewhat softened by its subtle honey notes.

¹ Brewing suggestions are just that. Try it my way then experiment. In this case I suggest first experimenting with the length of the infusion. You could also experiment with the quantity of tea per oz of water. For temperature, 195˚ gives a soft, smooth, sweet profile while 205˚ is more robust and full-bodied.

² Weighing your tea is always the best way to control your dosage. I provide approximate volume measures for convenience but they can be problematic due to the variance in tea leaf shape and size.