By Richard Wottrich
While in Whole Foods last weekend I noticed a new line of teas from Ineeka, a brand I had never heard of. Reading its tin container I saw that they were located in Chicago. Ineeka claims to be the only tea company in North America that owns its own tea plantations and blends its own handpicked teas.
This was enough to peak my curiosity and I bought a tin, took it home and enjoyed a wonderful blend called Ma-Chai (insight), composed of black tea, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, rose petals and saffron - delicious!
Ineeka teas are grown high in the pristine Himalayas of northeast India, in Darjeeling and Assam, on 12,000 acres of prime growing land – considered the best tea growing region in the world. Here the Goel family has been producing tea since 1861, and on these particular farms for 50 years. Over 25,000 local farmers pick their teas. Their high-quality teas have long been sold to luxury companies like Harrods and Mariage Frères, who market them under their own labels.
The Goel family is now selling their 100% organic, biodynamic and Fair Trade-certified whole leaf teas directly, packaged in their innovative Brew-Taché™ infusion system—perhaps the best advance in tea-brewing that I have ever seen.
The Brew-Taché™ infusers are packaged 14 to a canister; the canisters are handsome matte silvery rectangles with rounded corners that are 3-3/4" wide by 5-3/4" long by 2-5/16" high.
Ineeka offers seven teas include three blacks, two greens, and two herbals:
• Himalayan Green: A rich, pure green producing a honey-like sweetness on the palate and finish.
• Himalayan Black: Lively, brisk, bright and fresh.
• Green Osmanthus: Green tea subtly scented with the sweet aroma of Osmanthus blossoms—a Chinese flower used in some of the world’s most famous fragrances. Osmanthus lends tangy fruity-peachy undertones.
• Ma-Chai: A black tea blend of Assam tea and organic warming spices—ginger, cardamom, clove, black pepper, and saffron, with organic rose petals that create a beautiful composition. This recipe has been carried down through generations of the Goel family, and is a chai lover’s delight.
• Darjeeling: A black tea often described as having a muscatel flavor, this Darjeeling has a silky roundness with a naturally fruity overtone. This blend has added organic calendula petals for beauty, and to provide a hint of added sweetness.
• Mint: Organic herbal peppermint tea that is 100% caffeine-free, the mint leaves are a natural digestive. Even in its hot brewed form, the tea is cool and refreshing (hot mint tea is the beverage of choice in the desert climates of Africa and the Middle East).
• Chamomile: For millennia, mankind has turned to the calming and relaxing chamomile flower to soothe body and soul. Beautiful to look at, these gentle whole flowers brew a cup of tea that is both restful and renewing, and 100% caffeine-free.
Enjoy!
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