Happy Sunday, dear tea friends! I was called out of town yesterday so here I am on this Sunday morning instead, to share a cup of tea with you. This morning’s tea is from the country of Mozambique, located on the southeastern coast of Africa. It was grown at the Monte Branco tea estate.

Mount Murresse and tea plantations near Gurue, Zambezia Province, northern Mozambique (from wikipedia)

Bantu-speaking people, along with Swahili and Arabs, migrated into this area between the first and fifth centuries until the Portugese explorer, Vasco de Gama, arrived in 1498 and Portugal colonized it in 1505. They finally gained their independence in 1975.

I’ve read that most of the tea produced in Mozambique, about 90%, is exported from the country.

As you can see, this tea has been processed into a very finely particled leaf. I steeped it in boiling point (212F) water for 2 minutes.

The aroma drifting from the steeping tea is very sweet with a light floral undertone. Usually, with a leaf this small, the tea can have a sharp tang and overbrew quickly. Not so with this tea. It’s incredibly smooth with no astringency whatsoever.

The dark amber liquor is rich and quite sweet with notes of vanilla and nutmeg. As I drink my second cup, I’m still so amazed at how smooth this tea is.

This tea would make a great iced tea. I’m going to try it this week and will let you know how it turns out. Until our next cup of tea, dear friends…

Have a fabulous week!