This 2015 leaf comes from the Glendale Estate. It's my first tea from the Glendale Estate, a group of three gardens located in Nilgiri, and I hope it isn't my last chance to sample them because this tea was an excellent experience. The leaves are mid-sized, curled black and gold. I begin by steeping one teaspoon per cup at 195° for three minutes, my standard for oolongs.

I get an amber-brown liquor that smells of honey and baked bread, a relatively rare combination to find in oolongs. The flavour is subtly complex, containing notes of honey, baked bread, and mild spice with a slightly mineral aftertaste. With the flavour notes it has, you would think it's a bold tea, but it's nuanced and subtle and delicious. I steep again for five minutes and get a cup that's milder but still brilliant. It has all the same notes as before, but more subdued and even subtler.

There are certain notes in tea that I love more than others, and baked bread is one of them. It's rare, but it occasionally pops up for me in lightly roasted rock oolongs. The note of cinnamon is nice, the honey is great, but it's the baked flavour that makes this tea stand out from others.

— To purchase The Tea Shelf Glendale Nilgiri Oolong, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular tea, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

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