We’ve all had coffee. We’ve all had tea. But have you ever had tea made from coffee? Confused? Read on.
Just for a few days in a year, the renowned Harley estate at Sakleshpur in Karnataka, India is filled with an intoxicating perfume and the endless white of coffee blossoms. Like every tree and plant, coffee too has a flowering sea, when the tree bears flowers, which then pollinate, and form coffee cherries. The coffee cherries are plucked, processed and made into coffee. But that’s not where we’re going. Back to the endless white of the coffee blossoms and its intoxicating perfume that fills the air of the renowned Harley Estate in Sakleshpur. In this quick flowering period, the coffee flowers are individually hand-picked, dried and cured. Classic Coffees has brought out this most delicate and heady floral tea, with the refreshing and pleasing notes of jasmine, oolong and vanilla – the Coffee Blossom tea. And I, had the pleasure of trying out this tea this week. I made two cups, and drank both. Here’s my experience.
First, let me tell you something about the Harley Estate. Situated in Sakleshpur, in the historic Manjurabad region of the Indian state of Karnataka, the Harley Estate is just about a four hour drive from Bengaluru. There are beautiful streams and even a small waterfall, as well as a variety of flora and fauna in this estate. Spread over 460 acres, the Harley estate produces both the Arabica and Robusta coffee varieties. Along with coffee, cardamom, areca and vanilla is also grown on this estate. The Harley estate has been around since 1860s, and is located 3100 to 3400 ft above sea level. The estate offers coffee trails, long stays and even wedding packages. This is an estate you must visit once, it is a really very beautiful place to be at.
The Coffee Blossom Tea
Coffee plants bloom once a year in the flowering season. The fragrance of the coffee flowers is wonderfully deep, and does not have overly sweet tones that a lot of flowers generally have. The most important thing to note is, the coffee flowers do not smell like coffee at all.
At the Harley Estate, these coffee flowers are carefully hand-plucked, dried and then cured to form this special coffee blossom tea. Very limited quantities of this tea are available. And I was really happy and lucky to have gotten a packet of this coffee blossom tea. One packet contains 40g of this tea, which can make about 20 cups of this amazing tea.
How to prepare the coffee blossom tea?
Add 2 to 3 grams of coffee blossom tea to 220 ml of hot water at 90 to 92 degree Celsius temperature. Let the tea steep for about 2 minutes, then strain and enjoy!
How does the coffee blossom tea taste?
This tea forms a refreshing floral infusion, with notes of jasmine, oolong and vanilla. If you expect the infusion to be every vaguely remnant of coffee, you would be seriously disappointed. To reiterate my previous point, coffee blossoms do not taste or smell anything like coffee, they have their own distinct aroma and flavor, which is beautifully brought out in this floral tea. The heady aroma of this tea hits you the moment you open the packet.
The weather out here in Anand these days, is cloudy, windy with intermittent gentle showers, making it a really romantic poetic weather. Having this coffee blossom tea in this weather was so refreshing and delightful. I didn’t need any snacks to go with, just a cup by itself has been a sheer delight.
My tip to have the best experience of having this coffee blossom tea
From my experience, here are some tips to follow, to have the best experience of having this limited coffee blossom tea by Classic Coffee:
- I prefer adding like 5g tea in about 500ml hot water. You can add a little more for a stronger infusion. Don’t make it too concentrated, the flavors are heady but not hard-hitting or overpowering, and are best kept that way.
- The tea is a best had during evenings, in my opinion. You can have it at any time of the day. From my experience, I relished it the most after a long, exhausting work day in the evening. The notes fit in best with the evening time for me. You can experiment and figure out what time works best for you.
- Keep the packet sealed at all times before and after use. The tea comes in a good food grade zip lock pouch. Keep the packet sealed tightly to preserve the flavors.
- To experience all the lovely notes in this tea, have the tea by itself, not with any snacks or any other additions to the tea like sugar, honey, etc.
Overall, this is a really great tea to try out. It is available for a limited time, so if you plan to try it out, order it now. You can order this tea here: https://shop.classiccoffees.in/collections/estate-specialities/products/classic-coffee-blossom-tea