Assam Orthodox Tea

Details

Second flush orthodox whole leaf from a single estate on the Upper Assam floodplains (Jorhat and Dibrugarh belt), plucked in late May to June when the shoot carries the most natural malt, withered long and rolled orthodox so the leaf comes off the machine whole with intact golden tips instead of being crushed into CTC granules. Orthodox is a traditional manufacturing craft, not a flourish. It names how the leaf was rolled, and it is the reason there is a visible whole leaf in this tin. The primary cheat in commercial tea is exhausted leaf. Tea that has already been brewed commercially, for instant tea or by industrial caterers, is re-dried, coloured and blended back into the market as fresh leaf. Because spent leaf has almost nothing left to give a cup, it is caught by water-soluble extractives: real leaf yields over 34.00% of its weight, while exhausted leaf yields far less. The other cheats are added colour, to make dull leaf look rich; dust and fannings blended into a whole-leaf grade; and microscopic iron filings shed by heavy machines.

• FTGFOP1 single estate whole leaf: Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1 selection representing tender "two leaves and a bud" shoots rich in trichome-covered apical buds. Fired to preserve bright golden tips, brewing a rich copper-amber liquor with natural honeyed malt body.
• 100.00% Second Flush summer harvest: Harvested strictly during the peak second flush (late May to late June) on the Upper Assam floodplains. Never blended with grassy first flush or thin, rain-washed monsoon crops.
• Zero exhausted or re-dried spent leaf: Tested per lot for water-soluble extractives (guaranteed 34.00% to 38.00% on dry basis, exceeding FSSAI 32.00% floor) and water-soluble ash (>= 50.00% of total ash), mathematically proving spent tea solids have not been blended in.
• Zero added colours or synthetic dyes: 100.00% uncoloured leaf. Screened per lot via TLC and UV-Vis spectrophotometry to verify complete absence of coal-tar dyes (sunset yellow, tartrazine, malachite green) and heavy metal pigments (lead chromate).
• De-metallized via dual magnetic grids: Microscopic magnetic iron filings from rolling tables and driers are removed through dual passes across rare-earth neodymium magnetic grids (> 10,000 Gauss), restricting iron filings to <= 10.00 mg/kg (25 times cleaner than the FSSAI statutory cap of 250.00 mg/kg).
• Zero synthetic flavours or aroma sprays: 100.00% pure Camellia sinensis var. assamica leaf. Free from artificial malt flavouring, synthetic vanilla notes, and chemical enhancers.
• 20 Banned Tea Board PPC pesticides Not Detected: Screened per lot by multi-residue LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS, confirming 20 prohibited Plant Protection Code pesticides are Not Detected below the 0.01 mg/kg limit of quantification.
• Packaging physics against light and oxygen: Sealed in food-grade airtight embossed metal tin caddies (100 g and 250 g) with internal heat-sealed foil pouches under modified atmosphere nitrogen flush (residual oxygen below 1.50%), or high-barrier kraft refill pouches (500 g), preserving fragile golden tips from mechanical crushing, moisture, and photo-oxidation.
• Brewing advisory: Steep one level teaspoon (2.50 g) in 200 ml of freshly boiled water (95.00°C to 100.00°C) for 4 to 5 minutes off the heat. Unfurls into whole, unbroken coppery leaves. Enjoy pure or with a splash of warm milk.