Birchall Single Estate Earl Grey Tea Bags (Rainforest Alliance)

Our Virunga Earl Grey is a scented pure origin tea, sourced from the finest tea gardens in Rwanda, found close to the country’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Virunga National Park. In this region, the tea bushes grow slowly, at the high altitude and relatively low temperatures, developing greater flavour before they are individually picked.

Our pursuit of quality ensures that all our leaves are only ever hand plucked. The leaf, bud and tender stem are carefully pinched together in a ‘perfect pick’ and subsequently blended with a traditional bergamot oil to give a distinctive flavour of citrus, with spicy floral notes. It really is perfection to a tea and we look forward to you enjoying it as much as we do.

• Recommended Brew Time: 3 minutes
• Recommended Brew Temperature: 100°
• Serving Advice: Enjoy with or without milk
• Storage Advice: Store in a cool, dry place away from strong aromas

Why East Africa Produces The Best Black Teas

We consider our signature black teas to be truly special and unique in the tea world and we’d like to tell you why. Our black teas are all sourced exclusively from the finest tea estates across East Africa, from Rwanda through to the Great Rift Valley in Kenya; this is generally considered to be where the very best teas are to be found. This equatorial region’s altitude, high rainfall and rich volcanic soil provide the ideal conditions that are integral to growing tea of unparalleled flavour and taste.

The geography and climate of the area where this tea is grown makes it uniquely placed to produce black tea of unparalleled flavour and taste. This equatorial region’s altitude of 1460-4500 metres above sea level, high rainfall and volcanoes along the Congo-Nile Crest provide the ideal conditions and rich soil that are integral to growing outstanding tea.

The tea bushes grow high above sea level, at a slower rate, where the temperature is relatively low, developing greater flavour before they are individually hand picked. The estate provides valuable jobs for people in the area and also runs a co-operative for over 2600 farmers.