Saicho introduces new rare tea collection

This November, premium sparkling tea brand Saicho is set to launch a new Rare Tea Collection which will build on the brand’s range of gastronomic teas. The new collection will offer tea connoisseurs and discerning drinkers the chance to try some of the world’s most exquisite teas. The first tea in the collection, Eight Immortals is a Chinese oolong tea which has elegant spiced aromas and complex bittersweet notes on the palate.

This sparkling tea is named after one of China’s most well-known myths about the legendary Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and is a rare Dan Cong tea cultivar from Guangdong province, China. The tea is grown on Phoenix Mountain which is celebrated for its mineral-rich soils, foggy climate and rocky landscape. While most teas are picked from small bushes, Dan Cong tea trees can grow to heights of three metres or more, making them far harder to harvest but yield incredibly high-quality leaves. The brewing process of Eight Immortals starts with cold brewing the tea leaves for 24 hours to extract the delicate aromatics without over-extracting the bitter and astringent compounds, to produce a clean, crisp and complex flavour profile. The drink is then delicately sparkled to enhance the natural aromatics of the tea.

Designed to be served chilled in a Champagne glass, this rare tea provides aromas of nectarine, ginger, sweet baking spices and confit peach with an underlying earthiness on the nose. With subtle savouriness and lightly tannic finish, the Eight Immortals tea reveals further flavours of ginger, mango, tangerine and melon on the palate. A bitterness reminiscent of blood orange is followed by herbal characters of anise, fennel and tarragon, making it ideal for pairing with soft cheeses or lightly spiced dishes.

Each 750ml bottle of Eight Immortals tea is adorned with a hand folded paper neck wrap and packaged in a beautifully designed box. The warm earth tone box and label nods to the subtle spiced notes in the tea and is offset with gold foil detailing depicting a phoenix, inspired by the tea’s origin – Phoenix Mountain.

The burgeoning world of non-alcoholic drinks continues to grow with consumers increasingly looking for more refined and premium options. Saicho continues on its mission to elevate and enrich non- drinkers’ dining experiences. Founder Charlie Winkworth-Smith commented: “With our new Rare Tea Collection, we want to showcase some of the finest teas in the world. Inspired by the Asian tradition of tea gifting, we hope that the Rare Tea Collection will be a new way to carry this tradition forward.”

Saicho’s RRP will be £32.99 and will be available to purchase from Saicho’s website: www.saichodrinks.com/shop.