As the pall of smoke clears from Bonfire Night, a far more targeted and subtle smokiness is
becoming popular; in the cups of tea drinkers. Lapsang-like, but made with oak instead of pine, this is a British twist on a bustling tea category. Grown in the sheltered Cornish cloud forest and smoked gently over seasoned estuarine oak, this tea is layered and less assertive than lapsang souchong.
Emma Bridgewater tasted blends for the 40th anniversary of her celebrated teapots and enjoyed the tea's exotic, but British character.
Tregothnan oak-smoked tea delivers exactly that-there's a brightness to the base tea, but with malty undertones that complement the fire-kissed notes. Cornwall's cloud forest mimics subtropical highland conditions, supporting rare tea and Camellia varieties with misty microclimates year round.
How to serve
Allow one teaspoon (2.5g) per cup and steep in water, just off the boil, for three minutes. No milk needed, but you could add milk and wander off in a chai-like direction.
Where to buy
Jonathon Jones tastes tea and exports English-grown tea worldwide