Star of India Tea

You would be hard pressed to find a gemstone more storied than the Star of India. A sapphire formed more than 2 billion years ago, the “Star” was mined more than 300 years ago in Sri Lanka, purchased by J.P. Morgan and presented to the New York Museum of Natural History in 1900, stolen by a former pro surfer, “Murf the Surf,” during the 20th century’s most famous jewel heist, recovered in a Miami bus stop locker and returned to the museum where it rests to this day. What makes it so special? The stone is 563.35 carats, weighs 112.67g and is almost flawless with star shaped markings on both sides. It is in a word, breathtaking.

In a similar manner, you would be hard pressed to find a more storied tea than Star of India. The blend is comprised of luxury teas from no less than three of India’s premiere growing districts, Assam, Darjeeling and the Nilgiris, each with their own rich histories. Assam, far up in the north eastern corner of the country has been the home of headhunters, served as the starting point of the Burma Road during WWII and was the first place tea was grown by the British within their old Empire. Darjeeling, located high in the Himalayas is the site of one of India’s remaining steam trains, survived a major earthquake in 1898, the “Darjeeling disaster” and gained a reputation for growing some of the world’s best black teas, grown on hybrid bushes developed on its steep slopes. The Nilgiri Hills were first discovered by Europeans in 1602, were first fully explored after a pursuit of criminals and is the origin of the world’s most expensive lot of tea, $600 / kg, earned at North America’s first auction, held at Las Vegas in 2006.

Yes, Star of India is some tea. This flawless blend unites teas from all three regions, sourced at their respective seasonal peaks – a 2nd flush Assam, 1st Flush Darjeeling and January growth Nilgiri. The resulting cup offers malt, muscatel and fragrant floral notes that open beautifully with a splash of milk. A stunning tea worth its weight in sapphires.

Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Milk and a dash of sugar help capture the complex nature of this tea, but it is also perfectly acceptable to consume this tea ‘straight-up’.

Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. [A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold ater]. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice - a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!