Run Shouse

Forget the bag, let’s talk about the precious stuff that it holds – tea leaves. Historians believe tea was first used in prehistoric China as medicine and brewed around 2700 B.C. It hit the rest of Asia around 800 A.D. and then Dutch explorers started importing it to Europe during the 17th Century.

I’ve decided not to talk about the regular stuff you may be concocting in your kitchen every day. Instead, I went in search of the expensive teas and here’s a sample of some bling brews.

DARJEELING

Up in the hills of West Bengal, India is a plantation dating back to 1859. The 550-acre farm purports to be one of the first organic tea cultivators in the world. The estate in Makaibari exports about 1,300 tonnes a year and has harvested a Silver Tip that has been described as carrying the “best aroma of passing spring.”