Munnar tea
High-grown South Indian tea from the Kerala hills, produced mostly as CTC for the domestic market but increasingly as orthodox for export. At Nilgiri-like elevations it gives a brisk, clean cup with more brightness than Assam and less perfume than Darjeeling.
Character
Bright and briskly clean, without much depth. It is a good everyday tea and an honest one — most of it goes into blends where that brightness is the point.
- Flavour
- Citrus, Nutty
- Aroma
- Fresh, Malty
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Drying
- Complexity
- Straightforward
- Notes
- brisk citrus, dry hay, light malt
- Aftertaste
- Short, clean and slightly drying.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- India
- Region
- Munnar
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- Year round
- Processing
- Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 1 authored infusion
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Nilgiri
Two South Indian high-grown teas sold interchangeably. Both are bright and brisk, and outside India neither is usually distinguished from the other in a blend.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Ceylon black tea
Shares 5 descriptors with Munnar tea: citrus, medium, drying, fresh and malty.
- Dimbula
Shares 5 descriptors with Munnar tea: citrus, medium, drying, fresh and malty.
- Kenyan orthodox black tea
Shares 5 descriptors with Munnar tea: citrus, medium, drying, fresh and malty.
- Uva
Shares 5 descriptors with Munnar tea: citrus, medium, drying, fresh and malty.
- Assam first flush
Shares 4 descriptors with Munnar tea: medium, drying, malty and fresh.
- Dooars and Terai
Shares 4 descriptors with Munnar tea: citrus, medium, drying and malty.
- Earl Grey
Shares 4 descriptors with Munnar tea: citrus, medium, drying and fresh.