🍃Free shipping over ₹999 · Estate-direct from the Nilgiris since 1994
Forest Brews Tea Company
A rare December frost-flush from our highest garden blocks. Honeyed, floral, and extraordinarily complex — produced in small quantities from the coldest nights of the year.
In the first weeks of December, when the Nilgiris nights drop below 5°C and frost settles on the upper garden, the tea bushes make one final, unhurried push. The leaves that emerge from this cold are dense, bright, and saturated with flavour compounds that the plant has spent the entire year accumulating. This is the winter flush — rarer than the celebrated Darjeeling second flush, and known mainly to buyers who source directly from estates.
Our Nilgiri Frost is plucked on just five to eight mornings each December, when the overnight temperature conditions are right. The total annual production rarely exceeds 80 kilograms of made tea. Withering is extended to allow the cold-stressed leaf to open fully before the roll; fermentation is short to preserve the delicate floral character. The result is a liquor that is amber-gold, luminously clear, with a honeyed sweetness and a muscatel note that intensifies as the cup cools.
This is a tea for drinking plain, without milk or sugar, in a glass or ceramic cup. It rewards patience — the first sip is soft and sweet; the finish, ten seconds later, is long and complex. We recommend a first steep at 88–90°C for four minutes and a second steep at 85°C for three. The dry leaf has a scent unlike any other grade from our estate: cold air, wildflower, and a faint note of ripe stone fruit.
Origin
Kaircombai, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu — 1,800m elevation
Grade
Winter Flush Orthodox
Weight
100g
Brew Temp
88–92°C
Steep Time
4–5 minutes
Five dimensions scored 0–100 from our cuppers.
Brew Guide
Use 2.5g per 200ml. Water at 88–92°C. Steep 4–5 minutes. Do not add milk. Drink in a glass to appreciate the clarity. Second steep at 85°C for 3 minutes is equally rewarding.
Temperature
88–92°C
Steep Time
4–5 minutes
Select a brew style and number of cups — we’ll give you exact quantities.
Full-fat milk: 300ml — add after initial water steep. Total liquid per cup ≈ 250ml.
South Indian Kadak — Method
Simmer leaf in water first, add 150ml full-fat milk, simmer again. Strain firmly. Sweeten with jaggery. Thick, dark, strong — the classic canteen cup.
The most memorable cup I have had from an Indian estate
I ordered this on a friend's recommendation and steeped it the evening it arrived. The aroma from the dry leaf alone stopped me — something between cold air and ripe apricot. The cup was honeyed, clear, and had a finish that lasted nearly a minute. Completely unlike anything I expected from a Nilgiris tea. Already worried about the next batch selling out.
