GRAND MARNIER

The bouquet of Grand Marnier, the most famous French liqueur, is an unexpected m̩lange of Cognac, and juicy orange. The combination was discovered by Louis Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, while experimenting in his laboratory at Neauphle-le-Ch̢teau, in 1880. Louis Alexandre's lab was attached to the distillery founded by his grandfather-in-law who had been producing cognacs and brandies since 1827. At the time of its debut, Grand Marnier was considered something of a sacrilege by French purists who believed that the pure flavor of Cognac should never have been altered by the addition of fresh West Indian orange peel. Well, we're glad that Louis Alexandre overcame the criticism! In the spirit of invention and discovery, our Master Blender tried blending a high-grown Ceylon tea with the sweet flavor of Grand Marnier and voila, a fantastic new tea was created. Delicious hot or iced, this is one tea that will make you stand up and say merci!

What type of tea do we use, how do we flavor the tea and why do we use natural flavors?

Firstly... we only use high grown teas from the top 3 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva. These three high-grown districts produce flavorful teas that have classic Ceylon tea character which is noted by floral bouquet and flavor notes, touches of mild astringency, bright coppery color and, most importantly - perfect for use as the base tea of our flavored teas. (We have tested teas from various other origins around the world as base stock for our flavored teas, but none of these teas made the grade.) Dimbula and the western estates of Nuwara Eliya have a major quality peak during Jan/Feb, whereas Uva and the eastern estates of Nuwara Eliya have their peak in July/Aug. This dual peak period allows us to buy the best for our flavored tea blends several times during the year, ensuring top quality and freshness.

Secondly... we use flavoring oils not crystals to give the tea drinker an olfactory holiday before indulging in a liquid tea treat.

Thirdly... we specify natural flavors. High quality tea tastes good and natural flavors do not mask the natural taste of the high grown Ceylon tea. (The norm for many making flavored tea is to use overpowering artificial flavors, which can be used to hide lower quality tea). Natural flavors do not leave an aftertaste giving the tea a clean and true character. It should be noted that natural flavors tend to be somewhat soft and the flavors slightly muted, but for many this is a refreshing change and one of the desired attributes of our naturally flavored teas.