Black Ruby is a distinctive black tea from Mogok, a mountainous region in Myanmar better known for its precious gemstones than its tea. Black tea is rarely produced in Myanmar, where green tea has traditionally been the more common style. At the Five Trees Estate, Mogok Tea has developed a carefully crafted black tea that brings out the character of the region’s old tea bushes through a combination of skilled harvesting and considered processing.
The tea grows among semi-wild, organically cultivated bushes, many of which have been established for generations. The tender leaves and buds are hand-picked and processed in small batches at the estate’s micro tea factory. After harvesting, the leaves are withered to prepare them for oxidation, then rolled, fired and sorted. The leaves are tightly twisted into long, dark strands, giving the dry tea its distinctive appearance. When brewed, they produce a deep, reddish liquor that gives Black Ruby its name.
The resulting tea is smooth and full-bodied, with a rich malty character, natural sweetness and notes of dried fruit. A gentle roasted quality adds depth, while a lingering finish leaves a pleasant impression on the palate. Equally suited to a morning cup or an afternoon pause, Black Ruby offers an introduction to a lesser-known tradition of Myanmar tea, while supporting a small-scale tea enterprise that creates local livelihoods and offers an alternative to the region’s environmentally damaging gemstone mining.
