From the Trévarez cultivar, this spring 2024 green tea was produced in Ustaritz in the heart of the Northern Basque Country in the Pyrenean foothills by Mikel Esclamadon who created Ilgora herriko tea in 2020. Herriko means "from the country" in Basque, because for Mikel one of the motivations for its tea project is to offer the Basques local tea, it is also to enrich the agricultural diversity that the Basque Country offers, to prove that it is possible to make a living from 1 hectare of land , and to reconcile agriculture and biodiversity. Currently its tea garden includes some 5,500 tea trees.
In the cup, it is a soft, fresh vegetal tea with a chestnut background giving it a lot of velvety and deliciousness.
In a completely different spirit, I recommend that you try Zairai - Ilgora green tea in parallel, coming from the same producer, same harvest period and completely different due to the cultivar and the way in which Mikel processed it.
Prefer a gong fu cha preparation, leaving 2-3 min during the first passage of water, then extend the time by 1-2 min over the course of the passages.
Harvest date: April 8 to 13, 2024
Very limited quantity!
Also to be found in the 2024 French Box
80°C
4 min
all day & afternoon
Producer
Ilgora Herriko Tea
Mikel Esclamadon
Mikel discovered tea growing on a trip to the Azores Islands in 2019. As the local climate was suitable for the plant, he decided to plant his first seedlings in 2020 in the Basque country near the family home. A winning bet! In 2023, he launched his first high-quality tea bags under the Ilgora name which means "rising moon" in Basque language.
