In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt, not one to take retirement lightly, headed to Africa in the company of his son Kermit to embark on what would become one of the most storied Safaris ever recorded. The Roosevelts landed in Mombasa, Kenya's most important port, and secured the services of 250 porters, guides, cooks, biologists and hunters and began to trek steadily inland across what was then British East Africa, into the Belgian Congo, back to the Nile and ending in Khartoum. One of their big stops along the way was a stint in the Nandi Hills to collect wildlife specimens. Unfortunately, in these pre-environmentally aware times, collecting specimens meant hunting them. Still, the number of animals taken down by the Roosevelts helps illustrate just how wild those hills were. Between the two of them, Teddy and Kermit bagged 1100 specimens, 500 of them being considered “big game”, rhinos, lions, etc. – an incredible tally. Roosevelt proclaimed this “the most noteworthy collection of big animals that has ever come out of Africa!”

More than a century after this famous expedition, thanks to strict wildlife protection laws, the Nandi hills still teem with animals of all sizes and varieties. In general the only shooting taking place now is through the telephoto lens of tourists, eyes wide as they witness scenes normally relegated to National Geographic - lions taking down zebras, elephants giving one another impromptu showers, miraculous flocks of birds painting the sky and the like.

Situated within this colorful corner of the world is one of Kenya's most famous tea Estates, Tinderet. Tinderet, owing to its incredible lush surroundings and local dairy industry of the Nandi people, is often referred to as the land of milk and honey. It is on Tinderet that Nandi Safari tea is grown on bushes first planted in the mid 1950s. From early on, the estate quickly began winning awards for its product at local agricultural fairs. To this day, these wonderful bushes produce some of the finest teas Kenya, and indeed Africa, has to offer. On the nose the infusion is light, fresh and almost winy. The cup is likewise exceptionally fresh, laden with flavory floral-like notes. Brew a pot and imagine yourself relaxing on the verandah of a hill station after a day spent witnessing the bewildering feast of color that is the Nandi hills – a spectacular tea.

This tea is non fermented, orthodox, naturally withered and dried, small batch crafted and sorted.