I was about to give up on Bangladesh. Although tea production plays a crucial role in the local economy, yielding some 55,000 tonnes from more than 140 gardens, I simply couldn’t find a leaf or two to sample.

All my usual sources failed me. I even went to Harrods, which had hosted a presentation of Kazi and Kazi tea, an organic estate from Bangladesh, about a year ago. Alas, they didn’t have it in stock just now. Instead, they were now hosting a white tea tasting which touted it as the next big thingā??a year or seven behind times, if you ask me. But I digress.

I was about to throw in the towel when a providential message on the rec.food.drink.tea group came to the rescue. One of the group’s members, who is originally from Bangladesh, although he no longer lives there, pointed me in the direction of Le Palais des Thes, a French online tea merchant.

I had come across Le Palais but never purchased from them before, so this was as good an excuse as any. I had a seamless buying experience, and a week or so later my tea from Bangladesh (and another five or six) arrived at my door. Just in time for my tour.

I had heard plenty about Bangladeshi tea, and not just from rec.food.drink.tea. I knew the industry dated from the mid-19th century and, although it had been severely hit by the war of independence from Pakistan, it had somewhat bounced back, making Bangladesh the ninth largest tea producing country in the world. I had also heard that Bangladeshi productivity remains low and about half of total tonnage is consumed at home. But I didn’t really know what flavor to expect.

Le Palais des Thes described its Bangladesh TGFOP as mild and amber. Amber it was indeed. My cup, from a level teaspoon of leaves steeped for 5 minutes as recommended, was a rich, dark amber color with a lovely floral scent and just a whiff of smokiness. But the flavor, I’d have hardly called mild. It was a strong caffeine punch, with a fleeting sweet note at first that evolved in a hugely powerful sip with a slightly bitter note in the end. It screamed oversteeping to my taste buds. For the very first time ever, I found a merchant that recommended longer steeping times than I would use.

I made the Bangladesh tea again with the same amount of leaves, but steeping for only four minutes. Miles better. It still had the lovely aroma, the caffeine punch and the powerful mouthfeel, but the bitter note had gone. Still, this is a tea I’d rather have with milk than on its own. And although it is described as suitable for drinking throughout the day, I definitely found it a kick-your-eyes-open morning tea with all the strength of a Futurist painting.