New Yearâ??s Gift. Sometimes I wonder whatâ??s behind the name of an estate. Perhaps this oneâ??the first plantation in Zimbabwe, according to Twiningsâ??opened on New Yearâ??s Day?

Whatâ??s sure is that it was a lone enterprise for a long time. Tea was first grown in Zimbabwe from the 1920s, but it only boomed in the Sixties, after modern irrigation systems countered the effects of scarce rain.

Like most of Africa, though, Zimbabwean tea is mostly used in blends and tea bags. I could tell why when I tried Le Palais des Thesâ?? Mukumbani Fannings yesterday. Le Palais calls it très corsé.

And it is indeed powerful. Some 2.5 g steeped in 8oz boiling water for five minutes gave a lovely red brown cup with a nice, warm scent. It had sheer strength, like a Boccioni sculpture. But it went little beyond a good caffeine kick in the mouth. Definitely a good tea to support a blendâ??s architecture, but it does need more aromatic leaves to give it some grace.

Though I am usually not a fan, I had a lot more joy from South Africaâ??s Rooibos with lemon verbena, which I had today. Rooibos is not tea, of course. Of all things, itâ??s a legume, though thankfully it doesnâ??t taste like beans stock. Like tea, however, its leaves can be oxidized after harvest to make red rooibos, or it can be drunk green. Also like tea, it has plenty of poliphenols, minus the caffeine.

I often find it a bit too sweet, with a slightly metallic quality. But this version, by Les Palais des Thes, has lemon verbena added, and its fresh, grassy flavor took the sweet edge off the rooibos. It was remarkably soothing, and I could see myself drinking it regularly in the evening. Not quite Easterâ??s Gift, but passably close.