The First Flush

Tea: The First Flush 5000
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $7.00 / 50g
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: Blending only spring-picked Darjeeling, a tea with the fresh aroma of young leaves and a sharp refreshing astringency. Enjoy its gentle spring breeze-like flavor.

Leaf: The leaf was darker than the Badamtam Darjeeling that I tried earlier. There were a fair amount of smaller dust bits in the mix, but the majority of the leaf was regular twisted leaves. The colors of the leaves ranged from a dark almost black color to a light green color. There was not much whole leaf in the mix, most of it was broken leaves or stems.

1st Infusion: This tea had a strong characteristic Darjeeling aroma. The liquor had a rich golden red color. The flavor was full bodied and just filled the mouth with flavor. The flavor was a bit more general and duller than the Badamtam. The flavor slowly built up and then tapered down quite evenly. There was quite a bit of rich flavor and a lingering aftertaste. The tea finished with a medium sense of astringency. This infusion felt like it was more complex than the Badamtam, but it was quite broad and undecided.

2nd Infusion: This infusion was not so full bodied, it had a more medium body and left with a high astringency. There was a medium bitterness which was not present in the first infusion, and at the same time there just simply was not as much flavor.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: While this was an excellent Darjeeling, it was not as pure as a single estate for obvious reasons. It was rich and tasty, but a bit too general for my tastes.