First Flush Darjeeling

Tea: First Flush Darjeeling
Vendor: Tao of Tea
Price: $10.00 / Chestlet (~3-4 oz)
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: A delicate First Flush Darjeeling packaged in a miniature, wooden tea-chest. To this day, teas from India are packaged in large, foil-lined wooden chests that must be broken or pried open to remove the tea. On this mini-chest, the top is removable and can be re-used for storing tea or other items.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is nicely sized Darjeeling leaves, there was not much of an aroma to the leaves though. The color was a bit on the darker side for Darjeeling black teas, with some light silver and green bits showing through.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 185F, 4 min

1st Infusion: This tea came out iwth a nice floral aroma. It was floral yet thick and sweet. The tea had a rich brown hue to it. The flavor felt a bit muddled, it was rough to find distinct flavors in it, yet I kept finding a hint of a soapiness in the flavor. The flavor was dominated though by a strong bitterness. There was a long lingering aftertaste which piggybacked on the bitterness.

Rating: 1/10

Conclusion:I really was not a fan of this tea. The light character of a Darjeeling was overpowered by bitterness in this case. It wasn't a very enjoyable cup of tea and is not a very characteristic Darjeeling. I did try this tea later with lower temperatures and shorter infusion times, but I could not shake the taste of soapiness with this tea.

Teabag - Darjeeling

Tea: Darjeeling
Vendor: Tea Forte
Price: $24.00 / 20 teapyramids
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: Our Estate Darjeeling brings the fresh crisp qualities of its origins in the Himalayan mountain foothills to every cup. An undercurrent of roasted nuts and soft floral notes permeate each sip. Contains caffeine.

Teabag: This is the first true pyramid style teabag that I have had the chance to review. It is very impressive in both construction and appearance. Ever since I first found out about Tea Forte, I wanted to try them out. Their teabags have a very refined presence to them. They are not just stuffed into a foil packet like some other teabags, these hold their form and have a small paper box wrapped around the pyramid. The leaf on the end of the string is very decorative and classy. If you ever wanted a teabag that would impress someone, or some guests, this is the one to have. They are almost more of a conversation piece than just a teabag.

1st Infusion: The infusion has a very sweet smelling Darjeeling aroma to it. The flavor was very light for a Darjeeling. It was generally pleasant, with a light sense of astringency to it. The Darjeeling flavor itself could stand to be more prominent and stronger.

After Infusing: Given the rather weak flavor of the first infusion I did not try to make a second infusion. I even tried steeping this one for about 3 minutes before tasting, but the flavor didn't seem to come out of the teabag. After the teabag was used though it became somewhat apparent as to the cause. The leaves swell more than the space in the pyramid allow for, applying pressure on the sides of the teabag and hindering the infusion. Also the mesh of the bag was a bit denser than most of the other teabags of similar material. This prevented the water from passing through the tea very well.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: The tea itself was not very impressive, and the teabag itself had most of the fame for this test, but the teabag was the culprit for this particular rating. The teabag as impressive as it looks hindered the tea from infusing well, producing a less than stellar cup of tea. I'm curious to see if this is a result of the Darjeeling itself or of the general design of the teabags.

Darjeeling Green

Tea: Darjeeling Green
Vendor: Tea Chai Te
Price: $5.00 / oz
Source: Makaibari Estate, Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: From the Makaibari Estate, this tea has a golden color with a mild fragrant Darjeeling taste.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea looked a lot like a normal black Darjeeling. I don't think that I would be able to tell the difference between a normal Darjeeling and this if they were placed side by side. The size of the leaf was smaller than I normally see, this wasn't rated so I don't know what the grade for this leaf was.

1st Infusion: The liquor for this tea was a normal red color, which makes me wonder what about this tea makes it a "Green Darjeeling". This tea though has a very different flavor than a normal Darjeeling. It has a very smooth sweetness on the tongue, but it not very full bodied. The flavor sits primarily on the tongue, and leaves with a medium sense of astringency. The flavor doesn't really remind me of a green tea at all, just something different.

2nd Infusion: There is a small sharp bitterness on the tip of the tongue from this tea. This is followed by a sense of bitterness that is felt throughout the whole of the mouth. There isn't really much left of the flavor but a rather general black tea flavor and bitterness.

Rating: 2/10

Conclusion: I'm not sure what makes this tea "green" at all. It tasted like it was a mix of Darjeeling and a more mundane black tea. I would suggest sticking to a regular Darjeeling especially considering the somewhat high price of this tea.

Puttabong Darjeeling FTGFOP1

Tea: Puttabong Darjeeling FTGFOP1
Vendor: Dragonwater Tea
Price: $28.00 / 4 0z.
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: Puttabong Darjeeling FTGFOP1 Tea. High grade first flush Darjeeling from the revered Puttabong estate in India. FTGFOP1 (Full-leaf, Tippy, Golden, Flowery, Orange, Pekoe, Grade 1).

Leaf: The leaf for this tea looked nothing like the image on the Dragonwater website. The tea on the website was very golden in color, where this looked much darker in color. The leaf was uniform in shape, and evenly distributed color.

1st Infusion: The first infusion had a light characteristic Darjeeling aroma. It was not as strong as the first flush Darjeeling from Lupicia or the Badamtam Darjeeling. There was a growing sense of bitterness though, that build up very evenly from a very mild taste up to a strong sense of bitterness. This finished though with a long lingering flavor. The tea was very full boded which was paired with a medium sense of astringency. This tea has a very good and solid Darjeeling flavor though.

2nd Infusion: The second infusion had a sharper bitterness to it, the bitterness was so sharp though that it was too strong and masked the Darjeeling flavor.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: While this is a good Darjeeling tea, it did not stand up well to multiple infusions and was quite pricey. A Darjeeling such as this should easily handle two infusions.

Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush Oolong

Tea: Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush Oolong
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $19.95 / 4 oz.
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: This unique Darjeeling Autumn Flush Oolong grown high in the foothills of the Himalayans produces a satisfying cup with a floral aroma and smooth, clean flavor. Partially oxidized or semi-fermented, this tea exhibits the best flavor characteristics of a high quality Darjeeling and a nuanced Oolong. Handmade at the prestigious Okayti estate known worldwide for its consistently superior Darjeeling teas, this Autumn Flush Oolong is sure to please.

Leaf: This tea was a bit more unusual of a look than the previous Darjeeling from Mighty Leaf. The color was very similar, but it also had some very bright white buds in it. It almost looked like someone had added a small amount of silver needle to the tea. The tea also had a lot more green to the color palette.

1st Infusion: There the same heavy aroma from this tea as the other Okayti Darjeeling, but this one also had some hints of an oolong sweetness to it. The first sip of this tea though tasted identical to the other Okayti Darjeeling. It was a full bodied Darjeeling flavor with a slight sense of bitterness to it. There were hints of the flavor and sweetness of an oolong tea, but they were masked by the strength of the Darjeeling flavor. I could find light degrees of sweetness here and there, but nothing really consistently noticeable.

2nd Infusion: At this point the leaf had fully opened up and the leaf was quite interesting to see. There were a variety of different colors to the leaf, really bringing about an autumnal feel. This infusion didn't have the same power to it as the first infusion did. This allowed for the oolong sweetness to shine through a bit more. The flavor held at a very smooth and low taste for most of the flavor, but at the end hit a nice tang. It left with a light sense of astringency. This infusion was a bit more of an oolong tea than the first.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea was a very strong and flavorful Darjeeling like the regular Okayti Darjeeling, but the oolong portion of it just wasn't that strong. I was hoping for a stronger marriage of the two styles of tea than trying to find some sweetness behind the boldness of the Darjeeling.

Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush

Tea: Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $15.95 / 4 oz.
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: Okayti Autumn Flush Darjeeling harvested in the autumn after the rainy season brews up a brisk and full-bodied cup. Sourced from prestigious Okayti tea estate nestled in the hills of Darjeeling, India, this Autumn Flush Darjeeling has a similar, but somewhat less delicate aroma and muscatel taste characteristic of Second Flush Darjeelings. With tippy brown and black tea leaves this tea yields a consistently smooth and flavorful liquor.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was nothing unexpected. The leaf was a variety of colors, ranging from black to almost a silver needle color. This reminded me of pretty much any other Darjeeling in both size and shape. The hues were a bit different than a first flush though. The colors were slightly browner and reminded me of a set of fall colors.

1st Infusion: This tea had a very thick aroma to it, it reminded me of the smell of a kitchen somehow. I'm not sure how it was, but it was similar to the aroma felt very strong and heavy. The flavor is also thick and soft. There was a light sense of astringency and a medium body. The flavor is not as sharp as some of the other first flush darjeelings. It almost feels like there are two different flavors going on here. I could not really discern what each reminds me of, but there were two different peaks of flavor here. The flavor though was very smooth. The flavor profile for this was very complicated and I found myself trying to search through the flavor down to the last sip.

2nd Infusion: The aroma was a bit lighter in this infusion, but there was still a very strong component to it. It was as if some of the aroma had left, but what gave off the strong feeling still remained. This infusion tasted more like a first flush darjeeling, the flavor was concentrated toward the front of the taste and sharper. There was a medium sense of astringency to it, and the taste was very clean feeling now and the flavor was lighter. Yet the flavor was still rich and full bodied.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: This was a very excellent tea. The flavor was complex and characteristic. Unfortunately the flavor felt as though it was a bit too complicated and there was too much going on. The price of the tea is also a very good price for a single estate darjeeling.

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.

Darjeeling - Badamtam FTGFOP1

Tea: Badamtam FTGFOP1/07-DJ6
Vendor: Lupicia USA

This tea was part of a package deal and it seems that it is not on the Lupicia website. I believe that the plantation specified Darjeelings are a store only item for now.

This was actually the first Darjeeling that I have ever had. It turns out that as I started learning more about Darjeelings, I started out with the bar fairly high. The Badamtam estate is in the Darjeeling West area of Darjeeling, India. While I will probably do a post later in more detail about Darjeeling teas I will cut the description of Darjeeling short for today.

While I haven't had enough Darjeeling to have a very good comparison to review here, I very much enjoyed this tea. It has a very light flavor to it, with a certain loftiness which is a quality that I find very hard to describe. Much as Darjeeling is referred to as the Champagne of Teas, how do you describe the flavor of champagne to someone? The flavor of the tea is very much floral and fruity, but nothing like any flower or fruit that I know of. It has a certain crispness that is not due to a bitterness or particular astringent nature, but just is there.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: While I absolutely love this tea, I cannot find myself a way to describe how and why, aside from I just do love it. Hopefully I will be able to develop a stronger baseline of what a Darjeeling should taste like and why this tea is wonderful, but for now, it is.