Happy Eart Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green (Darjeeling)

Tea Description:

A good value green tea from Arya Tea Estate which is known for its high quality of produce. This tea bears the rich satisfying flavor of Darjeeling; nothing like the bitter green teas out there.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

When I think “Darjeeling” – whether it is a black, or a green, or even a white or Oolong Darjeeling – one word comes to mind … MUSCATEL! I love that sweet, wine-y, grape-y, slightly woodsy, earthy note that is so uniquely muscatel.

So, when I come across a Darjeeling – again, no matter what type of leaf it may be – I find myself expecting a muscatel tone to the flavor profile. And when I don’t experience muscatel, I am a little disappointed.

And so it is with this tea.

The truth is, not all Darjeeling teas possess that muscatel note. There are some very delicious Darjeeling teas that do not. I shouldn’t expect muscatel from every Darjeeling and I shouldn’t be disappointed by a Darjeeling that doesn’t offer that flavor. But, I love muscatel, so I can’t help but want it whenever I come across a Darjeeling.

This is NOT a bad green Darjeeling, not at all! In fact, it’s really quite lovely. But, it does not have the muscatel tone that I desired, either. This is much more reminiscent of a Dragon Well or perhaps even a buttery Chinese Sencha. It tastes much more like a Chinese green tea than an Indian green tea, although I must admit that my experience with Indian green teas is a bit more limited than with Chinese.

This is tasty, very much so. It is sweet, it has a creamy texture to it, very smooth and there is very little astringency. Absolutely no bitterness. Hints of grass and vegetative tones, and I even taste a slight fruitiness to this … citrus-y with a hint of peach. It’s a very pleasant tea to sip.

There’s just no muscatel.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Darjeeling, Green Tea