Giddapahar Muscatel Darjeeling Second Flush Black Tea from Golden Tips

gidda-muscTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black (Darjeeling)

Where to Buy:  Golden Tips

Tea Description:

An excellent second flush Darjeeling with an abundance of natural muscatel. A handpicked tea from the Giddhpahar tea estate in Darjeeling with gentle fruity notes, a rich aroma and a complete rounded flavor which is a defining characteristic of premium summer Darjeeling teas.  A must-have for anytime of the day.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Oh, love!  LOVE!  This has the muscatel that I adore!

This is an excellent Darjeeling, one of the best that I’ve tried.  The flavor is strong – this is a stronger tasting Darjeeling than the typical light-to-medium bodied Darjeeling.  I’d categorize this as a medium-to-full bodied Darjeeling!

It has a really nice, well rounded flavor.  It almost tastes too strong and well rounded for a Darjeeling because I typically think of them as crisper and lighter teas.  This is much more robust and satisfying.  I daresay, it would make a nice morning cuppa.  Typically, I think of Darjeeling as an afternoon tea.

And it’s remarkably smooth too!  This doesn’t have the astringency that I normally experience with a Darjeeling.

So, if the first few paragraphs of this review indicate anything to you, it should be that this is NOT your typical Darjeeling!  Not by a long shot.

The flavor starts off sweet with notes of wood and grape.  There is some of that Darjeeling ‘crispness’ right at the start, but as it moves to mid-sip, the flavor develops and becomes a richer experience for the palate.  The grape flavor intensifies!  By the finish, I’m getting a really lovely muscatel finish, but without a strong astringency.  This has all that is really GREAT about a 2nd flush Darjeeling and none of the bad!

This is best hot.  I think that this is true of most Darjeeling tea.  However, I do recommend letting it cool for a few minutes before you start sipping.  I find that the muscatel really shines through best after it’s had time to cool for about three or four minutes.

This Darjeeling is one that EVERY tea drinker should try.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *