Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Shelf
Tea Description:
A signature spring harvest tea from the mystical hills of Darjeeling, the fluffy soft textured admixture of single leaves, both rolled and open, are complete with bright silver buds. The light golden liquid is a very clean tasting tea, with a subtle floral bouquet accompanied by notes of apple and honey. A remarkable tea which expresses itself beautifully.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea’s pouch was one of those teas that I happily found int he back of my tea stash. One of the problems with having a nice large stash of tea, teas seem to hide and almost get forgotten. I was excited to see I still had a few offerings from The Tea Shelf to try. So far, I’ve enjoyed checking out their selection.
From the very first looks of this tea, it looks just bright and happy. The tea leaves are a gorgeous light green with twinges of yellow popping thru here and there. Just a tea that screams for spring to come back to us here in the Midwest.
Brewed up per the package instructions, this tea’s brew has such a gorgeous color, a really lovely amber coloring. First sip in and this tea is just spot on. All of those gorgeous slightly vegetal notes combined with a subtle malty flavor with hints of a floral touch. A really nice complex cuppa that gives you a variety of different flavors in each sip. I would almost say this tea is a nice cross between a black, white, and green tea.
I’ll be sipping on this tea for some time. Just gorgeous and hitting on the right notes for me today! Yum!
Namring Special Autumn Darjeeling Black Tea from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
Incredibly fresh & delicious teas chosen to match your tastes using data science.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Namring Special Autumn Darjeeling Black Tea from Teabox is not only a ‘mouthful’ to say – it’s also a ‘mouth full’ of tea to enjoy! Some of you already know that I start each and every day with a black tea and then after that I move on to other types of tea to enjoy throughout the day. When it comes to the tea base that I go thru the most that would be black teas. Namring Special Autumn Darjeeling Black Tea from Teabox is a black tea I would be proud to have in my tea stash at any given time.
Once infused it smells like what you would expect from a black tea base with an added speck of ‘crust’ to the aroma. Namring Special Autumn Darjeeling Black Tea from Teabox ‘brews’ deep and dark and the brown color stands strong. As for the taste it’s a medium-strength black tea flavor but more importantly (for me) it’s a bit astringent (but in a good way) and has a slight crusty flavor in the middle of the sip and subtle plum flavor towards the end of the sip.
Oh…how I LOVE teas with multiple layers and flavor morphing profiles. This one didn’t disappoint! Namring Special Autumn Darjeeling Black Tea from Teabox is “A O K” in my book!
Singbulli Darjeeling Black Tea First Flush 2014 from Happy Earth Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Happy Earth Tea
Tea Description:
A well-crafted Darjeeling first flush tea, with refreshing floral and lime notes.
DRY TEA: Long carefully rolled clonal leaves with shades of light and dark green. Amazingly soft and silky to touch. It has a fluffy body therefore you have to use a little more than usual for to make your cup. The dry leaf has herbaceous notes including lemongrass.
INFUSION: The leaves unfurl to vivid green, affording a nose of floral essence. Hints of citrus.
CUP: The pale amber liquor yields offers a sweet floral and lemony aroma. The mouthfeel is smooth and crisp. Sweet floral notes dominate in the palate with a touch of astringency, the underlying briskness that enlivens the cup. The finish is sweet that lingers for a long while.
1.5 tbsp for 8-12 oz cup.
Water Temp: near-boil, 190F
Steeping time 3 minutes.
COLD BREW: Darjeeling tea tastes just as delicious cold brew. Although the process takes a longer time, it is a wonderful substitute for iced tea. Click here to learn about cold brewing Darjeeling.
Singbulli is located in a Mirik area of Darjeeling and is spread over 473.95 hectare in altitude varying from 1200 to 4000 ft. The garden was established in 1924, and is known for producing some of the best Darjeeling clonal teas.
Learn more about the 2015 First Flush tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Darjeeling Singbulli First Flush 2014 from Happy Earth Tea is a mighty fine Darjeeling, indeed! It’s organic, fair trade, and has the thumbs-up of the Rain forest Alliance. Those are just some of the reasons this tea lives up to the company name. Another reason could be because once I sipped on it – it was so good – if put a smile on my face!
This Darjeeling semi-earthy in a sense that it was ‘green’ and floral but not bitter-floral more of a Sweet Jasmine type floral. It has a greener flavor moreso like a green tea than a rough and tough black tea base. This tea held up to multiple infusions, too, which is always appreciated.
I like this Darjeeling Singbulli offering because it’s tasty and nice to have on hand for any time of the day. It makes a nice hot cup or cold cup of tea. It has a sturdy taste without being too overbearing. This tea gets a “HAPPY” review from me!
Giddapahar SFTGFOP 1 CH 2nd Flush 2013, Darjeeling from Lochan Tea Limited
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Lochan Tea Limited
Tea Description:
This tea is no longer on their website however I can tell you more about the estate.
About the Tea Estate: Giddapahar is located on a mountain which is just a short drive from Kurseong. The garden is situated at 4864 feet above sea level. The Estate is a small family owned Darjeeling tea estate which is also known as “Eagles Cliff” lying very close to Kurseong town. From the estate, one can view the magnificent site of the mountains which also makes it the perfect site for taking photographs.
Giddapahar is almost 100% covered with pure china tea bushes and has followed the legendary classic grade production of Darjeeling Teas. The tea from Giddapahar Estate is very delicate due to the lower temperatures here and also because the area itself is covered by mist for a good part of the year. Teas are planted and picked by using traditional methods. Due to the temperature, the tea bushes from the estate produce a fine bouquet with great aromatic quality and a delicate floral smell.
Taster’s Review:
Eventho this Giddapahar SFTGFOP 1 CH 2nd Flush 2013, Darjeeling from Lochan Tea Limited is no longer listed on their site or available for purchase I wanted to give it an honorable mention because it really was a fabulous tea! As you can see from the description above the Giddapahar estate is a small family owned Darjeeling tea estate that is situated in a zone with lower temperatures which makes teas from this region very delicate.
This specific Darjeeling is mostly floral on the nose with hints of wet woodsy sniffs, too! The flavor matches the aroma and is first and foremost floral with wet woods on the end sip. I find this to be a good ‘working tea’ which means (to me) that I enjoying while working or writing trying to reach deadlines (such as this).
Have you had a tea recent that you rediscovered from your personal collection that deserves an honorable mention that may no longer be available for purchase? If so tell us in comments!
Jungpana Special Spring Darjeeling Chinary Black Tea from TeaBox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: TeaBox
Tea Description:
With prominent chinary characters, this black tea comes as an opulent offering from Jungpana this spring.
Its dark amber-colored liquor makes for a beautiful sight to behold. Look for sweet notes of honey in its refreshing aroma. Its smooth, full-bodied liquor boasts prominent flavors of citrus and green chili. This tea signs off with fruity accents, particularly those of citrus, that linger on for the good haul. Savor a cup of this medium caffeine spring delicacy at any time in the day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Jungpana Special Spring Darjeeling Chinary Black Tea from TeaBox is lovely. This is one of those teas that I was intrigued by the origin of the loose leaf and found that Jungpana is within the hills of the Darjeeling Region so it seems these little leaves were once smack-dab in the middle of everything.
I found out that Jungpana is a small estate nestled in the hills of the Darjeeling region and is known for the muscatel flavor of its teas. Pure china bushes is primarily used, coupled with different manufacturing techniques resulting an the finest example of richness in flavor and bouquet that Darjeeling teas are renowned for. Jungpana is a garden of highest quality in Darjeeling, it enjoys the most unique micro climatic and soil conditions. This location and climate produces a distinct flavor and consequently has been established as the the leading quality estate of Darjeeling.
I appreciate the freshness of this tea. It has a delightful aroma – both before and after infusing. It has a smooth body with unique flavor featuring this high quality loose leaf tea. Eventho this is a black tea base it’s a weaker black tea base but can be enjoyed morning, noon, and night. Be careful with this one, tho, it can get a bit bitter if oversteeped.
Back to the aroma because I think that is what really caught my attention with this one – other than the flavor on the tongue – of course. Pre-infusion the aroma is sweet and toasty but also floral and hints at subtle chili notes. The post infusion adds the warmness of honey to the mix. The best part is the long lingering fruit-floral finish.
This aroma and flavor may be a hard one to pin point as you can see. So I guess that means you will have to try it for yourself to see what I mean!