Castleton – Page 2

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Oolong (Darjeeling)

Tea Description:

This rare terracotta-toned oolong has lightly worked leaves that offer a wide range of sweet and woody notes including chestnut, parsnip and Autumn leaves. There is a satisfying mineral quality in the finish suggestive of a Wuyi Rock Oolong.

Castleton Estate’s altitude and specific location in southeastern Darjeeling keeps this garden constantly veiled in mist. It is the resulting slow leaf growth that makes Castleton’s teas some of the most flavorful in the region.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This is an exceptional tea. I find myself savoring every sip … and while I find it difficult not to raise my cup to my lips immediately for another sip, I want to wait … linger over the deliciousness of it, relishing every moment this tea has to offer. Yes … this tea is that good.

The flavor is remarkable. It starts out very Darjeeling-esque: a crisp muscatel, sweet grape notes mid-sip with a dry wine-like finish. Woody tones throughout the sip. As I continue to sip, the Oolong notes begin to reveal themselves, reminding me of a very fine Formosa Oolong or perhaps a Wuyi. It has a lovely sweetness, peach-like, with a light earthiness and a soft mouthfeel that starts out very light and develops as I continue to sip.

The astringency is remarkably light. It starts out a bit stronger, but as I continue to sip, the softness of the Oolong notes curb the edge of the astringency, making it almost non-existent. The finish is clean, with lingering grape notes in the aftertaste.

Rare Tea Republic continues to impress me with their amazing teas. This one might just be the most impressive yet.

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, Oolong