The dry aroma and the visual aspect of this tea scream Darjeeling.
The way Darjeeling smells, the slightly mineral, fresh, like a clean rainfall. It is a unique smell that I can only attribute to Darjeeling. Kinda like saying something tastes like chicken.
But what is the taste of chicken? I Don’t Know it just is! Oh, fudge… Now I’m tasting chicken. That’s a weird mix with tea.
Speaking of taste considering how it smells I don’t quite get those muscatel notes I’m looking for. And the aroma Darjeeling aroma disappears completely. This one is utterly perplexing.
I have tried both infuser in cup style and gong fu style but I feel both lack the Darjeeling punch I was looking for. If steeped too little there is no flavor. Steeped too long and it’s astringent with a bitter woods flavor.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: teakruthi
Description
Grown in the hub of the largest Dimbulla tea-growing area in Sri Lanka, our Island Heritage tea offers a flowery, mild taste and boasts an orange appearance. This tea was plucked from tea bushes that were planted during the coffee era, around 1884-1885, so you can taste true Dimbulla tea-growing history in your cup. The blend features two distinctive leaves and a bud subjected to natural withering and then gently rolled in a well-type miniature roller. Afterwards, the tea is sun-dried and passed through a conventional dryer to eliminate moisture. The last step, of course, is finding its way to your cup.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blueberry Time Machine/ Wise Ape Tea Co. -Skysamurai-
Darjeeling is a black tea, not a green tea. Sorry as a tea nerd I had to put that out there first or I couldn’t continue with the review. Though personally I think Darjeeling is unique enough that it should get it’s own tea type or be placed with oolong.
But that’s for another day, let’s discuss this tea.
It’s full on blueberry in your face paroxysm. Which is quickly tempered down with the muscatel Darjeeling. All of the other flavors blend very nicely. Nothing tries to overwhelm and upset the balance.
The aroma is dominated by blueberry but it’s delightful. This is great warm but also good cold.
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Leaf Type: Black/Green Tea
Where to Buy: Wise Ape Tea Co.
Description
A refreshing blend of pure darjeeling green tea, moringa leaf, and two-parts bilberry traverse the time-space continuum, delivering an antioxidant infusion to your cellular defenses. Delicate notes of high-altitude green tea merge with brilliant blueberry to teleport your taste buds into another dimension. Designed to defend, refresh, and renew.
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First Flush 2019 Darjeeling Blend / Upton Tea Imports
Did you know that one of the aroma descriptors for wet tea leaves is wet leaves? I laugh every time I read it and yet it perfectly makes sense.
If we really want to get complicated we could define how wet leaves differ in smell. For instance the wet leaf of this Darjeeling smells different from the wet leaf that falls in our forests around here in MN.
The wet leaves around here have a somewhat musty and crisp smell in fall whereas this Darjeeling smell is smooth and clear. Generally I don’t like to use clear as a descriptor but it literally feels like the air is clear and being cleansed when you smell it.
Perhaps there is some unknown air cleansing property to it like coffee.
This Darjeeling is quite lovely. It brews up a medium dark, clear, amber. Typical crisp Darjeeling flavor with a silky mouth feel and only a tiny amount of astringency in the after taste.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Darjeeling / Black
Where to Buy: Upton Teas
Description:
This 2018 first flush Darjeeling blend has a sweet aroma, hinting of honey and flowers. Those classic hints spill over into the golden amber cup, complementing the silky smooth mouth feel. The finish lingers on a clean, crisp note. A great value.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Darjeeling Spring Black Tea / Udyan Tea
Never have I seen a tea company use so many tea puns. I love it!
There is a lot to love about this company, besides the puns of course. They are a team of tea lovers who want to bring the best tea to others.
They offer only Indian teas but from what I can tell they only offer top grade tea.
For those herbal lovers they also have an interesting line of wellness teas.
As for this Darjeeling, I am impressed. It has a bit of astringency to it but it works well with the sweet floral notes. The moment you open the bag and smell the dry leaf there is no doubt in your mind that it is a Darjeeling.
It has that classic aroma which turns almost muscatel when wet. Speaking of which I detect a faint amount of honey but not much in the way of muscetal notes. The only unfortunate part for me is that they are located in India.
If you don’t mind the extra time and cost in shipping definitely check these guys out.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Description:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Giddapahar SFTGFOP 1 SPL Black Tea from Tea Swan. . . .
Giddapahar SFTGFOP 1 SPL Black Tea from Tea Swan is the tea of the moment for me while not only typing up this review but pulling of a pretty sweet sip down!
I’m a fan of teas from the Giddapahar Tea Estate and this specific tea is an early First Flush tea from Giddapahar Tea Estate in the Kurseong Valley of the Darjeeling region.
Giddapahar SFTGFOP 1 SPL Black Tea from Tea Swan is produced with leaves from China plants and offer a sweet musk of this 1st Flush Darjeeling’s dry leaves. Once I began infusing the loose leaves – the scent decreases from sweet to vegetal while giving off a light coppery brew. I noticed the flavor change from subtle spinach greens to musky hay to floral on the end sip. I enjoyed the twists and turns this tea takes!
It’s a mighty fine offering from Tea Swan, indeed!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Swan
Description
Giddapahar black tea is very exquisite early First Flush tea from Giddapahar Tea Estate in the Kurseong Valley of the Darjeeling region.
