I usually imagine earl grey tea with a little bit of a bite, the kind of proper tea that staunch old ladies sip from fine china teacups in British dramas.
Once my mother sent me to an old-timey etiquette class led by a strict old woman. The tea we drank from teacups had a bite, black and tart, and a squeeze of lemon on top made my mouth pucker.
It was more palatable by the second cup with milk and sugar cubes but I always associate a bit of bite with that first cup of earl grey.
Earl Blue from 52teas would have been a better first cup for my childhood self. The darjeeling base minimizes astringency, making for a smoother, gentler cup of tea. Whole blueberries are sprinkled throughout the loose leaf and add a rich, berry sweetness.
There’s still bright citrus in the palette of flavor, but it’s easy and creamy, making for a drinkable cup even without milk and sugar. Citrus and blueberry are a well-balanced combination, not too sweet or sour, with enough traditional bergamot to earn the title of earl grey.
Earl Blue from 52teas is the perfect blend to drink out of a porcelain teacup when I’m feeling more playful than proper.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Darjeeling
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for the teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Darjeeling The Second Flush from Lupicia. . . . .
Darjeeling – The Second Flush certainly grabbed my attention as I was trying to decide which black tea to start my day off with recently. It was then I noticed Darjeeling The Second Flush was one of the Lupicia teas I still had yet to try!
When it comes to a Darjeeling – what can you really say that hasn’t already been said? Many of us know that Darjeeling is considered to be or often called the Champagne of Teas. This specific Darjeeling was Lupicia special blend using summer-plucked Darjeeling. It was fresh and fruity and crisp. Just what I was looking for in a Darjeeling and in a morning tea not too long ago!
Another thing that is notable here with this tea is that it is ONLY available in Lupicia’s online store and Hawaii store.
So if you’re a Darjeeling fan you are going to want to look into this tasty tea! It’s Lupicia’s Darjeeling The Second Flush. Is it calling YOU like it was calling ME? It just might be!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
A special blend only using summer-plucked Darjeeling, often called “the Champagne of teas.” Fruity and fresh, yet the mouthfeel is crisp and concentrated.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Black Third Flush (Autumn) Single Estate Darjeeling FTGFOP1 from Teabox
The scent of the dry tea leaves is bright and fresh with a richer, perhaps malty tinge. At first I was a little worried that my tea would end up tasting like a bale of orchard grass hay, but fortunately that didn’t turn out to be the case.
I steeped the tea according to the steeping recommendations on the packet, although I may have been a bit generous with the leaves. The leaves are on the small side but not superfine or too small to be good quality. They’re third flush, or autumn harvested, which means the flavor is different because the leaves are growing more slowly in the autumn as opposed to the rapid spring and summer growth of the first two flushes. This may be why this tea seems maltier and less floral than other darjeelings I’ve tried.
There’s a distinct black tea fragrance as soon as the leaves hit the water. The fresh, grass-hay fragrance note doesn’t go away but it melds with the heady floral and malt of the oxidized tea. I can definitely catch the floral scent in this tea, although the grass-hay scent seems to me to be more prominent than the malty scent that’s mentioned in the description.
After steeping, the liquor is a yellow-tinged orange color and rather dark, although it’s not one of the darkest blacks I’ve seen. As for flavor, it’s very floral and sweet, but it’s tangy too, with the astringency pulling at the sides of my tongue, but there’s no bitterness, which is nice. Although I can still catch the orchard-grass scent once the tea is steeped, there’s no grass/hay taste in the tea itself. Also, I know I said floral, but this tea is not strong-flavored; it’s delicately floral as opposed to being overwhelmingly jasmine-y.
This particular tea is just lovely with a bit of sugar. I’d say that’s my favorite way to drink it, with just a bit of sugar and no milk. Yes, it’s good with milk too, and I usually like milk in my tea, but here I find that I don’t like the way the milk cushions and muffles the tea flavors.
It’s a nice, warming, strengthening cup overall, and I’d certainly enjoy keeping this one in my stash! I’ll also have to go and check out some more third flush darjeelings to see whether I can find the characteristics I admired in this tea elsewhere or whether they’re unique to this tea alone.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: TeaBox
Description
This tea doesn’t appear to be on the website but click below for their bestselling teas below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
UNITEA from BlendBee. . . A World United In One Cup
BlendBee was a company I discovered this year and every blend just blows me away. The kindness, compassion, amazing quality, freshness of the teas and flavors makes BlendBee a company that really sticks out to me. This is one of those companies that once you discovered them, you just can’t get enough.
UNITEA came in last month’s subscription box from BlendBee. This blend is a mixture of Darjeeling, Honeybush, Yerba Mate, China Green Tea and English Breakfast. The description goes like this:
From South America to South Africa, India to China, with a touch of the Enlglish. Let’s all unite with one exquisite cup of tea. Spread love, joy and harmony. Cheers friends!
And Cheers friends is exactly right!
Right off the bat while this tea is steeping you get that familiar English Breakfast aroma wafting through the air. A smell that I haven’t encountered for some time and its definitely giving me love, joy, and harmony.
The flavors mingle together nicely to provide a wonderful cuppa this morning for sure. The notes that really stand out are the Darjeeling and English Breakfast ones. I can pick up the Honeybush as well but I’m not really getting the green tea or yerba mate. But that’s ok. I know they are working silently in the background to complete this gorgeous flavor that is really helping my morning along.
Such a wonderfully robust strong tea that really makes you want to drink it all morning long while checking off projects around the house or even at work. At least that’s what I’m doing now. This tea has a lot going on but everything really works well and jives.
This tea by itself is outstanding but I wanted something a bit more (after I had about 4 cups of it) , so I added in a bit of ginger and peppermint and wow, this tea has taken on a life of its own. Such a well balanced and thought out tea and now it looks like a tea that would be a great one to experiment your blending your own tea blends with.
I’m so happy this one showed up last month. Now I’m wondering what would happen if you threw in a touch of marshmallow root and some orange peel. . . . this could be something fantastic in the making. . .(hint hint BlendBee!!)
If you are looking for that last minute present for that tea drinker on your list, check out BlendBee. I know they will enjoy their blends as much as I do!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
From South America to South Africa, India to China and a touch of the English. Let’s all unite with one exquisite cup of tea. This unique blend is crafted with the worlds best teas for you to truly savor. Spread love, share joy and harmony. Cheers friends!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited
Recently, I started my day with Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited. I wasn’t sure if it would be as strong as I was looking for to start my day but I was wrong! This is one of the stronger Darjeeling teas I have tried!
Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited is fairly complex but definitely a tea to take your time with while still being a strong cuppa which is great for mornings! It has that stereotypical Darjeeling taste but it’s magnified! Let me TRY to explain this a bit more…
The dry leaves are crisp. Length-wise they are on the shorter side but of various lengths and multiple shades of light and medium brown. As I sniff the dry leaves the nose isn’t overly noticeable but I can pick up a lighter Darjeeling notes that are crisp and clean. This was just the beginning of my tea experience with Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited.
Once I infused this tea it really came to life! It ‘brewed’ to a lovely, rich medium brown color. The infused aroma of Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited was a combination of sweet and wet wood, somewhat muscatel and subtle smoky notes hiding deep underneath, hints of dark chocolate, and even specs of raisins.
The taste of Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited offers many of those Darjeeling tastes you may be looking for but a more deep and rich taste on the tongue. This is a very strong Darjeeling that surprises and delights me as I usually find Darjeelings to be more mellow. Instead of this having delicate floral notes I pick up on the other flavors more-so. The aftertaste leaves a STRONG earthy taste that lingers.
All-in-all…Giddapahar Wonder, 2nd Flush 2016, Darjeeling Exclusive from Lochan Tea Limited is pretty impressive. There are MANY layers to this tea and if you like picking apart those layers like I do I think you will re
ally enjoy this tea. If you are a Darjeeling fan looking for something different I also think you will find this one of interest!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Lochan Tea Limited
Description: Since this specific tea was not YET listed on their site at the date of writing this I figured I would include more info about the Giddapahar Estate instead…
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.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
