Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Jethikupi is a word from the Manipuri dialect (from the North-east Indian State of Manipur) and it means ‘jasmine flower.’ In the Nepali dialect the word ‘jethi’ means the eldest girl child, while ‘kupi’ is a funnel or cone shaped object. Hence this tea points out to the earliest first flush of the tea garden. Rohini Jethi Kupi Black Tea brews into a crisp, full bodied, deep yellow cup with a malty finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have enjoyed the different teas that I’ve received from Udyan Tea to review. But I – without realizing it – think I may have saved the very best for last because this Rohini Jethi Kupi Black Tea is absolutely DELIGHTFUL.
It has that crisp and clean flavor that you expect from a first flush Darjeeilng tea, but this is more full flavored. It has notes of malt! It has a richness to the flavor and it’s nicely round. It’s not “heavy” – it is crisp and light, but it’s not quite as light as a typical first flush Darjeeling. This has a more robust body to it and it’s SO wonderfully sweet!
It’s nice and smooth with very little astringency and absolutely no bitterness. It even has hints of muscatel to it – a note that I don’t usually expect in a first flush Darjeeling, but am always happy to find when I do find it.
This is exactly the tea I needed this afternoon. I’ve been a little stressed out lately (I’ve been SO busy!) and I needed some time to just sit back and have a tea that tastes so good that the stress melts away. This tea did exactly that for me. This is one of the best first flush Darjeeling teas I’ve tried this year. I highly recommend it!
Gopaldhara Spring Special Black Tea from Udyan Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Goapldhara is one of the highest tea estates of Darjeeling and is located in the Mirik valley. The garden is planted with high quality clonal bushes and produces exquisite teas. Gopaldhara First Flush Darjeeling Tea has a floral aroma and a sweet & mellow taste. A great tea to relax and refresh your mind.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness! What a lovely Darjeeling!
I steeped this Gopaldhara Spring Special Black Tea from Udyan Tea in my Breville One-Touch, and I was a little surprised when the tea maker finished it’s cycle – the tea is not black. It’s not even coppery. It’s yellow! Like the color of melted butter that had been slightly browned – but only ever so slightly – still more yellow than brown.
Parameters: I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea in the basket of my Breville and added 500ml of freshly filtered water to the jug. Then I set the temperature for 195°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes.
But don’t let this rather unusual color for a ‘black’ tea freak you out – this is some seriously good stuff! Think of it as liquid gold.
Mmm!
Really smooth – much smoother than I’m used to from a Darjeeling. There is some dry astringency toward the tail – but not a lot. No bitterness. Now, I can’t say that you wouldn’t experience those things if you brewed it at a different temperature (I find that with Darjeeling, it’s important to keep the temperature below boiling because the boil is a tad too hot for Darjeeling tea) and a different steep time (2 1/2 minutes is my sweet spot when it comes to Darjeeling tea).
This is sweet and floral. No overt sharpness from the floral notes, it’s very soft and beautiful. There are some delicate fruit notes to this – more like a citrus note than a grape-y note like you might experience from other Darjeeling teas. Imagine a splash of a fruity/grape-y wine added to your orange juice and you would have the fruit-like notes I’m experiencing.
But mostly, what I taste is a delightful medley of flower.
It’s soft and pleasant – a lovely afternoon tea. This is the kind of tea you want to serve to people you want to impress. They’ll be impressed!
Truly a remarkable tea – beautiful!
Tequila Sunrise Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A double dose of Tequila Sunrise this week. I couldn’t decide whether I liked it best as a black tea or a green tea, so I did both! Here’s our premium Pettaiagala Extra Long Leaf OP from Sri Lanka blended with freeze-dried oranges and cherries; and organic tequila-, orange- and cherry flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a mighty long time since I’ve had a Tequila Sunrise (longer than I care to admit to!) so I don’t have any recent memories to compare the flavoring of this black tea blend from 52Teas to.
And I have to say that this tastes a lot better than I remember a Tequila Sunrise tasting. Hey, I liked them alright. They just weren’t my favorite cocktail. I preferred rum-based cocktails over tequila-based cocktails.
But this is really tasty!
I taste all the elements here: I taste the orange, I taste the cherry and I even taste notes of tequila. And, most importantly, I taste the black tea. I really like the way the Pettaiagala tea goes with these flavors – it’s very smooth! No bitterness and no astringency.
I’m not always really crazy about the cocktail inspired tea blends, but this one is really nice. And the best part? I can drink a couple cups of this without feeling hung over tomorrow.
Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea from Udyan Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea is picked from AV2 bushes at high elevations. This First Flush Tea is plucked immediately after the long cold winter months and is bountiful with fresh flavour as the bushes are full of vigour. The infusion has a greenish leaf appearance and the tea tastes fresh and crisp. This tea is produced from the prime sections of the garden with the earliest production beginning from the 1st Week of March up to 15th April depending on the elevation. They brew into light mellow cups with excellent first flush character and floral ascents.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea from Udyan Tea doesn’t look like your typical black tea. It doesn’t taste quite like your typical black tea either. Therefore, you shouldn’t brew it quite the same way you’d steep a typical black tea.
I never use boiling water on a Darjeeling black tea because I learned through trial and error that when I do, I get a slightly bitter tasting tea that’s a wee bit too astringent for my liking. I find that if I lower the temperature to 195°F that a Darjeeling is much better tasting. Less astringent and not bitter! Win!
And this tea is SO LOVELY! It’s deliciously sweet with notes of flower and fruit. Hints of muscatel – not a strong muscatel note, but then this is the first flush, so a strong muscatel note isn’t expected.
The floral notes are the stars of this show. I like that they’re not sharp, instead, they’re beautifully sweet and they mingle with a honey-esque flavor. It’s wonderful and very spring-like!
Overall, the cup is a delightfully mellow tea that I’d recommend for afternoon sipping. This would make a lovely tea to serve to special guests. Truly a remarkable first flush Darjeeling.
Earl Blue Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Our awesome organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with organic bergamot and blueberry flavors. This is sure to wow your guests.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve mentioned on this blog at least once before in a review of one of Zoomdweebie’s Earl Grey/Bergamot teas that I’m not particularly crazy about the bergamot flavoring that Zoomdweebies uses. Maybe I’m a bit of a bergamot snob or something but Earl Grey tea is something I take very seriously and it should be right. So, when this Earl Blue Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas was announced as a recent tea of the week for SBT, I wasn’t all that excited about it.
But this isn’t too bad. It’s actually pretty tasty. As an Earl Grey tea or more accurately as a ‘twist’ to the classic Earl Grey -well, it doesn’t really cut it as an Earl Grey, I’m afraid. But, as a flavored iced tea, it’s really pleasant. The blueberry is strong and yummy. The bergamot – well, it doesn’t taste as bergamot-y as I’d like it to. But when I just drink it and I don’t think “bergamot” and instead, I think “citrus” it works for me.
It has a really enjoyable, sweet-tart fruity flavor to it. And the black tea base is smooth and brisk. No bitterness, no astringency – just really tasty black tea and fruity flavors.
This is something that I could see myself putting in my shopping cart again the next time I’m shopping at Zoomdweebies dot com. It’s very refreshing and it’ll be really nice to have it chilling in the fridge on those warm summer days that lie ahead.