Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
CASTLETON AUTUMNAL TULIP, as the name suggests is an AUTUMNAL TEA or THIRD FLUSH tea from the estates of CASTLETON TEA ESTATE.
This tea comes with Malty, Muscatel & spicy notes smooth yet complex in flavour. “LIGHT & BRIGHT” is an ideal way to describe this tea. It has a very smooth cup with plenty of sweet muscatel notes. An ideal tea for your breakfast.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf is sweet with some spice notes and floral tones. The brewed tea has a fruitier fragrance, smelling a lot more like fruit than flower. I still pick up on sweet and spice, but mostly, I’m picking up on a delightful grape-y scent! You know what that means, right? Muscatel!
Oh yeah! And this tea has the muscatel that you’re looking for! It has a very wine-like taste, with bright, fruity notes that taper to a slight dryness at the finish and the aftertaste is sweet and fruity, with notes of grape and black currant.
The sip starts with a sweet yet spicy note. The malty notes of this tea accentuate the sweetness, although I’m not finding this tea to be overly sweet. I think that the spice notes add enough contrast to the overall flavor to keep this from tasting like your average Darjeeling. This is – in my humble opinion – head and shoulders above that average Darjeeling. I love the muscatel notes here, and I love the crisp, light flavor of the cup.
This is not a heavy tasting black (not surprising, it is a Darjeeling, after all!) and it would make a great tea for mid-morning or early afternoon. The above description suggests this as a breakfast tea, and I could see that too, there is a certain briskness to this cup that is quite invigorating. Although, I wouldn’t add milk to this cup – it would overwhelm the fabulous flavors going on. So, if you’re one who wants milk in your breakfast tea, save this one for the second cup of the day when you are ready for some unfettered tea flavor.
As I continue sipping, I’m picking up on some bright citrus notes that arrive just after mid-sip, and re-emerge in the aftertaste. I don’t usually associate citrus flavors with Darjeeling, but this tea has some sunny notes of lemon! Nice!
There is some astringency to this cup, but, it’s a fairly mellow astringency. It isn’t leaving the insides of my cheeks feeling puckered or dry, although there is a gentle “clean” feeling to my palate.
Another delightful autumnal flush from Darjeeling Tea Lovers!
Jungpana Imperial Autumn Flush (2013) from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
JUNGPANA IMPERIAL is another wonderful tea in offering this season from the vintage Junpana Tea Garden.
This tea has very high “Autumnal tea flavours”. After drinking this tea, you will feel the whole mouth is full of sweetness and the orchid aroma is lingering between your teeth.
Normally for tea from JUNGPANA, you will easily smell the delicate and sharp aroma after brewing. This tea is no different. A perfect specimen for what AUTUMNAL BLACK TEA should be.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Awesome! This Jungpana Imperial Autumn Flush from Darjeeling Tea Lovers is a seriously good tea! I actually found myself questioning whether I’d be happy with it, because when my tea maker finished the brewing of this tea, the liquor seemed rather “light.” And while I’ve had plenty of amazing teas with a lighter liquor like this one, I still have that response, I judge a tea based on its color and this delightful tea just goes to prove that! Don’t pre-judge a tea … let the proof be in the tasting!
I agree with the above description, this tea does have high autumnal flavors. I taste intriguing notes of spice that are contrasted by notes of sweetness. Notes of fruit, earth, wood and flower are also present. It’s a lovely, complex, nicely round cuppa!
Although the color of the liquid is light, there is a pleasing, thick texture to it. Not “heavy” but a rich thickness that gently coats the palate with a delicious sweetness that has notes of fruit (I taste notes of grape, plum, currant and even hints of apple), flower (I don’t know if I’m tasting orchid, but, it’s a lovely floral essence) as well as notes of rustic wood and subtle earth notes that lie beneath the overtones of spice and an almost sugary sweetness.
This is a truly lovely offering from Darjeeling Tea Lovers. If you haven’t yet tried their teas, I highly recommend doing so! Put them at the top of your must try list!
Castleton Autumnal Wonder (2013) from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
CASTLETON AUTUMNAL WONDER, a brilliant tea from the CASTLETON TEA ESTATE a garden of GOODRICKE GROUP LTD.
Clonal teas from CASTLETON TEA ESTATE have always been special and rare. One of the most difficult tea to source due to its high demand.
This tea comes from pure AV – 2 bushes which have been very finely plucked during the early mornings (before sunrise) when the dew is present on the leaves. The dew adds more prominent floral flavour to this rare tea. A tea full of fruity floral notes, the aroma of brewed leaves is enough to make your mouth water.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I absolutely LOVE the aroma of these dry leaves! They are sweet and distinctly floral with notes of fruit. The brewed tea smells a bit less floral and more fruity than the dry leaves. There is a slight herbaceous note to the aroma as well, reminding me somewhat of basil.
I love the way the fruit and flower flavors meld. The floral tones are softer in taste than the fruit notes, the fruit notes are profound! There is a muscatel note (grape!) and hints of crisp apple and every once in a while, I swear I could also taste a whisper of apricot in there too. The grape-y notes give this an almost wine-ish taste, complete with a slightly dry finish. The dryness is not abrupt, it’s a smooth finish.
The floral notes are much more subtle, but they offer a nice sweetness to this as well. The aforementioned herbaceous notes translate only slightly to the taste, and I notice these more in the aftertaste than in the actual sip. I draw in a breath across the palate, and I experience a cooling sensation, as if I had one of those tiny mints. (You know which ones I’m talking about, right?) The palate feels clean after a sip.
If you’re a fan of Darjeeling teas, you really need to try some teas from Darjeeling Tea Lovers! Their Darjeeling selections are top-notch, I’m always impressed with the teas that I try from them.
Goomtee Autumnal Classic Autumn Flush 2013 Black Tea from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
This special lot from Goomtee comes from the super fine plucking of China classic plants which usually produce teas with sweet almondy qualities. The woody bouquet makes it a highly sought-after Autumn Flush Tea.
This is a very sweet and relaxing tea, with strong almondy and vanilla aromas. The taste is pleasantly sweet, with a stronger almond flavour coming through, followed eventually by the familiar earthy flavours.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh! The aroma that wafts from my teacup at the moment is absolutely delightful! This Goomtee Autumnal Classic from Darjeeling Tea Lovers smells amazing!
This tea really does have a strong almond and vanilla essence! It’s quite remarkable! It’s a pure, unflavored tea but with a truly remarkable flavor that evokes thoughts of something warm and baked, like a vanilla almond cake. YUM!
There is more to this cup, of course. Pleasant earthy notes with a woodsy tone provide a satisfying background of flavor while the creamy, sweet vanilla and nutty almond notes play in the foreground. It is sweet and enjoyable.
The sip starts out with a sweetness that is at first, difficult to distinguish. After a moment, my palate recognizes this flavor as sweet vanilla with almond. As the sip progresses, I start to notice the woodsy tones with a mellow earthy note. At the finish, the almond comes in strong, and it ends with a lovely creaminess. This tea has a light astringency to it that seems to cleanse the palate a little so that the creaminess doesn’t feel heavy or overwhelming to the palate. The aftertaste is sweet and lightly creamy.
A really enjoyable tea. I’m so happy to have more teas from Darjeeling Tea Lovers in my stash!
Shizuoka Shincha Green Tea from Green Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Green Tea Lovers
Product Description:
LIMITED EDITION ONCE A YEAR TEA. Shincha is a first crop, young bud sencha. This shincha is grown in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan’s premier tea growing region. Over half of the yearly production of Japanese tea comes from Shizuoka. The shincha leaves are hand picked and hand rolled into long and extremely fine needles. This tea has a soft taste like fresh spring green tea. The aroma is noticeably sweet and reminds one of wild orchid. Shincha’s key characteristic is its refreshing and invigorating scent of new leaves. Another feature of shincha is it’s less bitter/astringent taste. Shincha has a higher content of amino acids (L-Theanine) and vitamin C, giving it full-bodied flavor and sweetness. L-theanine is linked to increased alpha brain wave production and is considered a natural antidepressant and stress reliever. Japanese studies link consumption of L-theanine with strengthening the immune system. L-theanine is often added to energy drinks and is known to give a 6-hour sustainable energy boost.
Taster’s Review:
This is an excellent Shincha!
The aroma is surprising, I expected it to have a strong vegetal smell, but it does not. Instead, it is sweet and nutty, with a fragrant floral note. If I didn’t know I was smelling a green tea (which is quite obvious from the appearance, of course, but, let’s say if I were blindfolded), I wouldn’t have immediately guessed that this was a green tea by smelling it.
The flavor is equally as surprising. There is a hint of vegetative flavor to the flavor, but, only a hint. Not nearly what you might expect from a green tea. Instead, this is sweet and nutty, just like the aroma. The floral tones are there too, as well as a creamy note – a slight creaminess that I wouldn’t categorize as “buttery,” but more of a soft, mild, fresh cream kind of taste and texture.
This is really a remarkable Shincha, one that inspires a sense of calm and relaxation. Sure, it will also provide an energy boost, but, in a gentle sort of way, making it a great tea for the afternoon. It will help you de-stress while you quietly recharge your battery!