Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Co.
Tea Description:
From high in the cloudy hills between Assam and Darjeeling this unique tea really holds the best of both regions – light and floral with deep malty notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness! This tea is really amazing.
I have had this tea for a little while now, receiving it at the same time that I received the Royal Air Force tea from Rare Tea Co. But I wanted to save trying it for a day when I was ready to experience something really exceptional, because I was confident that this would be just as exquisite as the RAF tea. I tend to do that with tea companies when I try the first tea from them, if it really impresses me, I mean REALLY impresses me, I tend to place very high expectations on them for future tastings. Sometimes this leaves me vulnerable to disappointment, fortunately, that is not the case with this tea. This is indeed EXCEPTIONAL.
The website did not tell me whether this was a black tea or something else, but on Steepster, this tea was added to the website by “Rare Tea Lady” so I figured that someone from the company added it and they categorized it as black, so I went with it. But that doesn’t mean that I brewed this the same way I would brew a black tea … because something about the name immediately made me think “Darjeeling” so I chose to brew this the way I’d brew a Darjeeling, using a lower temperature – in this case 195°F – and steeping it for 2 1/2 minutes. And I’m really glad that I did, because I can’t imagine this tea tasting any better than it does.
This has such a pleasing sweetness to it, and it is remarkably smooth from start to finish. It does have a lot of Darjeeling-esque qualities to it, it has a strong fruit taste to it, with hints of muscatel. But it doesn’t have that sharp astringency that so many other Darjeelings tend to have. There is some astringency to this, but it is very slight. More like it’s “trying” to be astringent like the other Darjeeling teas, and it almost gets there but, it doesn’t quite make it … does that make sense? Instead it is slightly tangy toward the finish and that tangy note morphs into a clear citrus-y tone in the aftertaste.
I really love this tea. It is so smooth and delicious. This is the kind of tea that you’d serve to very special guests that you’d want to impress. I find that this is best served hot – but not too hot. Allow it to cool a few moments (maybe 2 minutes) before you take your first sip, and then prepare to be taken on a beautiful journey in the Clouds!
