Silver Tips Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

Product Description:

The prize crop of Darjeeling, the champagne of teas! This is first flush at its best – slightly astringent, a green hue to the leaf and a pleasant floral tone to the cup. Enjoy the spirit of the Himalayas – Organic, Biodynamic & Fair Trade.

Taster’s Review:

As I’ve said many times before, I love Darjeeling. So, I’m always happy to try new Darjeeling teas. This Darjeeling I received as part of the Steepster Select monthly subscription. This new program from Steepster is really great. For just $19 per month, I receive three packages of tea (an ounce of each tea, I think?) I love receiving tea in the mail, and I was all giddy (like a kid on Christmas morning) when this package arrived last week.

But… let’s get on with the review, shall we?

This First Flush Darjeeling from the Makaibari estate is very pleasant. It has that clean, crisp flavor and lightness that I have come to expect from a first flush Darjeeling. The muscatel of this tea really stands out. It is deliciously fruity with a very wine-like finish.

About mid-sip, I notice a sharp bitterness. It isn’t an unpleasant bitter tone, but it does seem to shift the flavor focus from sweet to bitter. However, just as quickly as the bitterness displaces the sweetness, the astringency seems to cut out the bitterness. It is a very smooth transition from sweet fruit notes to sharp bitterness to tangy astringency. The aftertaste is mildly sweet with an almost wood-like flavor in the distance.

I generally do not drink Darjeeling teas as iced tea, but I found this one to be exceptionally tasty when it cools. The bitterness becomes more of an afterthought, and the astringency nearly disappears as well. It becomes less focused – somewhat like a blurry photograph – but, even without the hot tea’s complexity this is still incredibly flavorful.

I really like this. I’m glad it was part of the Steepster Select box this month!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea, Darjeeling