Organic Makaibari Darjeeling

Tea #31 from HHTTB2

Musty and earthy and very slightly sweet, with a brothy mouthfeel. Some very mild astringency, with a burnt sugar finishing note.

A nice autumnal flush Darjeeling, but I definitely prefer the more delicate first and second flushes.

Sample package label: “Organic Makaibari Darjeeling”

Per: http://www.dellaterrateas.com/organic-makaibari-darjeeling/
“Ingredients: Organic Makaibari Darjeeling Black Tea”

“Suggested brewing tips
Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving
Water Temp: 210°F
Steep Time: 1 – 3 minutes”

Technique:
6-oz water with total dissolved solids (TDS) of 27 ppm, heated to 212*F and allowed to cool to 210*F – verified with DAVIDsTEA digital thermometer.

1 level Tevanna teaspoon, without sweeteners, milk or cream.

Dry leaf: well twisted, uniform sized, blackish brown – typical for an autumn flush

Fragrance: Reminds me of pipe tobacco

Liquor: Clear & coppery

3-min Infusion: Fresh crisp vegetal aroma, a lively full-bodied refreshing flavor without bitterness. There was a slight sense of astringency on the front center of my tongue.

1st Re-steep: 6-min Infusion Wow, just as enjoyable as the first infusion and now without any astringency.

2nd Re-steep: 12-min Infusion Nearly as enjoyable as the initial infusion! This very fine Darjeeling can go the distance!

Impression: Highly recommended! A truly excellent full-bodied black tea that’s suitable for morning or afternoon.

Thanks to David Worgul of Della Terra Tea for providing this free sample.

Tea #39 from the Here’s Hoping TTB

I’ve been curious about this tea because it is one of two teas you can’t order in a Try Me pack, which means it is also one of the few teas I haven’t yet sampled from Della Terra. This is a darjeeling I could likely drink on a regular basis, if only because it doesn’t have as much astringency as others I have tried. As the tea cools it gains a lightly sweet, almost fruity flavor that I really enjoy. I may consider picking some of this up in the future during a good sale.

Lots of woody and sweet notes in this tea. The muscatel flavor comes out as the tea cools, but it is not a strong flavor, and it is never at the forefront of the tea. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s nice change of pace from some of the other Darjeelings I’ve been drinking lately. There’s also a caramel flavor that threw me for a loop at first, but I’m enjoying it now. It’s so different from the Darjeelings I’m used to drinking, but it’s nice and absolutely enjoyable.

September Sipdowns: 21

Loose
Appearance: deep brown, small curled leaf, mild highlights in a lighter brown
Aroma when Dry: fruity, earthy
After water is first poured: fruity, musty, sweet
At end of first steep: Smooth, light earthy, fruity, mineral notes
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: very faint green
Staple? Type yes, Will gladly re-order from company
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first?: musty, earthy, slight sweet, fruity, hints of broth notes
As it cools?: tea gets deeper, brothier, notes get fuller, hints of tartness, mellow grape notes
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? yes, fruity, earthy and brothy, slight buttery texture

Second steep (5min):
At first: bright, smooth fruit notes, hints of salty brothyness
As it cools?: tea gets fruitier, brothier, buttery, then earthy, slightly smokey

Third Steep (6min):
Fruity, salty, brothy, peppery tea water

Fourth Steep (6 min):
Bright, very fruity salty broth water

This is my very fist experience with Darjeeling, so I have nothing to go by but personal preference. Actually, I’ve tried Ooooh Darjeeling from Adagio, but that was supposed to be an oolong with darjeeling characteristics. From what I remember, this is similar, but with more depth to the flavors. It has an oolong quality to it with honey and floral notes. There is also a hint of citrus. While it was brewing, the aroma reminded me much of guayusa in that it smelled like fruity grass and vegetation. It doesn’t taste so much like that though.

Good morning and Happy Easter! I had a very late night, so I sleepily picked something easy and strong. This is the first black tea that I picked up. I really did not like this. The liquor had a very nice golden color. The aroma was mostly malt and with a slight woodsy tone. The flavor, however, was very bland. I used quite a bit of tea leaves, yet the flavor never really sank in. By the end of my pot the taste had become bitter and astringent. I will definitely be doing another tea session today to make up for this one.

Something I pulled out of the GCTTB Round 3. This initially had a kind of savory taste, then turned sweeter as I continued sipping. A bit of astringency at the end. Not a favorite for me, but not a bad cup either.

Today we have Della Terra Teas’ Organic Makaibari Darjeeling, a black tea hailing from the Makaibari Estate in West Bengal, Darjeeling, India. This specific Darjeeling is a FTGFOP Autumn Flush, or Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (or Far Too Good For Oridinay People, because tea drinkers are full of wit) that ridiculously long winded (or short acronym) term refers to the grading system set up back in the day, with some debate by Sir Thomas Lipton. The aroma is sweet and muscatel, with a bit of a sharp leafy aroma, similar to that of grape leaves and oak wood. It is mild and pleasant, an enjoyable sniff that is reminiscent of nature and plants and a slight sweet finish of raisins.

Once the tea has been brewed, the wet leaves are much lest muscatel and more brisk. The aroma of oak wood is more prevalent, and there is a touch of loam as well. Have no fear, I found all the muscatel sweetness, it is in the liquid. The liquid has a great aroma of fresh grapes and raisins with a drizzling of honey. There is a tiny undertone of brisk oak wood, but you almost have to stick your nose all the way into the teacup to notice it. (Note, I do not recommend this, from experience, it is a good way to get a singed nose and tea in one’s sinus cavities.)

Tasting time, I am excited, I have come to greatly love Darjeelings, especially after I learned that boiling the tea leaves will give you a cup of gross. That was a great lesson to learn about a year ago! I know, with every Darjeeling I review I have to mention the ‘do not boil’ thing, I do this because for years bad tea instructions had me believing that Darjeeling was bitter death and all those people who tasted sweetness and grapes were bonkers. The taste of this tea is deliciously mild and muscatel with notes of freshly mown hay and new vegetation. This fades to a rich, brisk, oak wood taste that really wakes up the mouth (and the me.) After this burst of wood it fades to a honey sweet raisin that that lingers as a delightful aftertaste.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/06/della-terra-teas-organic-makaibari.html

TTBC2 #17

Oh! Wow! This is a really tasty darjeeling. I don’t think I have ever had a straight tea from Della Terra, who are famous for their flavored blends (that are either hits or misses for me).

The thing about this tea is that it looks, smells and pretty much tastes like a balanced and non-too-sweet Yunnanesque tea. There’s absolutely no bitterness to it, no “bite”. The full-bodied sips hint at earthy sweetness and make you feel like you’re eating caramels outside after some big rainstorm.

I actually can’t get over how good this tea is… Wow, Della Terra, what is your crazy source for this?