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“I found a tin of this tea in the back of my tea cabinet and thought I’d drink it for a mid-afternoon tea boost. Evidently I’ve never reviewed this before. It is a bummer that RtR has folded their...” Read full tasting note
“This is my first tea from Nepal. I was more than a little nervous learning that this is grown under similar conditions right across the border from Darjeeling-as I don’t care for 2nd flush...” Read full tasting note
“While I can’t taste the Walnut notes or the mild astringency, I can certainly taste the muscatel finish. This tea is very sweet for a first infusion, and the aftertaste lingers for about 15...” Read full tasting note
Due to its close proximity to the Himalayan Mountains, the soil in Nepal’s Ilam district is rich in organic matter and has a high mineral content. This mid-season, clonal variety tea takes it’s flavor from this land. It has notes of walnut, a pleasingly mild astringency and a muscatel finish.
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TeaGschwendnerI found a tin of this tea in the back of my tea cabinet and thought I’d drink it for a mid-afternoon tea boost. Evidently I’ve never reviewed this before. It is a bummer that RtR has folded their business already.
Anyway, I find this to be a delightful brew. I steeped mine for 4 minutes and it is definitely darjeeling-esque. I am picking up the walnut notes with a tiny bit of bitterness. There’s a slght fruitiness but I don’t know that I’d call it muscatel. Might have to steep this at a slightly lower temp. to see if I can bring out those grape notes. This was really good with some coconut sugar which made the flavors pop a bit.
TGIF Steepster! :D
This is my first tea from Nepal. I was more than a little nervous learning that this is grown under similar conditions right across the border from Darjeeling-as I don’t care for 2nd flush Darjeelings at all.
Anyhow, the leaves are dark brown and tightly rolled with a liberal amount of golden buds mixed in. Dry leaf aroma is hard to describe-perhaps a faint note of licorice. The brewed aroma is that of what to me is typical 2nd flush Darjeeling-probably what others call “muscatel”, but to me it smell like some kind of corn liquor (as in corn alcohol).
The flavor is pretty much all the corn liquor-especially on the finish. It does get a bitter aftertaste as the tea cools. I CAN drink this-in fact I drank 4 ounces of a Rishi 2nd Flush Darjeeling (mainly because it was so expensive)-but I prefer not to.
I’m not giving this a numerical rating because I’ve never liked a 2nd flush darjeeling, so it doesn’t seem fair. It has all the characteristics of a quality tea, but it’s just not my preference. I would drink a cup of this if offered, but I would hope my host wouldn’t have a giant pot to share with me.
yeah I believe they are neighbors, the tea is quite similar
Have you ever had an Autumnal Flush Darjeeling? I am curious as to what that tastes like.
I had this autumnal oolong which was nice: http://steepster.com/teas/rare-tea-republic/25330-castleton-autumn-oolong
Thanks, maybe I’ll try a sample next time I place an order, though I’m not too hopeful with oolongs.
I’m waiting for their FF darjeelings to come out – will definitely try those. :)
I’m waiting for more from Thunderbolt, but RTR and Upton’s…….oh, and possibly H & S, for 2012 Darjeelings. I’m gonna sit back and wait (not too long), before I order a couple 2012 Darjeelings. It appears the crops are more sparse due to the drought this year. :-//
I’ve been waiting on the FF Darjeelings myself. Yeah, the drought is supposed to be over now, but it has delayed the first flush.
…….and stunted the crops, and increased prices. :-//
Indeed. Hope prices aren’t too high.
While I can’t taste the Walnut notes or the mild astringency, I can certainly taste the muscatel finish. This tea is very sweet for a first infusion, and the aftertaste lingers for about 15 seconds. It doesn’t seem all that complex now, but maybe the later infusions will develop more. As a final note for this steeping, the astringency started to appear as the tea cooled down, but it wasn’t all that strong by the time I finished the cup.
More to come later.
I’ll amen, thumbs up, and ditto the TGIF!