I diverged a bit from my regular Ceylon black teas I’ve been having recently to have a first flush Darjeeling this afternoon. This was a sample I received from Vahdam Teas, in their Black Tea Sampler package.
The dried leaves were broken and machine rolled, varying between light green and deep green.
I steeped 9 grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes.
The color of the finished liquor was like a dark wheat color—not exactly yellow, but not exactly brown, either. The aroma of the liquor was quite vegetal—like cooked peas.
The aroma of cooked peas carried over into the flavor of the tea, along with dry grass or hay, slight muscatel grape and other fruity notes, and a floral flavor which started slight and intensified as the tea cooled. Maybe it is because it has been a few months since I had a first flush Darjeeling tea, but I was very impressed with this one. It was an excellent afternoon tea, complete with a low caffeine content.
Sample was marked with Date of Picking: 08 April 2017Flavors: Dry Grass, Floral, Fruity, Hay, Muscatel, Peas
