Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Grey’s Teas
Tea Description:
This 2011 first flush is produced at Monteviot, one of Darjeeling’s oldest tea gardens located in Kurseong south valley at an average altitude of 3600 feet. At around 220 acres the garden it is also one of Darjeeling’s smallest. The leaf is green and neat with a clean, fresh hay-like aroma. In the cup the golden infusion yields a lovely, highly drinkable, honeyish tea with little astringency and a long finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Darjeeling Monteviot Organic First Flush is a really good Darjeeling – one of the nicest I’ve had in a while!
The dry leaves range in color from forest green to a medium brown color, and they smell like oak, hay and smoke. Really … what I was first reminded of when I smelled the dry leaves was the smell of hay burning … not an aroma I smelled often growing up on a farm, but, there was one occasion when a haystack caught fire, and the scent is rather distinctive and imparts one of those memories that doesn’t fade.
I was kind of surprised by the smoky notes in the aroma, really, because I don’t usually experience that with a Darjeeling, so I wondered what other surprises this tea had in store for me. I didn’t smell any smoky notes with the brewed tea, but I do still smell the hay-like aroma as well as a woodsy tone.
The flavor is really quite surprising as well. The first thing I taste is honey! Yes, honey! (And no, I didn’t add honey to the cup!) I don’t usually taste honey-esque notes with a Darjeeling, as Darjeeling usually tends to be more fruity than honey-like. I taste hints of flower in the distance, as well as a definite woody note. I taste fruit too … imagine currents and apples drenched in honey! That’s what I taste. Sweet, slightly wine-like but not so much of a distinguished muscatel note … but delightful nonetheless.
Like with most Darjeeling teas, there is some astringency with this cup, and it imparts a slightly dry feeling on the palate in the finish. The aftertaste is clean with hints of sweetness.
A very enjoyable Darjeeling … I’m glad I had this chance to try it.
Temi 1st Flush from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A beautifully bright fragrant rare tea from the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely single estate Darjeeling! So crisp and bright tasting; it has a clean, uplifting flavor that is perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up … which is just what I need right at this very moment!
The aroma is pleasing with subtle notes of flower and fruit, I also detect notes of wood and gentle spices. This fragrance tells of what the flavor has in store, as I taste layers of flavor. The overall cup is so light and refreshing, it almost seems to sparkle on the tongue. No wonder Darjeeling is often called the “Champagne of Teas.”
This is a tea that benefits from a few moments of cooling off time after the tea has been decanted. When very hot, the flavors seem almost jumbled together, resulting in an overall taste that is crisp and delicious, but it is difficult to discern all the different facets of flavor within the sip. After cooling for about three minutes, though, those layers of flavor really begin to come to life, ready to reveal themselves.
Up front, I notice a lovely flowery note – not a sharp floral tone, its more like a soft, sweet note that melds almost seamlessly with a wood-like tones, evoking thoughts of a tree in bloom. Beneath this flavor I notice a gentle, warm set of ambiguous spices which lends an exotic touch to this cup.
In this Darjeeling, there does not seem to be a strong “muscatel” presence … at least, not at first. Instead, I detect a cleaner, lighter fruit tone, tasting a bit like a finely filtered apple juice, crisp and sweet. It is quite faint, really, as if maybe a drop or two of the juice were added to the cup. However, as I made my way to mid-cup, I began to notice a slight muscatel-esque taste emerging. These fruit notes never really become distinctly pronounced, though. Very soft and clean, in keeping with what seems to be the overall theme of this tea.
Also keeping with the clean taste, the astringency seems to cleanse the palate. The aftertaste is equally as clean, leaving only hints of what was tasted during the sip: whispers of flowers, slightly woody, insinuations of fruit, and a dash of spice.
This is one of those teas that you want to enjoy on a quiet afternoon. It is a contemplative cup that restores you as you explore its many layers of flavor. A truly wonderful experience.
Jun Chiyabari FTGFOP1 First Flush (2012) from Rare Tea Republic
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Tea Description:
This easy-drinking selection has a minty aroma and a smooth, full flavor with soft notes of dry apricot in a light liquor. A sweet, balanced selection.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve got to tell you, this year’s first flush Darjeeling teas seem to be green in color! Each of the three first flush Darjeeling teas I’ve tried from Rare Tea Republic, while technically categorized as black teas because they’ve been oxidized, all have leaves that have made me go back and check the website to make sure that I’m dealing with a black tea and not a green!
That’s neither a bad thing nor a good thing … I’m just so used to looking at a leaf and being able to determine what type of tea it is. Admittedly, there were a few times I’ve judged incorrectly … perhaps more than a few. But, I would say that I’m about 90% accurate with those judgment calls. But with the three teas I’ve tasted from this past spring’s harvest offered by Rare Tea Republic: the Phoomsering, the Wah, and this Jun Chiyabari, I’ve had to double check to make sure they’re black teas and not green!
But no matter … really, what it all comes down to is the taste, and taste (and quality!) wise the teas from Rare Tea Republic simply are the best! This Jun Chiyabari is no exception. It is so deliciously flavorful, with interesting notes of cream as well as a crisp, cooling sensation that is quite mint-ish. I do taste the sweet, dried apricot flavor to this as well – and it’s quite a lovely contrast to the zesty, herbaceous mint-like tone.
What also sets it apart from other Darjeeling-esque teas is that it doesn’t have the same level of astringency that I often experience with a Darjeeling. The finish is dry and sweet (like a fine wine) but, it isn’t overly astringent. The delivery is smooth from start to finish, providing lovely, sweet fruit tones that I am finding irresistible.
The lovely lightness to this cup makes it a delightful choice to serve in the afternoon, when you’re looking for a little pick-me-up but nothing too heavy or assertive. That’s not to say that this isn’t packed with flavor – it is! But it is such a creamy, smooth kind of flavor.
Really quite wonderful! The kind of tea you’ll want to spend time with – often!
Phoobsering FTGFOP1 First Flush Darjeeling from Rare Tea Republic
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Tea Description:
Made entirely of Phoobsering Estate’s famous cultivar, P312, this flavorful selection is the perfect expression of spring in Darjeeling. A sweet briskness lingers on the palate with notes of Lily of the Valley and sweet lemon. There is a planty quality to the finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I mentioned in my tasting note for this tea on Steepster, if this Darjeeling is any indication of what we might expect from the 2012 harvest, we’re in for a wonderful year of tea!
This is really quite marvelous. The aroma is lovely, with notes of flower. I don’t think I’ve ever really experienced a tea that had such a distinct Lily of the Valley note to it before. I mean, I’ve experienced teas with orchid notes or honeysuckle, and other flowers, but this is the first time where I really recognized Lily of the Valley. Wow!
This is really quite smooth, smoother than I’d normally expect from a Darjeeling. The delivery is smooth from start to finish, with only a slight astringency toward the tail, as if to remind you that this is a Darjeeling.
And as I mentioned with my review of the Wah First Flush from Rare Tea Republic, this tea looks like it could be a green tea when I first opened the package. And the color of the brewed liquid is much lighter than a typical black tea. But, one taste tells me that this is definitely a black Darjeeling.
It has those crisp, light notes and fruity tones that Darjeeling is known for, with a hint of muscatel that presents itself toward the finish. Quite lovely. But even more than the muscatel is the delectable lemony note of this tea. It tastes as if I’d squeezed a thin slice of fresh lemon in the cup. It really brightens the flavor and perks up the flavor in a very nice way.
Truly a memorable Darjeeling, this Phoobsering First Flush from Rare Tea Republic. I find that I can always count on Rare Tea Republic to deliver top-notch tea. This is the kind of company that will impress even the most discerning of tea connoisseurs … I highly recommend them, and this tea!
Wah FTGFOP First Flush Black Tea from Rare Tea Republic
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Tea Description:
At Wah Estate, some of India’s oldest China variety tea plants are tended by one of India’s oldest tea producing families. The result is the classic China character expressed in this first flush selection. Complex sweet notes and dried herb undertones.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is definitely one of the most unique and curious teas I’ve ever come across. The package did not indicate to me whether this might be a black or green or other type of tea, so I checked out the website before opening the package. It was on the black tea so I decided to enjoy it as an early afternoon tea (I like to refrain from drinking black teas as it gets later in the evening because I don’t want to be bouncing off the walls at bedtime!)
But then when I opened the package and looked inside, the leaves looked like green tea leaves. They looked green to me! I double checked the website and saw that it was, indeed, a black tea, and since this tea had already thrown me for a loop I decided to follow the steeping parameters: 1.5 teaspoons of tea per cup, water just below boiling at 190°F, and steeping for 4 minutes.
The flavor is amazing. It does not taste like a green tea, but it does have a mild freshness to it that is vaguely reminiscent of a green tea. Very lush, herbaceous and flavorful. But that is where the similarities to green tea ends, because the primary profile of this tea is very Dian Hong-esque. It is rich and full-flavored, but I wouldn’t really call it bold. Instead, it is very well-rounded, and has a lightness to it that is extraordinarily delightful. And as the tea cools, I find the Yunnan-like notes continuing to emerge – offering a very velvety smooth texture and taste. Sweet with chocolate-y notes and hints of caramel.
Rare Tea Republic is always surprising me with what they come up with next … every tea has been of exceptional taste and quality, and every tea has really thrown me for a loop – I’ve come to expect the unexpected with Rare Tea Republic!