Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Product Description:
This excellent first flush tea delivers a rich liquor with sweet floral notes and creamy undertones. Hints of juicy pineapple are apparent in this well balanced selection. Plucking date: April 19, 2011.
Taster’s Review:
OK, let me say it right now. I’m LOVING Rare Tea Republic. First of all, their packaging is really cool. Not necessarily the box that it was shipped in, or even the pouches that they packaged their samples in. It’s the “packing peanuts.” That’s right. I saying I love their packing peanuts. They aren’t the typical Styrofoam peanuts, or even the new biodegradable cornstarch peanuts… these are little, light-weight (cardstock weight) cardboard bits that have been folded into a dimensional triangle. I love them because they ARE biodegradable, and beyond that, they’re even recyclable and perfectly acceptable to toss into the recycle bin! But, I plan on re-purposing them and turning them into a holiday decoration of some sort (add that onto my list of art projects!)
And… that’s just me excited about the packing peanuts! I haven’t even gotten to the best part about Rare Tea Republic – their TEAS! This First Flush Darjeeling from the Sikkim region is absolutely delightful. The freshness of this tea is apparent from the flavor: it tastes light, crisp and very fresh. 
I would classify this as a medium-bodied tea because of it’s light-weight feel to the palate, but it offers an astonishing amount of flavor for a medium-bodied tea. So many beautiful layers of flavor to this complex Darjeeling: in one sip, I note floral tones, a hint of earth, a musky wood-tone, and an outstanding fruit note. Yes I can taste the pineapple as mentioned in the above description, but there’s something else too. Something that tends to be pretty important to those of us who love Darjeeling: Muscatel! Yes, I am getting that distinct muscat grape taste to this, but, there is a surprising smoothness to this too. I don’t taste much astringency, something that I generally prepare myself for when I sip a Darjeeling … it is quite unnoticeable in this cup.
This is an excellent Darjeeling – one that I would say stands out amongst even the best Darjeeling teas that I’ve tasted. In fact, I even rated it 100 on Steepster. Yes, it’s that good. I highly recommend it to those who like Darjeeling, and I would even recommend this to those who have tried Darjeeling in the past and felt it was not for them. I think this one can change your ideas about Darjeeling.
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, August Shipment, Part 4: Old Style Gyokuro (First Flush)
Leaf Type: Green
Produced by Kurihara Seicha
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
I’ve not tried a lot of Gyokuro, but, of those that I’ve tried, this is easily the BEST. It is ah-MAAAZ-ing!
It is incredibly sweet, but not a cloying, sugary sweet. It is more of a vegetal sweetness, like the naturally occurring sweetness you might taste in a vegetable. There are hints of grassiness to this, but not a bitter grassy taste. If I could only use one word to summarize the flavor of this tea, the word would be sweet.
But, one word does not make a review, does it? 
The texture of this Gyokuro is thick and broth-y, or as the literature provided with the Global Tea Taster’s Club package suggests: syrupy. It is incredibly smooth and rich in flavor. While the overall flavor can be described as sweet, there are some intriguing savory notes to the tea. It tastes very fresh (and it should, as it was harvested in May of this year).
The price of the subscription to the Global Tea Taster’s Club is worth it for this tea alone! Yes. It is THAT good.
Makaibari First Flush Darjeeling from Silver Tips Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Silver Tips Tea
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!
Glenburn First Flush Darjeeling FTGFOP1 from KTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: KTeas
Product Description:
Picked 20 March 2011!
Fresh from the bush at Glenburn to your cup!Savor Glenburn Estate’s First Flush Darjeeling tea, picked on 20 March 2011. Only the finest tender shoots from Glenburn’s clonal sections, picked during the onset of Spring, will do for this delightfully light liquor, bright and smooth on the palate. Don’t miss the full aroma, the citrus flowers and peach undertones in this personification of the first harvest of the growing season, brought to you from the heights of the Himalayas in Darjeeling, India.
Taster’s Review:
This is FABULOUS! Definitely one of the very best Darjeeling teas I’ve ever tasted. Ever!
The dry tea leaves are varying shades of brown and light green. I even questioned whether this was in fact a black tea or a green tea, not only because of the color of the dry leaf, but, because of the color of the brewed tea and the flavor. The liquor is a beautiful, light amber. It is delightfully fragrant, with notes of fruit and spring blossoms. It reminds me of living in California and walking past the orange groves when they’re in bloom. It smells so wonderful!
The flavor is amazing. So light and crisp! The sip starts with a sweet, fruity tone, and transitions smoothly to a dry astringency, leaving behind a sweet, wine-like note to enjoy in the aftertaste. While it certainly possesses the qualities I’ve come to expect in a black Darjeeling, the lightness of this tea, not just in texture but also in flavor, gave me reason to wonder if this was a green or black tea. A prompt response from the Glenburn estate assured me that this is, indeed, a black tea.
This is truly one of the most amazing Darjeeling black teas I’ve yet to taste. It will take your taste buds on a journey, and really, isn’t that what a good tea should do? I liked that this Darjeeling challenged me. If you’re a Darjeeling devotee, I strongly recommend adding this tea to your MUST TRY list.
2010 First Flush Premium Oolong from Mauna Kea Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: This flush is sold out, however, keep an eye on Mauna Kea Tea’s website for updates on when this year’s harvest is available!
Product Description:
Our First Flush Premium Oolong Tea is the first harvest of the year. This is medium oxidation oolong which has slightly fruity flavor and bold floral aroma. Hand harvested and processed. Naturally oxidized under the sun.
partially oxidized leaves are then hand-processed to enhance floral aroma and bring out full flavor.
Organically Grown at our farm in Hawaii.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve never been to Hawaii. I hope to go sometime, but until then, I like to think that I’m experiencing a bit of Hawaii through Hawaiian-grown teas like this one from Mauna Kea.
The aroma is fantastic. It smells much the way I imagine the air in Hawaii to smell: floral, vegetal, and fresh. A very aromatic, vibrant fragrance!
The flavor is sublime! It is very delicate and floral, with a kiss of vegetation to the background. There is a beautiful fruity essence to the flavor as well, with flavors that remind me of sweet plums.
The sweetness to this cup is remarkable, no additional sweetener is required. In fact, I feel that adding sweetener to this cup would ruin this tea. I has such a lovely delicate quality to it.
I recommend brewing this tea in a gaiwan to get the most out of this tea. Drink it hot to enjoy all the subtle nuances to it. This is truly a rewarding tea!