Thanks, Mom! (2018 Vahdam, Okayti Premium Darjeeling Spring Black Tea)

Christmas, 1983 or so. My mother engineered a Christmas to remember. Kate and I were as always excited about the holiday, because at our house, we CELEBRATED. My parents' room was locked for the entire month of December, and my mom and dad would wink and make the "I have a secret" sign we used (thumb against nose twice, bumping hands together twice in a complicated gesture I'm powerless to describe properly). Christmas morning came, and Santa arrived. Schwinn 10-speed bikes for both of us, plus the 100 or so other gifts scattered through the house.

Every year is like this. My June birthday month has been renamed "Stevuary," because the party starts on the first day of the month, and continues on and past the 23rd. Each year, my mom tries to give gifts that are perfect. (Yes, Dad gives gifts, too. But no one I know can hold a candle to Mom, who makes it her life's business.) We never know who is going to be the recipient of pure perfection, but it's always at least one of us. One year, it was the expensive Russian teacups (podstakanniki, which I was informed by one of my former Russian students that I've been boldly mispronouncing for years, and the which I can't force my mouth around no matter how hard I try to copy her accent.) Another year, a sibling's difficult bill would be paid. A special gold head joint for our budding flutist. And on. And on. My parents were not wealthy people, but we always felt rich because somehow price never seemed to be an issue. Santa would come, the tree was surrounded with a knee-high drift of presents marked, "From SC," in my mother's graceful, old-school script.

This year, Mom had a health scare. When she was young, she had an undiagnosed cough that doctors treated with codeine and other palliatives. She coughed her way through high school, got better, and never thought much about it again. Then a couple years ago she found out she had cancer, and it would be treated with surgery and radiation. Unknown to us, the radiation that would save her life from the dreaded C word would also burn her lungs, reducing their function drastically. Eventually, she ended up on oxygen with fairly limited mobility. This means no more trips to the mall. And right about Christmas, Mom's breathing eroded to the point where she could barely talk for the coughing. (She was holding out against going to the doctor, convinced that what turned out to be a bronchial infection on top of her lung disease was going to land her in the hospital. Happy ending: She got meds and was soon well after the holiday season was over.)

And yet. Christmas must go on.

Mom has discovered the Internet.

Now, saying that makes my mom sound like a n00b. Yeah, nope. She's a pro. She broke the Internet making the best Christmas ever.

The last couple of years, as you may have noticed (those two of you who still know this blog exists), I've been too busy with real life, and not inspired enough to really write about brown leaf juice. How many more Simpsons references and high art images must I come up with every time I drink a cup of tea? Instead, I've been working on a novel (and, yes, there is tea in it, though I'm editing it out because only real tea-holics would appreciate such focus on gaiwans and gongfu), and on teaching literature, and helping my brother resurrect his very excellent business. So as a consequence of changing priorities, I'd rather run out of good tea. I was living in a tea desert. I was on one of the outer rings of Saturn, so far as tea was concerned. I was tea-ed out. I had no fu in my gongfu. I was an ex-tea-er.

Then December rolled around, and Mom found something new: TeaGschwendner's tea advent calendar. Hung on my classroom wall, I would open one each morning, and the students would pick among the stash what to drink for the day. I had to remember some of my high school German to describe to the kids what was inside each packet, or I could simply cut them open (the packets, not the students) and let the kids sniff and decide. Most of the teas were flavored, and so not my bag at all, but it's slowly converting the kids to the Good Stuff.

And then Christmas rolled around. Unbeknownst to me, Mom had spent weeks reading my old tea blog, finding which teas I had loved the best, and then going online to read all my friends' blogs to get their opinions on what the best Darjeelings were, and where to find them; and how to get her hands on dan cong oolong; and fancy greens; and a full pound of high-end Assam for day-to-day drinking. This lady is thorough when she does her homework.

Such a ridiculous, amazing Christmas. Mom bought presents like they were going out of style--not terribly expensive, but perfect for each of us. (Or were they? Price never seems to be the point; Mom gives gifts that are correct, and if that's five cents or five hundred dollars, it doesn't seem to enter into the calculations for any of us.) She celebrated Christmas like it was going to be her last one with us. The kind of gift giving I remember from when I was little. An embarrassment of riches.

And, no, I don't mean the tea.

. . .

Vahdam Tea (an Oprah Best Thing) distributes Darjeelings, among other things. This morning my wife made me the Okayti Premium Darjeeling Spring Black Tea: Single Estate, Private Reserve.

Golden-brown liquor, as one would expect from a Darj. But the flavor: sparkling, with something that reminds one of cherries, perhaps--fruity, to be sure, but only in the sense that it reminds me of fruit. Done correctly (as Suzanne did, saints be praised!), the tea is fragrant, able to grab my attention from a full five feet away. The aroma closely aligns with the flavor of the tea itself, which is not always the case. Gentle but bright, not too sharp, and utterly enjoyable. It is for moments like this that I drink tea, and read great literature, and write, and think, and study the Bible, and talk about what I love. It's the times that make me feel awake after a long winter slumber, that make it all springtime inside without its cleaning.

Thank you, friend(s) who remember this blog. Go grab some Darjeeling and let me know what you've been drinking lately.

{ Original bottle of Chanel No. 5 }  

"Oh, it's so fragrant."

The aroma coming off the pot of freshly steeped First-flush Darjeeling provided by Phoenix Tea is, well, breathtaking. Floral, fruity, multilayered—the scent coming from the carafe is worth the price of admission.

According to The Fifth Sense website, the psychology of smell is worth exploring, because this sense triggers the brain's limbic system, which processes "mood, memory, behavior, and emotion." An extended quote:

{ Cherry Blossoms,  Japan }

Smell and Memory 

The sense of smell is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses. Those with full olfactory function may be able to think of smells that evoke particular memories; the scent of an orchard in blossom conjuring up recollections of a childhood picnic, for example. This can often happen spontaneously, with a smell acting as a trigger in recalling a long-forgotten event or experience. Marcel Proust, in his ‘Remembrance of all Things Past’, wrote that a bite of a madeleine vividly recalled childhood memories of his aunt giving him the very same cake before going to mass on a Sunday. 

 

Smell and Emotion 

In addition to being the sense most closely linked to memory, smell is also highly emotive. The perfume industry is built around this connection, with perfumers developing fragrances that seek to convey a vast array of emotions and feelings; from desire to power, vitality to relaxation.

Parfumiers get it. Purveyors of fine teas get it, too. One may observe that our attraction to tea reflects this connection, as well. Drinking a cup of tea can bring about a state of hygge, the Dutch term for a sense of warm, comfy well-being—perhaps partially because of the presence of subtle relaxants (L-theanine, theobromine, theophylline), and most certainly the result of aromas that stimulate that part of the brain that influences memories and behaviors.

{ L'amour des Trois Oranges, Sergei Prokofiev }

Simply put: If you smell something that strongly evokes relaxing moments in your life, it may lead to a resurgence of relaxed behaviors and and habits of mind that will temporarily override or influence the present mood of tension, or striving, or frustration. It works on Thanksgiving, of course: the smells of turkey, and pumpkin pie, cranberry with oranges, and green Jell-O with weird salad things floating in it—all these fire up the neurons, with thick myelin sheaths leading the mind down paths not accessed since the last time you smelled these particular aromas. Habits quickly reassert themselves, and the smells of hearth and home become part of the structure, the mechanism by which the comfiness of home invades your personality so quickly and draws you into its embrace.

Today I drink a cup of tea with my students, sharing the pleasure of something new. The first steeping is, alas, slightly oversteeped, leading to a slightly bitter experience. Now, Darjeeling teas are like a particularly high-maintenance friend: If treated correctly, the friend is nothing but pleasure and delight; but if not given the proper care, bitterness and insipidity result.

Nevertheless, the aroma coming from the leaded-crystal carafe I use evokes a thousand happy cups of Darjeeling past, bringing with it a sense of balance and well-being that I associate with a relaxing cup—without having had anything to drink yet. Clearly, I'm highly suggestible, but nevertheless the observations above hold true: I feel like I've had a great cup of something delicious, happy, exciting, relaxing, delightful, and not a drop has passed my lips. Sharp and bright, lush and complex, a walk down a path with hidden gardens over a high wall. What is it I'm smelling? How can it be so evocative?

All that from a cup of leaf juice. Astonishing, isn't it?

{ Santa's zeppelin and angels have something to do with tea, I promise. }  

For Phoenix Tea's offerings, please go to their website. The proprietors know what they're doing, and they are happy to provide guidance if you need help making purchasing decisions. Only a few weeks are left before Christmas, so please consider giving a gift that can evoke memory and delight. Your loved ones will thank you, and hopefully during next year they'll remember with fondness the warmth of your love and friendship, as they sip your gift of tea.

I'm in Heaven: Darjeeling Tea Boutique, Longview 1st Flush 2013

Heaven

I'm in Heaven

And my heart beats

So that I can hardly speak

And I seem to find

The happiness I seek

When we're out together

Dancing cheek to cheek

When was the last time you were in the forest, walking along a pathway you've not trodden in, oh, just years, and the delight of seeing that particular curve in the path, or coming upon that expected clearing filled with bluebells makes you wonder how you could ever have waited so long to come back? Well, I just stumbled upon a panorama I've woefully been missing without knowing it.

My friends at Darjeeling Tea Boutique sent me a package today, and I just happened to have enough time in my schedule to open it up and make a cup. As my irregular readers know, I was in business making tea reviews with a friendly regularity for a bit over a year, and then I stumbled when I found every cup I had to drink required an accompanying essay. With a clever twist, or an amusing anecdote, or something so it wasn't just some guy saying, "Oh, well, this tea from x is plummy, with notes of pretension, and an underlying insouciance I find vaguely similar to motorboats and Chopin nocturnes, if you know what I mean, and I think you do." 

So feeling refreshed from a long hiatus, I can say, I am delighted that I have a decent Darjeeling in my clutches again. It's been a long time-- so long, it's a bit embarrassing, to tell the truth.  And by decent, I mean this particular cup is so fragrant, so vibrant, I wonder how I've been living on such gruel for so long.

Using tea terms, this is SFTGFOPI Clonal AV2, First Flush 2013, Longview Tea Estate. Or "Longview Queen," for short. 

Longview Estate, in Darjeeling, India, is at a lower elevation than many other tea estates, though some parts of the estate climb pretty high, allowing for that prized "highgrown tea" appellation. I can't tell you at what altitude this Longview Queen tea is grown, but it seems the tea has gotten enough sun and at such an elevation that this presents like a quite nice Darj., with the brightness and complexity you are looking for.

In contradistinction to many tea connoisseurs (and I'm merely an appreciator, so pardon my clumsy attempt to speak of things above my station), I don't hold much to making tea The English Way when it comes to a good Darjeeling. I go with my own modified gongfu method, which is Chinese for "Careful preparation: lots of leaf, short steep times, as many steepings as you can get." I find that even non-Chinese teas do well with this method.

{ I wish I had a dog's nose }

I'm on my third steeping, using my gaiwan set, which is a Chinese lidded cup. When you drink a cup of tea, first start by smelling the leaves when they're dry. Just open up the tin or container and take a good whiff. Pay attention to what you are smelling. Remember, your mouth only has five different tastes it can identify, but the nose can identify tens of thousands of nuances. Sadly, we're from a species that only has a very limited sense of smell, but we must do the best with what we have. Have a look at the leaves. Are they whole? Are they curly, tightly balled, long, short, broken, whole, no stem, lots of stem?

My second step is to get my lidded up hot with boiling water, pour off the water, and pour in a large amount of leaf-- perhaps two to three tablespoons' worth. I cover the cup with the lid, and I shake the leaves gently-- I don't want to bruise the gin, as it were. Open the lid lightly, and allow the aroma of the leaves, which are now beginning to wake up after a long sleep, to catch you. Is it different from what you smelled a few moment before, when the tea was dry and cool? Does it smell like flowers, or like spices, or like fruit, or like something else you can't quite put your finger on? Have a quick look. Are the tea leaves opening up a bit? Ideally, they will end up looking like, well, leaves fresh off a tree, not like powder or dust.

After this, I pour the hot water over the leaves, from as great a height as I can without splashing everywhere, especially on myself. Hot temperature plus pressure equals flavor and aroma. Quickly cover the tea with the lid and wait for less time than you'd think-- 30 seconds or so, not much more. 

{ This dog looks like
the Dowager Countess Violet
from Downton Abbey, no? }

NOTE FOR DARJEELING NEWBIES: Don't let your tea oversteep. Darjeeling is the Dowager Countess of tea. It's temperamental and likely to give you a biting, sharp reply if you don't treat her with the deference she deserves. Unlike a typical Twining's or whatever you may be used to, you can't just pop the tea in the water and let it sit for 5 minutes or so, or whenever you feel like pulling out the teabag. No, no, no, and again I say, No. Just-under-boiling water and short steeps. Say it again: "short steeps." If you let it go long, you'll walk away thinking, "I guess I don't like Darjeeling tea," when you probably just did it wrong. A good way would be to steep perhaps 2.30 or 3.00 minutes max. But if you do this in the Chinese gongfu method, with lots of leaf and short steeps, we're talking 20-second steepings at maximum for the first couple times. Darjeelings don't stand up to multiple steepings as well as oolongs or puerhs do, but you should get a good three or four steepings out of them, maybe even up to six if you have something good going.

Again, listen to the tea. Are its leaves starting to "wake up" and unfurl? What color are they now? This Darjeeling Tea Boutique tea, SFTGFGOP1 Clonal AV2 First Flush, Longview Estate tea is a multi-hued leaf with visual variations between forest green to a ruddy rust brown, with a predominantly reddish hue. Plenty of leaf, quite a few broken leaves, a few that are whole from stem to stern. And fragrant! If someone could turn this into a perfume and give it to my wife, well, I'd get even less tea writing done than I do.

{ Gongfu does not mean karate.
It means making tea the smart way. }

With gongfu, slowly increase the number of seconds you steep the tea on each pour. Start with 30, move up to 40 or 45, and start to judge how much you will need to increase to get more out of the leaf from that point on. You can steep up to several minutes toward the end, trying to get the last bit of flavor and aroma from these wonderful leaves. You have to experiment, play around with the leaves yourself, to see what they will do for you. Pay attention to the aroma by swirling the tea in your mouth and using your nose over the cup. Notice how the tea's chi is affecting you-- chi being the mystical Chinese concept of energy, or power; but from my worldview, it's probably the felicitous combination of caffeine with a number of relaxants, heat, and the time it takes to slow down and enjoy something.

Over time, you'll forget what the tea tastes like. I did. Even though I've had thousands of cups of Darjeeling, it's been a dry spell for far too long, and now I'm reveling in the unexpected-but-familiar experience that a good Darjeeling will allow you.

One of these days, I shall travel to Darjeeling to experience these teas at the estates themselves. Until then, I'll settle for breathing a bit of Darjeeling right here in Illinois.

Thank you, Darjeeling Tea Boutique, for the lovely flight of tea!

My new tea timer: The 10,000-year clock

As some of you may remember, I have appalling time sense. To me, a day is as a thousand years, a thousand years is as a day, and the three minutes it takes to make a typical cup of Darjeeling is an incalculable duration that my interior time-sense can make nothing of. So I've always got to keep counting in my head, or I have to employ a timekeeper to ensure I don't under- or oversteep a tea I'm working with.

BUT what will I do 10,000 years from now? I mean, once the Singularity has meshed us with computers, and we are living an incomprehensibly long life with all the tea browsing sites we could ever want just downloading into our brains, how will I keep track of tea-steeping time then? I must assume that digital watches will have gone out of style, and that living for thousands of years will make our routines like keeping tight schedules seem quaint and out of date. So what about tea, then?

Well, I have just the answer. I've decided upon the 10,000-year clock as my tea timer of choice, if only for pure aesthetic reasons. It's beautiful, designed to be so, so that people deep in the future would have reason to wind it up and keep it going for another century or so, even after all memory of us has vanished from the earth. (Except for the grudge the cockroaches will probably still be carrying about us.) 

"And what is this 10,000-year clock," you might ask? Well, first, it's gigantic, and it's buried in a mountain to keep it safe and sound. It takes two people to wind it up. and it's designed to be functionally beautiful and make us think about what the world might be like in the deep future, so we take better care of things now.

{ finally, a worthy tea timer }  

If your heart does not ring at the thought of your Space Darjeeling being carefully timed by such a lovely timepiece as this (the small-scale mockup of the real thing), then there is no help for you.

Lu Yu would approve. For those of us who can't keep count, that is.

Review: RARE TEA REPUBLIC, Phoobsering Special Oolong, 2011

Madame Dugazon Awaiting Tea and L'Amour  

I have only just heard of a new company, Rare Tea Republic. Their website says they focus on small-parcel, single-estate, fresh tea.

Their Phoobsering Special Oolong Organic, which comes from the Phoobsering Estate in Darjeeling, India. Interestingly, the package I received from them gives the plucking date, April 1, 2011. This is precisely the kind of information I'm looking for when purchasing a tea. I want to know who, what, where, when, how and probably the why of any serious tea. Even the best tea, if it's been sitting in a bin too long, will degrade to the point where you'd be better off drinking cheaper but fresher stuff (not counting puerhs or certain oolongs, which benefit from age).

So what do we know about Phoobsering? It's high: 6000 feet (though I hasten to stay, I used to live with my sister in Los Alamos, NM, which is at 7200 feet; However, Los Alamos is covered in nuclear weapons labs, not green tea plantations, so there's that.) It's one of the major estates in India, and has been around from the beginning of tea cultivation in Darjeeling, and it ranges from about 3000 to 6000 feet. Apparently, the Special Oolong Organic is from their higher slopes, which means it should have benefited from the harsher, colder winters, which help intensify the flavor of high-grown Darjeelings.

The April date indicates a first-flush tea, so you would expect it to be lighter in body and flavor, and also a bit less complex than the leaves from the same plant a little later in the season. First-flush Darjeelings are very much in vogue in Germany (and other European countries, I suppose, as well, though I don't know which ones), but it hasn't caught on in the United States as much. We're a coffee-swilling country; so something light, delicate, and subtle as a first-flush Darj. is typically not to our taste.

The directions given by the tea procurer call for 3 tsp per cup at 190F. Pfshaw! We are the makers of manners, and prudish customs bow before great tea drinkers! And me, too. I decided to take their "oolong" designation seriously and make the tea gongfu style: lots of leaf, lots of short steepings.

1st steeping: 92C, 50s
Light, not surprisingly. No trace of bitterness. Highly fragrant, as you'd hope from a Darjeeling. Tastes much like a beautiful-quality Darjeeling, but I can't really grab hold of how processing it as a Darjeeling sets it apart from other Darjeelings sufficiently to make much difference.

2nd steeping: 92C, 40s
More body. The cup is a rich amber, as most 1st-flush Darjeelings tend to be. Slight hint of a bite to the cup-- which is something I prize in a Darjeeling. (For I like my tea, cheese, wine, and women opinionated.) The complexity is starting to develop on the palate. Tastes rather green, a touch sweet-vegetal.

My second-tea-taster-in-house, Gregory, says it's good. And he's no slouch when it comes to high-quality teas, even though he's 9 years old. But now he's escaped his homework/tea tasting to play Legos, so I'm on my own.

3rd steeping: Just off the boil, 55s
Strong amber color to the cup, perfectly clear to the bottom. The leaves have unfurled entirely, with quite a bit of the two-leaves-and-a-bud. A bit more breakage on the leaves than I would expect. Leaves quite uniformly light-forest green. Buds floating about. There's a sort of faint but hot spiciness to the aroma of the wet leaves, underneath the sweetness. It's not a particularly floral tea, but the allusive aroma is so very attractive. Happily, the cup closely follows the aroma (which is not typically the case). The flavor unfurls in the mouth in waves, as one breathes. The huigan, which is what you sense mainly by the aroma coming up through the sinus passages, is pleasing, direct, strong in the middle register but without much at the high or low end. Because it's a light tea with a resonant middle register, if it were an opera singer, I'd classify this as a light mezzo-soprano, a jeunes dugazon, which is like unto a young mother, just past the first blush of youth but not yet into her full maturity. Lovely, light, a bit inexperienced, not overly complicated or carrying too much baggage.


4th steeping: Just off the boil, 1 min
My wife is making coffee in the kitchen, where I make my tasting today. SO . . . that means the tea currently steeping may just have a delightfully beany aroma, a strong, black, smokiness, and whatnot. I may have to evacuate to even sense the tea at all. As a side note: Any tea shop that also sells coffee will have to contend with this, and they'll have to choose robust teas that will stand out among the coffee scents, which are much more pervasive.

The tea is still going strong, and a bit of mineral flavor is starting to make itself felt. The flavor is a bit uninflected, without many complex overtones. Again, this is fairly typical of first-flush Darjeelings. If you are looking for overwhelming complexity, go for those second-flushes.

5th steeping: Just off the boil, 3 min
Well, at this point, the tea has lost its punchy interest; that is, it's still worth drinking, but there's nothing much to be added by further description. Subsequent steepings, if any, will most likely be the same, just progressively less so as the flavor fades into insubstantiality.


Overall Impressions
As a first-flush Darjeeling, it's lovely, and it survived a number of steepings. That being said, I don't quite understand this tea as an oolong. Perhaps the vintage needs a few seasons of rest to develop and come into its true character; or perhaps a light roast may help to bring out something hidden in its quality. Now, because I chose not to follow their directions, I missed the opportunity to have all the layers of flavor on top of one another like some complicated Austrian torte. However, I would rather drink my tea the way I read books: in chapters, with a story developing over time.


THANK YOU, Rare Tea Republic, for this first opportunity to get to know your tea. I do hope you'll continue to provide these higher-end teas and help with convincing Americans that tea can be amazing. This has been a good first impression of your work, and I'm grateful for your generosity.

Tasting Notes: Makaibari Estate 1st-Flush Darjeeling 2010

There was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good; but when she was bad, she was horrid.

Behold the little Infanta Margarita at the center of Velázquez's masterpiece, Las Meninas. There's the painter himself, behind and to the left, rendering the scene that is viewed as the pinnacle of his work. The Infanta has seven attendants, plus a portrait painter, plus a dog, to keep her mildly amused. Her royal parents are watching the scene (you can see them in the mirror behind Velázquez), to ensure that he paints their little darling in the best light possible. Well, Sr. Velázquez managed to keep his position with his patron, even though you can just see the petulance seething under those little blond locks. Velázquez subtly leads us to understand that Her Cuteness can be quite the terror, and I'm certain this pampered princess would have remained so until well into adulthood. Delightful when you can catch her in the right mood, but watch out if she feels cross! Notice, there's not a smile in the room, and the attendants share a distinct tension as they await the next tempest royale. I feel for her future husband.

I am in love with 1st-flush Darjeelings, having drunk gallons of the stuff. But in general, I find this tea to be as touchy as old cats and dying empires, which, Mark Helprin assures us in Soldier of the Great War, "viciously insist upon decorum." Anything more than the lightest touch, and you end up with a brew that is harsh, bitter, and angry; but with gentleness and proper handling, as yielding and refreshing as a Spring meadow.

Arbor Teas sent me an enjoyable though rather temperamental 1st-flush Darjeeling from the Makaibari Estate, which I am sampling today. I've gone through several different iterations to get the tea just right, and I know that once I hit it, it'll be fireworks. By the third steeping, I've managed to get quite a delightful brew, though I'm certain the best is ahead. Just a bit more patience, and this should be very, very good indeed.

Not to be deterred, I shall try a fourth time and take notes as I go.


THE PREPARATION
1 tsp per cup boiling water, allowed to cool to maybe around 88C to 92C. The reason for this is that, as a greenish 1st-flush, I want to minimize bitterness. I'll steep for 2:30. Again, the imperative here is to avoid the bitterness I experienced the first time out of the gate, when I first received the tea a couple days ago. Considering water: I use regular tap water, but which I have placed in a receptacle containing plenty of Japanese "white" charcoal for a day or so. I find the charcoal (which can be purchased online) eliminates the chlorine flavor in Chicago water, as well as adding a bit of body to the mouthfeel, which really rounds out the tea in a way that distilled or heavily filtered water does not. After steeping the tea, I decant and allow the tea to rest for maybe 3 to 5 minutes. This allows a bit further oxidation of the tea in the pot before I drink from it, thus allowing me to get at some of the more complex notes that are absent without oxidation. I used to notice that the second cup of every pot was much better than the first; so I just decided, why not just let the pot set and skip the less-flavorful first cup altogether?


THE LEAVES
The dry leaves are brightly aromatic, with a color ranging from pale green to black. My 18-month-old baby, Charis, is complaining now that I've taken away the tea jar from her, where she was breathing deeply to enjoy the smell. Catching the aroma is an important part of the tea-drinking experience, and I hope my readers know enough to stick their nose in the bag and get a good whiff. There is often an interesting contrast between the nose of the tea and the flavor on the tongue, which broadens the experience. Charis found the nose to be quite charming, though hinting at a lack of structure in the middle register. We'll see if how her advice plays out. I found the aroma to be bright and sharp, quite floral and a bit dusty. Although the label does not indicate so, I would expect from the size of the leaves upon steeping that this would be FTGFOP1, with perhaps a 60% oxidation.


THE CUP
Rich, deep amber, like middle-grade maple syrup. The aroma matches that of the dry leaves quite closely. The wet leaves, though, have taken on a completely different character, like that of a grape arbor. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and always smell the wet leaves, once they've been steeped. While the tongue can identify five flavors, the nose can perceive literally thousands, and the aroma of tea leaves is not to be missed.

The flavor: Now that I've succeeded getting in within the sweet spot of this tea, how to describe? Bright on the tongue, but without being overbearing. Some complexity, mostly in texture, but with a bright note of flavor in the middle palate with a honeylike sweetness and a deep berry note in the upper register. It's dry, like a white wine; and the taste lingers on the tongue for quite a long time, slowly developing to a woodier, darker flavor as it rests on the palate and in the throat.


OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
This is an excellent example of a highgrown Darjeeling. It's bright, enjoyable, and treated correctly can produce a light but memorable cup. But people with little experience with drinking Darjeelings must be warned that oversteeping this tea will kill it. If you find the tea to be bitter or difficult to drink, try a slightly lower steeping temperature, and go for a little less time than you ordinarily would. 2 to 2.5 minutes should be sufficient, and it will also allow multiple steepings of this quite lovely tea.


WHERE TO BUY IT
Arbor Teas, $12.50/3oz

Review: American Tea Room, Puttabong SFTGFOP1Q Darjeeling Muscatel, 2nd Flush 2009

As longtime readers of my reviews know (that is, if they care to remember), I find the Puttabong Estate teas of Darjeeling to be among the greatest in the world. Highgrown, mountain tea plants survive the rough winter and have a shorter growing season than those grown at a lower elevations, causing more intense flavor in the leaves, which is part of why the Himalayan-grown teas of Darjeeling are among the most prized in the world.

THE LEAVES
Smallish twists of pure black, highly fragrant. When they've been steeped, they take on a reddish-brown hue, fairly dark, indicating a highish level of oxidation, consistent with the way second-flush teas are processed. The aroma of the spent leaves is quite faint, easily overpowered by the other kitchen aromas of this morning's breakfast.

THE CUP
At three minutes' steeping time, about 90C, the liquor is quite a dark reddish-brown, crystal clear to the bottom of the cup. The very first moment, when the tea struck my palate, it was rather strikingly bitter (not a quality I look for in a tea, but not one I despise, either), but it quickly resolved into a very smooth cup, very complex.

When I speak of second-flush Darjeelings, "complex" is the characteristic I most highly prize. Layers of flavor reveal themselves on my palate at every sip. First, that bitter note (which may have been caused by my allowing the steeping to take place slightly longer than 3 minutes; life with an infant makes tea steeping times sometimes fall short of a laboratory's strict methologies); followed by an astringency that dried the tongue, reminiscent of a woody fruitiness, like blackberries or other dark berries; and then I notice this is followed by something akin to an aromatic evergreen resin, then other flavors I can't identify but enjoy.

For the second steeping, which I performed at 2:30, 85C, but it was underwhelmingly weak. I would advise a longer steeping. NOTE ON SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT STEEPINGS: I have sought long and hard for some kind of consensus among wise tea masters of whom I have acquaintance, and none of them agree about how to make a second steeping of a black tea like this Darjeeling. So you kind of have to guess and experiment with a tea until you find something that works for your palate.

I find that most people, when reading reviews of this sort, find them to be unhelpful when trying to recreate the exact taste experience of the writer. If you sat next to me while we drank the exact same cup of tea, you'd say, "Evergreen resin? What in the world are you talking about?" Well, perhaps it's best to paint in broader strokes, to convey the general, overarching experience, rather than try to notate personal taste memories that will not carry over to anyone else.

This Puttabong is enjoyable precisely because, as I allow a sip to sit in my mouth for a few minutes, various flavors slowly reveal themselves, ranging from the bitter, to the sweet, to the woodsy, floral, and fruity, and to things I can't identify but are uniquely characteristic of this estate's tea. It's the sheer range of characters that reveal themselves in this tea, one after another, that is so entrancing. It's by no means a tea that can be experienced at once, but rather one that is drunk as though it's a book, being revealed page by page.

The sweetly bright huigan, which is practically the only Chinese tea word I know (and so, yes, I overuse it; I'll work on that in future), is that retronasal experience when the tea is experienced through the back of the throat, entering up into the nasal passages. Did you know, the human tongue can only perceive five basic flavors-- sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami-- but the nose can perceive literally thousands of variations of aromas. This means that much of our delight in tea is caused by all those scents floating around within them. The retronasal experience of huigan is primarily caused by those smells, divorced from any of the five tastes perceived on the tongue.

There's a reason I spent almost 20 years of my life drinking primarily Darjeeling teas, and this is why: a second-flush Darjeeling can be an engaging, complex, delightful experience. My only problem with it was the strike of bitterness at the beginning of the drinking experience, but following more religiously the #1 Rule of Darjeelings: NEVER OVERSTEEP, would have served me better.

Review Series Darjeeling 1: Risheehat Clonal Flowery SFTGFOP1, Second Flush '09

I'm dealing with quite a backlog of partially written reviews, which have been piling up for a while. I'm creating a number of interlocking series of reviews, and this kicks off Review Series Darjeeling.

My great tea friend, Benoy Thapa, is the face of Thunderbolt Tea. He blogs occasionally at the Darjeeling Tea Blog, and his very useful Twitter feed is @DarjeelingTea. Thunderbolt Tea also has a Facebook page, which is another pretty useful way to keep up with him. Quick tea fact: Did you know that the word, Darjeeling, is a reference to the thunderstorms that keep the tea so well watered?

Now, why am I shilling so shamelessly for Benoy? Mainly, as a lover of Darjeeling tea, I appreciate learning about what's happening in Darjeeling, and how the weather is affecting the crops and so on. Plus, it's lovely to think of whether the clouds are hiding the mountains, and which festival is going on, and the like. For me, it's been a great help in gaining a better understanding of the local conditions in which my beloved Darjeeling teas are grown.

Earlier this summer, Benoy sent me simply the most extravagant shipping I've ever seen, with the tea encased in no less than five packages: a paper sack, within a mylar or some such shiny metallic plastic bag, packed with four other teas, all within another mylar bag, within a cardboard box, all sewn into a burlap package covered in sealing wax, with almost every square inch of the package covered in writing for customs officials. Shipping things from overseas to the United States is no mean feat, because the laws governing herbs are so strict. I very much appreciate the great effort Benoy took to ensure this great tea arrived here intact.

Today I'm drinking a Summer '09 Risheehat Estate Clonal Flowery. Now, for those of you who haven't really dug deeply into the world of Darjeeling teas, you have to learn that great teas are like great wines: They are vintages that can differ greatly from region to region, and farm to farm, and season to season. The first flush is the Spring plucking of the leaves, and they typically have rather a lighter touch than the second flush or autumnal flush pluckings. The second flush, which is plucked in summer, is typically more complex and robust than the first flush. The teas from a great estate like Risheehat can be so exciting, because they are unique in the world's tea, with a character distinctly special.

THE LEAVES
I've found that most high-quality Darjeeling tea leaves have a fairly similar appearance when they are dry: tight, fairly small twists of black leaf, with a bit of golden tippiness and no sign of branches. Once they have been steeped, they take on more varied character. for the Risheehat clonal flowery, we see a bit of reddish-brown, broken leaf, well oxidized, though with bits that have a greenish cast.

THE CUP
This tea had a pretty dark-brown liquor, with the characteristic Darjeeling aroma, very classic; with a lovely, bright floral scent of summer berries. Now that autumn is here in Illinois, with the gray clouds streaming by, it's like drinking a bit of summer in a cup, with bright colors and sharp flavor. The tea has such a sharply defined taste, which is a bit difficult to describe. There's sort of an astringent chocolate, like bitter dark chocolate, overlaid with a fruity high note of berries and brown honey. It's sweet-- requires no sugar or milk at all-- and has a huigan [sweet aftertaste] that moves into more a light cocoa flavor I sense hints of almond nuttiness. (I always think of Ratatouille, in which Remy's brother, upon hearing Remy spout some such nonsense, said, "Oh, I sense nuttiness, all right.")

When drinking this tea, please do not neglect to make a second steeping. I have heard much discussion about how to conduct a second steeping: Some people say only steep a few seconds (10 or 15) on the belief that the leaves, already opened, are ready to release their flavor quickly; others suggest doubling or tripling the length of the steeping, so that you draw the most out of the leaf. I just steeped the same amount as the first time 'round (3 minutes, Third Boil (98C), and poured off. Same dark-brown color. This time the flavor is a bit brighter, absent some of the darker notes that were evident in the first steeping. Slightly more astringent, which means it's a bit dry in the mouth, like a white wine. Not quite the body of the first round, but pleasant enough.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Quickly, go to the Thunderbolt Tea Web site, and buy up some of these wonderful teas before Benoy runs out of them. Many of the first-flush teas are gone, but there are still quite a few great second-flushes available for purchase. Thunderbolt has an amazing selection of high-grown, single-estate teas, and the Web site has good information about each distinct vintage, to give you an idea of what you're buying. And the Autumnal Flush is not far off, I believe!

Comparing three Arya Estate '09 Darjeelings

It's moments like this that remind me why I drink tea. I've come a long way from avoiding stale teabag tea, to being able to experience (at once) three of the premiere teas of Darjeeling. It's hard to express how lovely is the aroma I'm experiencing. It's like springtime; it's like a mountain of spices.

I have before me three cups of Arya Estate Darjeeling, provided very kindly by Thunderbolt Tea, via TeaViews.com, where I am a contributor. The three teas are:

Arya SFTGFOP1 China '09
Arya FTGFOP1 Clonal '09
Arya SFTGFOP1 Sample '09

What surprises me is how different the tea leaves appear, but how alike the liquors themselves are. The aroma rising from the three cups is intoxicating.


Arya SFTGFOP1 China '09
Slightly bitter, complex, astringent, leads to sweet aftertaste. High notes of cherry or berry fruit;

• Dry leaves: Twisted green-black leaves. In terms of oxidation, the middle.
• Wet leaves: Quite large leaves , nice tobacco aroma.

Arya FTGFOP1 Clonal '09
Richer taste than the first and third; deeper flavor. because of more oxidation? Cherries. Spun sugar.

• Dry leaves: Orthodox preparation, darkest oxidation; mostly black, a little green.
  
• Wet leaves: darkest oxidation of the three; a rich red-green. A bit difficult to discern the aroma, in comparison with the other two.
  

Arya SFTGFOP1 Sample '09
Brightest, most astringent sample. Brilliant example of a high-end Darjeeling.

• Dry leaves: Leaves appear as oxidized as the China '09. However, the smallest in size of leaf.
  
• Wet leaves: Lightest oxidation, almost entirely green; beautiful garden-fresh scent, like my Grandpa Allison's rose garden.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
As I compared the three Darjeelings, I was struck by how difficult the tea taster's job must be. My palate, though much more sophisticated than it was a few years ago, was simply overjoyed by what it was drinking, but trying to explain the subtle differences among three teas of the same estate, grown at the same time, sitting next to one another was challenging. I had hoped that this review would be really in-depth, an exploration of the movement among the leaves of these plants. Instead, I discovered that being a tea taster would be a job for a more highly skilled drinker than I. When I read that tea shop owners will cup 60 or 100 different, nearly identical teas in a day, and then be able to make value judgments among them, I start to understand what that would entail.

For my interest, questions I am left with: What are the differences between the clonal and the Chinese varietals? How do these differences affect the final cupping? Are there characteristics I would expect to find that would help me when making purchasing decisions?

I know, not much useful information here for a tea connoisseur, except for me saying that a tea cupper's job is a challenging one, and I can only imagine how much practice and training it would take to become one.

REVIEW: Thunderbolt Tea, Giddapahar China Wiry Tippy, 2009

Today I'm drinking Thunderbolt Tea's Darjeeling Giddapahar tea estate Darjeeling. It is the 2009 vintage, China varietal, and it is labeled, "Wiry Tippy."

Before you even read my review of this great tea, I urge you to read MattCha's blog, where he actually went to the Giddapahar Estate and met with Mr. Lochan himself. Great pictures and information about what the conditions are like where this tea is harvested and manufactured.

Matt points us to the Lochan Web site, which reads as follows:

Literally meaning the Eagles Craig, Giddapahar is situated on a jagged, rock-faced mountain just a short drive from Kurseong, a thriving little hill station situated at 4864 feet above sea level. The best way to get to Giddapahar tea gardens is to get to Kurseong on the toy train that runs regularly from the New Jalpaiguri station in the plains.

The tea from Giddapahar Estate is delicate owing to the lower temperatures and being covered by mist for much of the year forcing the bushes to grow slowly producing a fine bouquet with great aromatic quality and delicate floral nose.

THE LEAVES
These are lovely, olive green to dark green in color, with quite a lot of stem along with the rather full leaves. Steeped, they have a lovely aroma, which reminds me of pleasantly decomposed undergrowth in a forest, or perhaps the richness of a grape arbor in autumn.

THE CUP
A very nicely amber-gold, flawlessly transparent.

As Lochan described it, this tea is very delicate. And I agree: It's crisp, very clean, and not overwhelmingly aromatic. Really, to my mouth, this is a flawless cup of Darjeeling. The perfect balance of astringency and sweetness, without even a trace of bitterness. The flavor develops in my mouth as I drink, and the sensation moves from the tip of my tongue back into my throat and nose. I'd describe it as herbaceous, rather than floral-- like aromatic kitchen herbs, tarragon, or chervil, or bee balm. Sweet, light, and complex. I'm tempted to say it is slightly fruity, because of the depth of flavor, but that would mislead you to think it's overly sweet or tart, which it ceretainly is not. The Giddapahar Darjeeling is really quite sophisticated and delicate. I have read some characterize this as being nutty in flavor (with chestnut predominant), and I'm willing to take that description. It definitely has this richness to the flavor, in spite of its delicacy, and a mouthfeel at once slightly dry and yet smooth and creamy.

This is a tea I really have grown to love, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity (Thank you, Thunderbolt Tea and TeaViews) to have been able to sample it. Remind me to put in my order for next year's 2010 first flush when it becomes available.


NOTE ON DARJEELING STRIKES
At this writing (July 2009), Darjeeling region has been rocked by strikes by the tea farmers, because the Gorkha ethnic group want their own state within the nation of India, which they believe would help the farmers' living conditions. The Independent has the following article, by Andrew Buncombe,which I quote here:

At the Happy Valley estate, where large painted signs boast of providing organic tea to Harrods, it was unnaturally quiet. Usually at this time of year – midway through the second flush, or crop – these steep hillsides of densely planted bushes would be filled with women plucking the leaves and dropping them into woven baskets on their backs.

Instead, they sit inside their small, sheet-metal shacks, idling away the damp afternoon.

Across the Darjeeling hills, life has come to a standstill. An indefinite strike, or "bandh", called last week by activists demanding a separate state, has closed down schools, roads, businesses, hotels and – crucially – the tea estates. As a result, the day labourers who earn just 53 rupees (66p) a day picking tea to be sold to well-heeled customers in London's Knightsbridge, are currently getting nothing.

Buncombe goes on to describe how Gorkhas (a people group found in Nepal and northern India) are demanding a separate state, largely because, since independence, the West Bengal state government has ignored their needs.

Indeed, tourism in Darjeeling region has declined because of infrastructure decline. The article concludes, thus:

One evening last week, on the veranda outside the Planters' Club – another relic of the colonial era, where the pelts of leopards shot long ago still hang from the wall – members sat looking out across the valley.

There was no tea to be had, as the strike had shut down the restaurant and bar. The members recalled how Darjeeling was once famed for its sanatorium, and how the roads were washed so regularly that British "ladies" could walk in their gowns along the town's famous Mall without fear of dirtying their clothes. These days, the town's basic hospital struggles to manage, and many of the roads are filthy. "Darjeeling has been in decline since the 1960s. The area has been badly neglected," said Amargit Dhir, a retired estate manager. "There is no other option but to revolt. This is the start of revolution."

I sincerely hope this is resolved quickly, to the benefit of all the people involved. Darjeeling tea is not merely a commodity tea, which are designed to be mixed with teas from another region for teabag use. Each year's Darjeeling harvest is its own unique vintage, and each estate has its own terroir that cannot be reproduced elsewhere. If the strikes cause this or next year's Darjeeling harvest to be lost, those unique, vintage teas are lost forever and cannot be replaced.

Wonderful picture of the Darjeeling Toy Train provided by Old Mount Hermon Students' Association.

NEWS: "Darjeeling Protests Hit Tea and Tourism."

REUTERS INDIA reports:

KOLKATA (Reuters) - New separatist protests by ethnic Nepalis in Darjeeling hills are hampering tourism and threatening to cut production of the area's eponymous tea by more than 20 percent, industry officials said on Tuesday.

...

The delayed monsoon has already hit early tea production in West Bengal and threatened agricultural output across India, although India's farm minister on Monday said rains will improve. Gurkha protests have hit Darjeeling, a picturesque Himalayan hill station known for its British colonial-era legacy and tea tourism industry, since 2008, but this year's round is targeting tea production during the harvest season.

The production of Darjeeling tea may fall 20-25 percent in 2009, industry officials said.

"The agitation will worsen the situation since the delayed monsoon has already affected the production of first flush during April-May," said Sanjay Bansal, chairman of the Darjeeling Tea Association.

The article tells about the Ghurka people's protests for their own nation-state, and that they are using the harvest season as leverage in their (sometimes violent) strikes. Further, this will damage the tourism industry in Darjeeling:

"Darjeeling is the only place in eastern India which witnesses high footfalls of foreign tourists. Now all that is going to end with frequent strikes," said Anil Punjabi, regional chairman of the Travel Agents' Federation of India.

"There is a drop of 50 percent in tourist inflow in the region owing to the protests," he said.

Go read the rest.

A friend of mine from Darjeeling remarked on how difficult it was for him to obtain decent Darjeeling teas this season. With the drought already impeding this year's tea harvest, strikes like this can only have the effect of raising prices on tea even higher, and during a down economic cycle as well.

Comfort Food: Phuguri Estate Darjeeling

In my parents' house, comfort food was (and remains) all-American fare like tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, or stuffed peppers, or Swedish meatballs-- in spite of the fact that none of us are Swedish. When I asked about that, Dad once told me they were made out of ground Swedes. As opposed to air Swedes, I suppose, which are far too difficult to catch. [Ba-dum-dum! Thank you. I'll be here all week.]

Last night's educational but unsatisfying tea-tasting adventure left me wanting something familiar, so this morning as I work, I have returned to my beloved 2008 Phuguri Estate 2nd-Flush Darjeeling FTGFOP1, which I bought from TeaGschwendner not long ago. To my shock, I discover I have not written a review of this tea yet! Rather quickly, because this is a workday, I will try to let you see what I love about this particular Darjeeling.

It's a funny thing, how tastes change over time. Lately, I've been very interested in exploring Chinese green teas and some dan cong oolongs, which I am less familiar with. But the Phuguri provides me the comfort of coming home again. Indeed, this is my go-to tea whenever I am in need, and when I can afford it. It's middlingly expensive, but I can go through it so quickly that it easily blows through my tea budget.

This tea is extraordinary. It's a second-flush Darjeeling, with all the complex notes that attract and keep my attention from the moment I smell the leaves, all the way through to the amazingly complex and long-lasting huigan [sweet aftertaste].

Phuguri Darjeeling is a black tea that appears to be darkly transparent amber. The power of the tea is locked in its flavor, not so much the aroma. The flavor reminds me of Spring honeysuckle, with both smoothness and not-quite-tart astringency at the same time.

The second-flush Phuguri estate Darjeeling never fails to make a completely satisfying cup. Delightful, subtle yet bold, dry yet smooth, with a restrained sweetness I find entirely captivating. It's one of those teas that I drink with my eyes closed, and which I need to return to over and over again. If TeaGschwendner ever stops selling it, I'll have to move to India.

REVIEW: Thunderbolt Tea, Jungpana FTGFOP1 China 2009

This is the P-47 Thunderbolt. Apropos of the tea I'm reviewing, the handwriting on the side reads, "No guts, no glory!"

As always, I like the description provided by Thunderbolt Tea's Web site for the Jungpana Estate FTGFOP1 China '09:

Dry Leaves:
A mouth watering retreat for tea connoisseurs who are seeking for real First Flush orthodox Darjeeling character. The dry leaves comprise of 90% greenish tinge. It has a high floral aroma that is intoxicating to the mind. A quality tea with nutty (almonds) and floral (reminiscent of rhododendrons) infused leaves that are totally green in appearance and are of even size.

Infused Leaves:
The infused leaves have an overall greenish tinge reminiscent of First Flush tea - a trade mark. It has a astonishing buttery hints which also additionally turns to be sweet smelling, nutty and honey toned.

Cup:
The cup is very light with excellent floral notes and nutty character. It has some astringency and that is why we call it the orthodox Darjeeling character. It leaves you with a sweet and buttery after taste.

Honestly, I do not know what rhododendrons smell like. But I do know that I'm enjoying this tea immensely.

THE LEAVES

These leaves are a lovely greenish tint, shaped as a typical high-end Darjeeling: smallish leaf size, fairly tightly twisted, and with no tea dust or twig that I could see in my sample. Beautiful aroma, floral, exciting. I know I will like this tea (especially after having a hiatus from Darjeeling in the past week or so, as I was drinking mostly Chinese oolongs).

THE PREPARATION

In Great-great Grandma's Japanese porcelain teapot, a very simple and typical presentation: tea brought just up to a medium boil (what Chinese might think of as 2nd boil), and then poured over 1 slightly generous teaspoon of leaf per cup, allowed to steep for a full three minutes. (I would normally go for 2 minutes or so on a first-flush Darjeeling, but I rather want to plumb a bit more deeply into what this tea is saying today).

THE CUP

A rather pale amber (not yell0w) cup, with a lovely shine and a beautiful transparency. When the tea is drunk very hot, it is difficult to place any flavors, but he typical Darjeeling-style, orthodox, dry mouthfeel is still welcome. BUT once the tea cools just a bit, the complexity begins to make an appearance.

The tea tastes a bit buttery, with such a dry white wine-type mouthfeel. The high notes, in the mouth, don't really remind me overmuch of fruit or flowers, because the astringency seems to militate against that; instead, it's an herbal quality one associates with thyme, or oregano, or sage-- dry, sharp, complex. And then I find the nutty flavor, as mentioned in the Web site, which hides in the complex but not overly sweet aftertaste and is revealed in the throat.

The subsequent cups from the pot are likewise quite dry in mouthfeel, but now with an added rather soapy texture in the mouth. The nutty flavor is slowly growing; and the dry, oregano-like mouthfeel is quite developed. WHEN I SAY OREGANO, I realize I am being a bit misleading. I am not saying this tea tastes like oregano, exactly; but, rather, that it is reminiscent of the feeling you get when tasting a sprig of fresh oregano from the garden: arresting, not sweet, sharp, dry, and evocative.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

When Benoy Thapa at Thunderbolt Tea writes that this Jungpana is for connoisseurs, I agree. This Jungpana first flush is perfect for tea aficianados who may not be as interested in overly sweet, floral, or fruity teas, but rather desire something complex and a bit harder to put a finger on. It's a great drink, and a welcome diversion from the more floral oolongs I've been drinking lately.

Benoy, great tea. And especially great, because the tea is so fresh!

REVIEW: Thunderbolt Tea, 2009 Arya SFTGFOP1

When I drink a Darjeeling that is produced like Thunderbolt Tea's 2009 Arya Estate SFTGFOP1, I'm very aware that this tea has been anxiously awaited all year by people all over the globe, because the Spring flush in Darjeeling, India is unique. These teas comprise perhaps 2% of the entire India tea crop, and are typically handcrafted, specially produced teas.

These are not intended to taste the same from year to year, season to season, as "commodity" teas are. Yes, it is quite a skill to blend, say, a Tetley tea to taste exactly the same with every one of the millions upon millions of cups drunk every year. Instead, this tea is special. Each estate, each season, even each invoice-- the batches the teas are sold in, when they appear in the Darjeeling market-- is unique. It's amazing, and even sometimes a little sad, because you realize this exquisite thing you're drinking, once drunk, will be gone forever, and will never be exactly reproduced. There are characteristics that most great Darjeelings follow-- an ascerbic, very bright tone; a floral quality, a crystal-clear cup.

Now, that being said, I've had Arya estate Darjeelings before. Second flush, to be exact. Exquisite. The Arya estate has just about the highest standards for tea production, and they do make an attempt to follow organic farming.

This year was a bit difficult for the Darjeeling farmers, because there was a drought. When we in the Midwest of the U.S. have a drought, it's awful for the farmers, and can cause a serious drop of income for the region, and it might drive up the costs of, say, soybeans or corn. But the commoditized corn is produced elsewhere, and it will taste about the same. (I do not speak of specialized sweet corn, which can be quite special indeed.) But if the Darjeeling first-flush harvest flush were to fail, that's it. There is nothing that can replace it.

Anyway, in Darjeeling this year, there was serious concern that 2009 might not really have a first flush, because the drought was so rough. But at last, the rains came through, and there was a complete, if somewhat constricted, harvest. This means stocks are a bit low already, and many of these teas will already be purchased and gone by the time anyone reads this review.


ARYA ESTATE, DARJEELING
SFTGFOP1

Appearance of the cup: Rich, crystal, amber-gold

THE LEAVES
Olive green leaves, cut appearance. Very light aroma-- slightly floral, not very pungent.

THE CUP

• Delightful, dry mouthfeel, bright berrylike flavor, with a full dark note
• Honey sweetness, which remains in the lingering aftertaste
• Light and airy, very pleasant
• The aroma is rather faint.

The tea packs a kick on second cup, which as I've said before, is the "sweet spot" in any pot. The brightness is such a serious part of this tea! Smooth, even though there is this sharp quality. I am noting a brightly berry-like flavor in the high notes.

THE SECOND INFUSION
Still a lovely golden-amber color, though not as deep. The tea has lost a bit of its oomph, though, which is mostly manifesting in less of that sharp brightness. There is a more mellow, melon-like fruit note, and there is a buttery nut flavor-- a bit like the ghee I sometimes use to cook, though more like a faint echo of the flavor, without any heaviness. Very light, very transparent flavor. The tea is by far the best when drunk fairly hot, as it seems to lose something as it cools.



Web site:

ARYA SFTGFOP1 - 100% ORGANIC DARJEELING TEA (2009)

Dry Leaves:
Arya SFTGFOP1 is amongst the first invoices from Arya Tea Estate. As is every Darjeeling First Flush tea, the dry leaves bear a greenish appearance with some amount of silver tips. Has a sweet, buttery and honey fragrance which is in turn nutty and flowery in nature.

Infused Leaves:
The infused leaves are green which appears fresh and raw. Has a sweet - resembling honey - a hint of fresh grassy and minty characteristics.

Cup:
Most of Darjeeling First Flush teas have a weak cup that appears quite translucent in nature, but highly aromatic. This does not differ from the above statement. The cup is light and bright with some amount of astringency (this characteristic strengthens with longer steeping time, which is the case with all First Flush teas). It is highly flowery and nutty in its characteristics which is buttery and almondy. Has a sweet aftertaste.

REVIEW: Thunderbolt Tea, 2009 North Tukbar Estate Darjeeling, First Flush

North Tukbar Estate tea from Thunderbolt (Thank you, Benoy).

What most people in the U.S. do not realize is that, like watermelon and pumpkins, teas also are seasonal. And taking advantage of the seasons is like eating a fresh ear of corn right off the cob, which was picked yesterday, as compared to popping open a can off the shelf, which has been sitting there for who knows how long.

A subtle Darjeeling first flush is picked in the Spring. Now, when this tea is plucked and shipped quickly, it can be vibrant, intense, delicate, and bright. But on the other hand, a first flush that sits around for a while (if not properly fired, or if it gets around moisture), it may become... indifferent. Not worth drinking.

So I'm happy that this season, I've been drinking '09 Spring Darjeelings in the Spring of '09.

Thunderbolt Tea has quite an assortment of '09 Darjeelings available, and they're seasonal. Benoy travels Darjeeling, tasting hundreds of teas to find the ones he believes to be the best value. He chose the '09 North Tukvar first-flush Darjeeling as a great buy. And at under $10 for 100g, let's see if he's right.

THE TEA
The Thunderbolt Tea Web site says:

NORTH TUKVAR SFTGFOP1 - FIRST FLUSH TEA (2009)

Dry Leaves:
Well twisted dry leaves with fair amount of buds. The leaves are rather tiny with a blend of green and black leaves. It is highly floral and fruity.

Infused Leaves:
The infused leaves or wet leaves are rather tiny resembling the china leaf grade rather than the tagged "SFTGFOP1". It is sweet smelling with buttery notes.

Cup:
The cup seems a little darker or has some body because of the leaf size. The cup is bright with lovely fruity and floral notes and has a taste that is sweet and fruity. Has astringency as others do. Its a good First Flush Darjeeling Tea which is made affordable for all.

THE PREPARATION
A heaping teaspoon per 8 oz. cup of water. Culligan reverse-osmosis water brought to a boil then allowed to cool to perhaps 90C. I've tried this at a couple different steeping lengths, from 1.5 to 3 minutes.

THE LEAVES
The appearance of the leaf is as described above. When steeped, they do not have a very attractive aroma-- like spent tobacco, though a bit spicy, like a Yunnan.

THE CUP
This is a gold-amber color cup, with no hint of green to it. The cup does not have an enormous "nose" to it, though. The flavor: traditional, bright, Darjeeling sharpness. In the mouth, there is a slightly dry feeling at the back of the tongue. The mouthfeel is somewhat lacking, and I can't detect much texture or body. The flavor is on the fruity side, rather than the floral side, but with a bright astringency that balances the heavier fruit notes. Very consistent taste profile, which remains much the same throughout the tasting-- it doesn't evolve very much or reveal new flavor notes as it goes into the aftertaste. Nicely sweet, not bitter at all. There's a nice berries-and-tobacco aftertaste, which I find particularly enjoyable.

SOME STEEPING ADVICE
To get the most out of this tea, I would go a bit on the strong side, because the tea itself is quite light. Because this is a delicate first-flush Darjeeling, you don't necessarily want to steep this a full 3 minutes (1.5 to 2 min). So to get a satisfying strength, I steeped about 1.5 teaspoons per cup, though going up to 2 tsp per cup would also work. Obviously, this makes the tea's cost-per-unit go up quite a bit, but it's still by far the most affordable '09 first-flush Darjeeling among Thunderbolt's offerings.


If you wish to visit Tukvar Estate, DarjeelingTaxis.com says this:

Tukvar Tea estate is about 7km from Darjeeling town. Here you will see the colourful tea –workers who still pluck the leaves by hand in the traditional way against the spectacular backdrop of the tea plantations & the mountains. You will also be able to see the manufacturing process (subject to opening hours) and sample some of the garden’s produce.

2005 Thurbo Darjeeling, FreshDarjeelingTeas.com

2005 Thurbo Darjeeling
FreshDarjeelingTea.com

My friend Sonam Paljor Lama, whom I met via Facebook, sent me a package with a vintage 2005 Thurbo Estate Darjeeling. As he explained, it's pretty rare for anyone to hold back a Darjeeling, because it's typically all sold and consumed in the first year. And this is unfortunate, because a lack of available vintages also means that it's harder for people to keep track of great teas of years past. I am very grateful to Sonam for the wonderful gift of tea.

THE PREPARATION
1 tsp leaves to 1 cup just under boiling water, in my favorite Japanese lined tetsubin.

THE LEAVES
The dry leaves are a brown-green, with tight leaves. The scent is extraordinary; like roses, eucalyptus, bright, fragrant-- precisely what I look for in a beautiful Darjeeling.

THE CUP
I love this cup, and it makes me sort of sad that, because it's a vintage tea, I won't be tasting this exact tea ever again. The liquor is a transparent golden-brown. The flavor is nicely smooth and very subtle, with a woodsy, floral flavor. There is a bright astringency, and it ever so slightly bitter. I can really see why Sonam kept it all these years: it's memorable and just delightful.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I love it when teas are treated as special and individual vintages, rather than as commodities. I realize the tea blender's art is to mix the unique teas in such a way that the buyer gets a consistent product-- so that Fortnum & Mason's black tea always tastes exactly the same, no matter how the growing conditions change from year to year. But to me, I'd rather experience the variety and uniqueness of tea estates, and enjoy how they change from year to year.

REVIEW: TeaGschwendner, Darjeeling FTGFOP1 Steinthal First Flush

This photo is found at: http://oldmhs.com/older_darjeeling.htm and the caption reads, "Tea Planter with Tea Pickers, Steinthal Tea Estate 1930s"

Recently, I purchased a package of Darjeeling First-Flush Steinthal FTGFOP1 from TeaGschwendner. Now, readers of this blog (both of you) might know that I live very near one of the only TGs in the U.S., and that I passionately love their line of Darjeelings, which have been a source of great tea education and pleasure for me. Nevertheless, I have had some struggles with their Steinthal Estate first-flush Darjeeling.

I've tried this tea in the past, and I've never really been happy with the results. I assume the fault was with me and my preparation methods, so I am trying again. After the third pot of the tea this week, I think I've got it. Sort of.

THE BACKGROUND
The Tea Gschwendner Web site says this:

Founded in 1852, Steinthal is one of the oldest gardens in Darjeeling. Many of the original plants still thrive in a place where the tradition has been First Flush excellence. Fresh and herbaceous with subtle muscatel peeking through, the Steinthal packs a sizeable bite with the hallmark astringency that First Flush fans adore.

THE PREPARATION
6 level teaspoons for 1 liter (about 4 cups) filtered, boiling water. Strictly 2 minutes steeping time, in the lined, cast-iron Japanese tetsubin. Accompanied by McVitie's Hob Nobs. I am hoping for better results if I am extremely careful to follow Tea Gschwendner's steeping directions.

THE LEAVES
Dry, they smell very much like... well, like dry leaves crackling underfoot in Autumn. The leaves are fairly small pieces, very tight, and color ranging from olive green to dark brown. Upon steeping, they take on a very lovely maybe camphor-like aroma, with a spark that reaches the upper nasal cavity in the same way that eucalyptus has-- though, obviously, not as nose-clearing.

THE CUP
This is a transparent cup with a deep golden-brown color. The tea itself has very little scent. The first cup of the tea is very astringent, a little bit harsh, and is quite strong. There are certainly floral notes, but it's not primarily a floral tea. This is all about that bite that the TG Web site mentioned.

THE SECOND CUP
I almost always like a pot of tea's second cup better than the first, because the chemistry in the pot has had the opportunity to mature the flavor. The Steinthal's second cup (of the first steeping) is smoother, but it still isn't what I would call a smooth tea. It's a bit harsh on the back of the throat, and it has a very pronounced flavor. Now, when I say it's a bit harsh, I mean, in comparison to other first-flush Darjeelings I am familiar with. The flavor is quite bright and attention-getting, with a very nicely lingering aftertaste of sweet garden herbs.

AND YET ANOTHER CUP
This tea seems to need some time to relax and become itself, and the third cup is much more pleasant than the first. It still has a slight burn at the back of my throat, but now there are berry flavors developing-- like blackberries, or grapes, or some such rich, sharp flavor.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
This is a bit of a temperamental tea, in my opinion. I've tried it a number of times, and for whatever reason, it's difficult for me to coax out of it that certain special something that I look for when I drink Darjeelings. Its brightness is just a bit harsh; its aftertaste, just a bit dull; and its subtleties seem overshadowed by the"hallmark astringency" that all the kids go on about these days. While I do like my Darjeelings opinionated, this one seems somewhat overpowering for my taste. That being said, I still like the tea, and I am likely to buy it again.