Another tea of which I have very little left and yet have managed somehow not to have done a tasting note. I think I mostly enjoyed this as a cold brew and then forgot about it when I ended up with less than I need to make my standard pitcher.
The leaves are darker than some other darjeelings I’ve had and I they are indeed longer, though to be honest, if I hadn’t opened up a another Makaibari darjeeling to compare I might not have noticed. They don’t have a strong piquancy in the dry leaf aroma, and the tea’s aroma is smooth and almost sweet, though a subdued muscat note is definitely there.
I steeped this in the Breville at the first temp that came up when googled darjeeling, which may be lower than I’ve used in the past (though most of my darjeelings are second flush, which is probably why). It generated a dark champagne colored liquor, and a gentle, pleasant flavor.
The flavor is lighter and greener than I expected, which again, may be the first flush/second flush distinction. The difference seems analogous to the difference between green oolongs and dark oolongs, though the flavors are quite different. There’s nothing green oolongy about the flavor of this. If anything, it’s more dark oolongy. There’s a nuttiness in the finish, a suggestion of chestnut.
I’m sort of assigning a random rating to this because it has been so long since I had a first flush darjeeling hot; I honestly can’t remember how it compares to others I’ve had, I’m just enjoying it quite a bit.
Flavors: Chestnut, Muscatel
