I think of Margaret’s Hope second flush as the quintessential second flush Darjeeling. I haven’t had enough first flush Darjeelings to identify one as an examplar.
But what blows my mind is how different the two are from each other. This first flush is so mellow and gentle. Nothing sharp about it. The description says it has a balanced pungency, but I don’t find it pungent — or at least so far less pungent than some other Darjeelings that I wouldn’t think of that word to describe it.
I steeped according to the package directions, which is hotter than I’ve read is the temperature for first flush. This yielded a light honey-colored clear tea that smells like peach to me. The flavor is pleasantly nutty, grapey, and and stone fruity as well. I don’t really taste lime zest to the point where I could have identified it had I not read the description, but I think I know what the description is getting at. There’s a slight bitterness, not enough to be unpleasant, but reminiscent of citrus skin.
The tea is light bodied and it does produce in me a bit of that waterlogged feeling I get from first flush Darjeelings.
Flavors: Grapes, Nuts, Peach, Stonefruit
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I love Margaret’s Hope second flushes! I will have to try Upton Tea’s product since I have been disappointed with another vendor’s product, which seemed older and more tired than I expected.
It’s funny, I think of them when I think of Darjeeling but I actually prefer those from some other estates that aren’t as sharp. It was interesting to taste this first flush from Margaret’s Hope which is so different.
I love Margaret’s Hope second flushes! I will have to try Upton Tea’s product since I have been disappointed with another vendor’s product, which seemed older and more tired than I expected.
It’s funny, I think of them when I think of Darjeeling but I actually prefer those from some other estates that aren’t as sharp. It was interesting to taste this first flush from Margaret’s Hope which is so different.