DarjeelingTeaXpress

Thank you Dag Wedin for this sample.

It’s my husbands last night at home before leaving me to attend Download Festival 2013 (music festival) for 5 nights with two of his brothers. That leaves me at home by my lonesome with plenty of tea to keep me company.
And speaking of tea…

This tea is a mixture of thin dark brown leaves with some finely chopped and others a few mm long with a few finely chopped green leaves mixed in. The green leaves show some discolouration with brown spots and a few twigs are noticeable. They have a subtle floral scent that is light and very dry.

Using my Gongfu teapot over three steeps using 7g of raw leaves.

First Steep – One Minute – Colour is golden with a sweet and crisp dry floral aroma. Flavour is light sweet and dry with hints of flowers (peony especially), sweet pea, wood and perfumey.

Second Steep – Two Minutes – Amber in colour now. A little astringent and thicker peony flavour. Also much dryer and perhaps a little musky. Very dry in the after taste.

Third Steep – Three Minutes – Very mild now, enough to resemble a white tea or Oolong but still very much strongly Peony.

Overall it’s a very strong, floral Darjeeling that tastes more green than black. I’m happy to say I finally got to try this but I don’t know if it would be one that I would order.

6g / 400 glaspot @ 90C

First flush darjeeling is a wonder! So smooth and full of flavour.
Pleaseant astringency. yummy

Wonderful first flush.

Used 6g / 400ml yixingpot @90C Single infusion.

A nice mix of sweetness with a bit of floral? and some slight astringency.
A very fresh taste for a black tea.

2tsp / 2 cups (ca 400ml)

I boiled 2tsp in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Then i added 1 cup of milk and boiled shortly. Added 1 tsp of sugar.

Since i´ve got a cold i thought some chai would be good for me. This is a classic chai with a spicy taste. Refreshing and good for a sore throat. I also drank some nice genmaicha but not feeling the energy to log.

5g / 400ml ceramic pot.
5min @ 100C

Sipdown! Good breakfasttea. Pretty much as darjeelingy as a darjeeling gets. Nice balance to this one and im sad to see it run out. but alas i will have to wait for the autumnharvest to finish in darjeeling before i can restock. will restock on second flush teas then aswell!

3g / 200ml glaspot
Single infusion 5m @ 100C

Glaspot worked well, produced a typical darjeeling. The kind of flavour one would expect at english teatime :) Just missing som nice fresh baked scones with salty butter and marmelade :)
Well balanced astringancy, fruit and herbs. I do think it had a bit more body in the ceramic pot. Taste is slightly lighter than i can recall.

Maybe i should learn how to bake scones.. or find a girlfriend ;)

6g / 450ml ceramic pot.
Single infusion 5m @ 100C

Opted for the ceramic pot instead of the usual glass pot since it retains the heat better. 5 min infusion is kinda long for glas.
Result was good, full fruity with a wellbalanced astringency. Tried a splash of milk in second cup. Totally works.

5.5g / 400ml glaspot.
Single infusion 5min @ 100C

The glaspot brought out the flavours much better then the Zinipot.

Slight astringency. Flowery with a hint of fruit.
Very pleasant

5g / 400ml yixingpot @ 100C single infusion.

Slight astringency with a hint of fruit. For me a bit nondescript.
Perhaps try with 6g next time to get a bit more omph.

A great tea for the price. Has all the good 2nd flush characteristics. Recommend this strongly.

An amazing tea. Has everything you could want in a ff. If it wasn’t so expensive id buy. A lot of this tea

The leaves are quite a refreshing sight and scent, varying from light to dark green, with twists and untwists that give a bright fresh vegetal scent with a bit of sweetness.

Steeping maintains that refreshing experience, giving a very clear and very bright green brew, with a fresh citrus and spice aroma.

The taste is very unique to most green teas, leaning more towards the nutty, with a fresh sweet vegetal flavor and slight astringency. A couple more sips give a hint of spice, but mainly refreshing.

A delightful green tea of sorts, more for relaxing than a lunch time tea with coconut yogurt, but an enjoyable tea nonetheless.

I am having a second cup of this tea, and I just went to go look at it on the DarjeelingTeaXpress website. I noticed they took my review from Steepster and posted it to their website without asking my permission and they gave themselves 5 stars! I consider this to be very rude and unethical behavior and am absolutely going to write them a note about it.

The first thing that hit me when opening the bag was how sweet the leaves smell. It is accompanied by a slight fresh scent, but it is mainly sweet. The leaves are also curled and dark in color, with deep greens and greys and browns.

Steeping gives a similar sweetly scent, with a barely minty feel. The brew is a brilliantly bright and clean yellow.

The taste is also sweet, but also more fresh and green. It isn’t strong, more rounded flavor with no astringency.

This is a very deliciously sweet and bright tea. It isn’t a surprising tea or a particularly outstanding tea, but it is a delicious tea and one that will not disappoint for enjoyment.

Finally, onto my only two first flush oolong teas.

The rolled leaves are a nice blend of deep earthy colors, with a not too flowery scent, more fresh than planty.

As with most oolongs, they steep quite beautifully, making me wish I had a pot that would showcase them as they brewed.

The liquor gives a brilliantly clear golden color, and a fresh floral aroma with a slight toasted finish. I love the scent of a good oolong, and this one does not disappoint.

The flavor is a very green and very fresh taste, very well balanced with little to no astringency. If there is astringency, it works perfectly with it’s floral finish, which is a nice surprise.

This is a surprisingly complex floral oolong, and one I really admire, strong, yet well rounded and very nice.

From what I can remember about this tea, it was a symphony of joy and pleasure that epitomized Darjeeling commonly known as the champagne of teas, a work of art.

You are given a fresh flowery aroma, the leaves are quite beautiful with dark greens, delicate details and slight twists. This alone excites me, the leaves alone make this such a wondrous tea.

Steeping gives the liquor a brilliant bright yellow with an aroma of fresh bouquets. A deeper inhale gives even more details, slight sweet fruit with some toasted notes, vanilla maybe. There is so much dancing about, the beautifully rich aroma alone is satisfying.

Just as my experience with last year’s First Flush Gopaldhara Wonder Tea, this year’s continues to surprise. Explosions of floral flavors, bouquets of details in each sip. The floral side just excites with complexities and wonder. There is also a light fresh breeze, with a lightly nutty taste, more sweetly buttery. It is also very balanced and well rounded, with almost no astringency. Simply delicious.

I have fallen in love again. This tea continues to excite, surprise, drive my passion for Darjeeling teas and teas in general. This tea continues to be my favorite, my champagne of teas.

Second steep gives a slightly less strong flavor and aroma, milder, but maintains the woody characteristics.

It is sweeter, bringing out more muscatel and softening the astringency, and still ever pleasant.

This is a very versatile leaf.

This tea is very satisfyingly strong and dark. The leaves are thin, with a mixture of black and deep green colors. You also get a nice strong woody aroma once the bag is open.

Steeping is no different, giving an equally strong woody aroma with a slight fresh floral scent, the color a brilliantly deep gold.

The flavor is nicely fresh and green, but very strong in body with a strong after taste. Like it’s aromas, it is a slight woody, as well as a slight muscatel. But strong, satisfyingly and pleasantly strong.

I would imagine with repeated steepings, leaves this strong would be versatile. But, with the initial steep, you are given a very pleasant strong and dark brew perfect for a late afternoon.

I had been drinking this and the 2012 Darjeeling First Flush Goomtee (Muscatel Valley) Black Tea all day yesterday, as I had problems accessing the Steepster site, I could not provide my notes on both teas until today.

I am also still drinking both teas today, as both teas have surprised me with multiple steeps.

This tea gives a very green, slightly spicy, and dusty woody scent when you first open the bag. The leaves shift from light to dark in color, and flat to twisted, simple but beautiful.

The liquor has a light and bright amber color. It’s aroma is very close to green tea, with slight hints of muscatel.

The flavor is less flowery and more sweet dark fruit, less rosey and more peachy. There are slight hints of spice and muscatel, and because of the darkish tone of flavor, the slight astringency compliments.

It is not an entirely clean flavor overall, but those little details are what make this tea great. It is not complex, more seasonal, and a very fine cup of tea.

This tea screams bold. The extravagance of the twisted and rolled full leaves set it apart, the dark greens boldly lined with silver.

The leaves have a barely faint scent before steeping, but during gives a lightly spiced toasty aroma which adds to the delightfully unique and handsome characteristics of this surprising tea.

The liquor is a brilliant bright amber, and has very strong toasted spice accents, which is also described as pleasant.

And quite pleasant it is, as sweet and spicy accents dance in bright and fruitful flavors. Yet, this is a calm and relaxing tea, delicious and intriguing, but never overstepping.

What a special tea this is, so delightfully different. Because of how bright and cheerful it is, this is a perfect morning Darjeeling.

I find this strangely similar to the Darjeeling First Flush Premium Blend (Clonal Special) I had just had this morning, although milder in aroma and taste, and less detailed.

The aroma leans more toward a fresher planty scent; the woody flavor is still here but a lot milder, still well rounded, and with a more fresh taste.

This is a great entry into first flush teas, or a tea to simply enjoy with others.