Tea Campaign Canada

1,25 tsp for 300mL water @90C, steeped 4 minutes 30 seconds, drunk bare.

Dry leaf: tan and bright green. Lost of green. Scent of sunshine, wood, and a faint hint of bitter lemon.

Wet leaf: almost all bright green with some light tan. A few twigs. Scents of agreeable astringency, sunshine, and wood.

Liquor: golden, with some brass. Assertive muscatel in a first flush’s delicacy, if that makes any sense. It probably doesn’t. Strong finish for a first flush: lots of muscatel there, though not enough to pucker. Notes of lemon. if you normally add lemon to your black tea, I’d suggest trying this one without lemon first.

I won;t risk scalding this one at a higher temp. 90C steeps this leaf beautifully.

4.25 tsp for 1L water @90C, steeped 4 minutes 30 seconds with gentle agitation from the rising and falling tea basket in a Breville Tea Maker.

Dry leaf: dark brown with some copper. Very little green leaf. The occasional twig. Muted muscatel scent.

Wet leaf: lighter browns, scent of faint muscatel and just-turned earth.

Liquor: more red than brown. Beautiful. a joy to watch steep as well.

A robust second flush blend, plenty of muscatel, some floral notes, a tiny bit of smoke, stone fruit, pepper, and oak. (I made it strong.) Bright mineral notes. Gorgeous second flush Darjeeling — nothing else like it.

2.25 tsp for 500mL water @90C, steeped four minutes, drunk bare.

Dry leaf: brown, amber, tan, and green, with a few twigs. Some muscatel in the aroma.

Wet leaf: gorgeous big leaf pieces, astringent scent.

Liqour: light copper-amber in colour.

I’ve not had good Darjeeling for a long time. This fblend is robust for a first flush, bright and sparkly, a bit astringent — I expect I used too much leaf — and loaded with muscatel flavour notes. Just gorgeous.

Tea Campaign Canada is part of the German Teekampagne, and this company treats tea growers and harvesters well. Prices are low because this cmpany sells only Darjeeling and only in bulk — smallest packets are 250 grams. Certified as Darjeeling by the Tea Board of India. Certified organic.

Highly recommend.

1.25tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped four minutes.

Clearing out my tea cupboard and re-discovered this beauty. Fragrant and flavourful Darjeeling, though it does benefit from slightly cooler water; Ill make the next batch with water closer to 95C. Boiling water bring out plenty of muscatel and body but risks scalding the green tippy bits. An excellent Darjeeling and a real bargain on price.

Tea Campaign sells only Darjeelings and works hard to ensure good conditions for tea workers. You can buy in bulk. The rice per 50g on the 2014 Second Flush works out to $2.90 CAD. (Shipping extra.) This is an exceptional price.

1.25 tsp for 300mL water @98C, steeped four minutes.

I love a second flush Darjeeling.

This gorgeous offering gives tiny and tight dry leaves with an earthy, slightly peppery scent. Wet leaves are small and cut, mostly tan with some green, with a sharp scent: astringency. Liquor is coppery with some down and a deep, very satisfying aroma of muscatel and other Darjeeling notes. There’s also a quality to the scent here that I can only call “Indian tea.” Some Assams have it, too. This is fairly assertive for a Darjeeling, almost muscular — not your classic delicate Darjeeling to serve with fine cakes and little sandwiches, the sort Buzz Lightyear mocks. A restorative cup of tea. One of my favourite Darjeelings yet

1.25 tsp for 300mL water @ 90C, steeped four minutes.

Tea Campaign Canada is the Canadian branch of Teekampagne in Germany. Teekampange sells only Darjeelings. They’e also invested in improving life for tea workers for decades now. The teas are organic and tested for “486 possible chemical residues.” Tea Campaign Canada works by mail-order, and the pricing for Darjeeling tea is very reasonable.

So, the First Flush 2014 Blend. Dry leaf shows some green and brown and a few twigs and gives some scent of Muscatel. Wet leaves are almost all green and bright. Liquor is light bronze. The flavour is closer to good Chinese green tea, true Dragonwell, that sort of sweetness, with an undercurrent of classic Darjeeling astringence and muscatel. I think this blend benefits from a lower water temp. I expect water at 100C, or even 98, might singe the leaves.

This is a gorgeous tea. I love Darjeelings. I usually prefer second flush, but this first flush is teaching me things. It also has a slight peppery bite, as you find in some Yunnans.

All of the Darjeeling sold by Tea Campaign is certified as Darjeeling by The Tea Board of India.