Green Darjeeling Jasmine Arya (organic)

Region: Darjeeling lies to the west of Assam nestling in the foothills of the Himalayas between North Bengal and Nepal. High altitude, cool winters and rocky soils ensure slow growth, which is synonymous with high quality. Generations of tea experience has produced a region that justly claims to have some of the best teas in the world.

Arya Tea Estate: Arya is an old Dargeeling garden founded in 1965. It lies close to the town of Darjeeling a stone’s throw from the Planters’ Club and borders Happy Valley Garden. Arya produces black, white and oolong teas as well as green..

For tasting the tea was steeped in 140ml water at 85⁰C for five minutes.

Leaf: neat, even, olive green leaf with some tip(good) and some stalk (not so good). It has a clean green aroma with a definite floral jasmine note.

Infusion – visual: bright yellow green leaf with sharp broken edges – very obviously missing the typical hard wither of a Darjeeling black tea

Infusion – aroma: green and grassy(in a pleasant sense). Jasmine not dominant on the infusion – and perhaps just a hint of sweet peppermint lurking?

Liquor – visual: a pale golden bright rimmed liquor, just a little turbid.

Liquor – taste:

First steep: a trifle bitter initially but with a smooth finish softened and rounded by the jasmine.

Second steep: marked reduction in bitterness again enhanced by the jasmine to produce a smooth satisfying finish.

Summary: although this tea is a Darjeeling do not look to it for Darjeeling attributes – this tea can see off a lot of China competition as a drinkable jasmine green. It may well reward a lower initial brewing temperature than 85⁰C and promises to repay re-steeping several times.