Darjeeling

One thing you will hear fairly frequently in the tea community is that vendors who do a little bit of everything generally don’t do anything all that well. In a lot of cases I feel that is true. There are, however, a handful of exceptions, and I think that Simpson & Vail is one of them. I haven’t been buying from them for all that long, but of the teas I have purchased, I have had far more hits than misses. This Darjeeling is yet another quality product from the people at Simpson & Vail.

Before I go any further with this review, allow me to share a little bit about this tea. The first thing one needs to know is that this is neither a single estate tea nor a single flush tea. Simpson & Vail source a number of Darjeelings from their partners and blend them to produce this tea. I am not certain which estates these teas come from, but I do know that Simpson & Vail sources Darjeelings from the Dooteriah, Margaret’s Hope, Mim, Ambootia, and Arya Estates, so I would not be surprised if at least a couple of those producers provide some of the teas used in this blend. The second thing one needs to know about this tea is that Simpson & Vail considers this their house Darjeeling. In other words, this is their starter Darjeeling and is meant to serve as an affordable introduction to Darjeeling teas. So, before anyone freaks out, understand that I am making an attempt to review this tea for what it is.

I brewed this tea using a one step Western infusion. I followed Simpson & Vail’s recommendations here. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 212 F water. Obviously, I did not attempt additional infusions. Those of you who read my reviews know that I normally don’t do so with non-Chinese black teas unless specifically recommended by the vendor (or unless I just get a wild hair).

In the cup, the infused liquor showed a surprisingly dark golden amber. The nose provided delicate aromas of Muscat grape, cream, straw, honey, malt, toast, and almond. In the mouth, I easily detected a pleasant mixture of malt, toast, Muscat grape, honey, cream, straw, herbs, and almonds. The aftertaste was heavy on cream, grape, and almond notes with a slight underpinning of straw.

I am evaluating this tea on two grounds: 1.) its suitability for its intended purpose, and 2.) its flavor. With regard to the first point of evaluation, I am assuming that this blend is more or less intended to be a budget introduction to Darjeeling teas, a starting point for people who are curious about teas of this type, but may be uncomfortable picking a specific flush from a specific estate. In this regard, I think this blend succeeds brilliantly. It is very accessible and consistent and does a great job showcasing the unique Muscat grape aroma and flavor of quality Darjeelings. With regard to its flavor profile, I can say that while this tea is very simple, it is also very appealing. Obviously, this tea is not going to provide the depth of a really good first or second flush single estate Darjeeling, but then again it is not meant to. I think for what this is, it is more or less very good. Even though I am a huge fan of single estate, single flush Darjeelings, I am still into this tea. I really would have no problem recommending this tea to anyone looking for a basic, affordable everyday Darjeeling.