2015 Runglee Rungliot Classic Spring Darjeeling Chinary Black

Back of the cupboard discovery from Steepter’s monthy. I used the whole package 8 gms and a celadon teapot, 190° water. Fresh aromas of cut grass in the package and the brewed aromas of grass and melon appear with a sweetness of honey on the nose. The flavor profile is delicate, lemony, muted malt and a bit of white pepper. Resteeped 4 times.

It took me quite a while to figure this out, but First Flush Spring Darjeelings are really green teas in disguise. Case in point: this fine specimen from Runglee Rungliot by way of Teabox. Very smooth, clean, and fresh flavor. A pale yellowish-green liquor. Thirst quenching. Not at all bitter, but should be brewed as a green, not as a black tea. Why? Because it is! Just look at the leaves!

First steep (200, 5 min): Excellent upfront lemon taste. Probably my favorite black tea thus far. Slightly astringent but this is my fault since my kettle can’t reach the prescribed 194 degrees. Next time I would decrease the steep time/keep temperature at 200 or increase steep time slightly/decrease temperature to 190.

Second steep (200, 5 min): Toned down lemon, but still very flavorful. More vegetal in this cup. Astringency in first cup was nearly gone.

This tea was very interesting. First, it is a black tea that brews a green liquor, darker than usual green teas but definitely not close to a black tea. Secondly, the usual floral taste found in many blacks was not present. It is dominated by the lemon flavor. Although lighter than most blacks, it was just as flavorful. Highly recommended, kinda wish I hadn’t had this because this is going to be a hard find after this steepster package.

Ah, I’m back to Steepster. I have had so many things to attend recently, that I couldn’t even log my teas. What a waste! :( Who missed me? Nobody? Oh well, I wasn’t a popularity here after all. :p

Let us see this tea. The dry leaves are short and are narrow. It looks like it is a mix of green and black leaves. Maybe with some grass-looking leaves as well. I think Teabox made a good balance with the dry leaves.

Let us brew this tea. The steeping instructions say 5 minutes and 1.25 tsp in a water of around 180-200F degrees. For this sip, I followed exactly what the instructions said.

Let’s sip now! The first thing I saw is that this tea isn’t of the usual black tea color. Personally, I think it looks more like a green tea. But the taste is definitely more like a black tea. Interesting! The tea itself is very creamy and mellow. I can easy distinguish some reminiscence of melon and citrus along with some nut finish. This tea is really full-bodied, if I try harder I can also find some notes of melon! It is also a bit astringent, around 3 out of 10.

Overall, I find this tea really fun to drink. It’s a real treat for an everyday tea!