Namring Upper Imperial Darjeeling First Flush 2017

Okay its back to the Darjeeling tea today. I figured it was time to start going through this sampler pack, and we have Namring Upper Imperial Darjeeling First flush. The leaves are beautiful and lightly green. They look more like a darker green tea than a black. I started by heating the glass pot.

Brewing 3 grams for 3 minutes at about 195, I brought it up to 200 and then let it cool for just a moment, then poured it into the pot and let the leaves steep. After much testing and experimenting ive determined first flush Darjeeling are a bit on the finicky side.

Pouring it out into a small glass pitcher, I get a very clear just slightly golden liqour, something between a green and light black. The aroma is almost impossible to describe, it’s floral and fruity but.. it doesnt smell like a green or a black, or even an oolong. Sipping it got a very slight bit of astringency but its not actually unpleasant at all, it actually seems to compliment the flavor.

This tea is wonderful, it takes a bit of practice to get the brewing right but once you do, its amazing tea. It does have a few notes of black tea in it, but they are very subdued from what you would find in a proper black tea.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy lighter black teas or heartier greens.

This is the 2017 harvest.

I am very excited for this year’s spring teas, for I have a hunch that this will be much better than 2016. This will be my first tea of the spring teas, and this will be a first from this company as well. I usually get my Darjeeling from a few other places, but I have been hearing good things about Vahdam.

I am a huge fan of Upper Namring estate. Their teas are always crisp and refreshing with good fruity sweetness and a short bite. These leaves were small and slightly curled with fresh scents of flowers and sweet tree fruits. I take another inhale to bring about brown sugar and honey butter undertones. I grabbed my tetsubin and scooped in what I had. The brew is sweet and rich. A base of pine notes brings unripe mangoes to the palette. The tea finishes with a light bite that cleanses the palette and sweet succulent aftertaste. The liquor is aromatic with heavy honey roasted almonds and sugar crusted papaya. The taste continues to be smooth and rich with a great complexity of heavier molasses/brown sugar maple tones and higher softer florals/fresh white flesh fruit. This was a great Darjeeling, and a wonderful start to a joyous season!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSemGRyA4LS/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

Drinking this one now. It is quite good. It has a very light flavor to it and is not a dark a brew as the average black tea. There were a fair amount of green leaves mixed in with some black leaves. This as I understand is common with Darjeeling first flush. This tea has a natural sweet note to it an really no bitterness or astringency. This was my first direct order from India and it was lightning fast at about three days from when I put in the order. They shipped via Fedex and it was delivered before 10:30 this morning.

I brewed this one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 190 degree water for 3 minutes. I should note that while this has a lot of green leaves it does not taste at all like a green tea. In taste it is really somewhere in between a black and green with it being closer to a black tea.