Darjeeling First Flush...Early Spring Tea from the Himalayas...
Tea Lovers Anxiously Await the Arrival of Darjeeling First Flush Each Year...For Good Reason...
The early spring buds and leaves are bursting with high value content that will yield delicate but aromatic and flavorful cup character.
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Tea Lovers Anxiously Await the Arrival of Darjeeling First Flush Each Year...For Good Reason...
The early spring buds and leaves are bursting with high value content that will yield delicate but aromatic and flavorful cup character.
The leaves are carefully processed to preserve the leaf content and to bring out the ingredient character yielding a golden broth that could be mistaken for a green tea.
Notice the green flecks of tealeaf amongst the leaves. This is a result of withering which is a step in black tea processing. In the case of our First Flush, a very hard wither is done to remove a lot of moisture before the browning of the leaves during oxidation, making the leaves into black tea.
Some leaves or portions of leaves dry completely and therefore don't brown resulting in the green flecks...a sign of a proper First Flush Darjeeling.
It is the high oxidation level however that defines First Flush Darjeeling as a black tea as it reminds us of the amazing range that black teas can have.
The First Flush Darjeeling experience is an annual treat very worth indulging in.
This Second Flush has a somewhat deeper character with the classic "Muscatel" aroma that gives this tea the reputation for being the "Champagne" of black teas...This version is wonderful...
This "Champagne of Black Teas" grows a mile high in the Himalayan foothills if India. Although this highly revered tea grows in the Indian soils of the Himalayan mountains, the plants themselves were smuggled from China during the Opium Wars and planted in the British colony to reduce dependence on China teas.
Now, over 200 years later, the outstanding leaves of Darjeeling give us delightful high-mountain black teas that have earned the title of "The Champagne of Black Teas" because of their golden tones in the broth, and the aroma nuance of the Muscat grape.