There was a lot of whining early on about how bad weather was going to make 2009 a bad year for Darjeelings. This may be true in a relative sense, but the teas that I’ve tried so far have been outstanding.
Arya Estate First Flush
After falling in love last year with Arya’s autumnal offering, I was eager to try a first flush from this organic, forward-thinking tea estate. I’m not disappointed. This is an excellent tea with a beautiful aroma and a very cooling, minty quality that makes it a perfect summer tea.
Puttabong Queen First Flush
This is another excellent first flush offering. It doesn’t have as much of the minty quality as the Arya, but has a slightly creamy taste that reminds me of mangos.
Seeyok Estate Second Flush
This is a second flush tea that tastes almost like a first flush. (Frankly, I hope that doesn’t become a trend. Very green first flushes are fine with me, but let’s keep the second flush as real black tea.) There’s still a bit of muscatel and apple, but also the herbal qualities that one usually associated with FF.
Castleton Moonlight Second Flush
This is my first taste of this legendary Darjeeling, so I can’t comment on how it might compare to previous years, but I will say that I can see what the fuss is about. I’ve never had a second flush tea that came close to this. It somehow manages to be rich and full-bodied while still maintaining a characteristic Darjeeling delicacy. There’s a lot of vanilla flavor in this one. If you haven’t tried this, order some right now.
I’ll end this post with a note on a vendor. I’d heard good things about Tea Emporium on TeaChat, but hadn’t tried them out until this year. They ship their teas direct from India and their service is as excellent as their product. I will definitely be ordering from them again.