The letters after this tea's name stand for Special Fancy Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Number 1. Say that five times really fast, will you?Category: British Legacy Black Tea
Purveyor: Upton Tea Imports (so my tea is not the exact same one Michael Harney includes in his book, but I decided this Singbulli Darjeeling was close enough)
Dry leaf appearance: Wiry pieces of tea ranging from light to dark brown to almost black.
Wet leaf appearance: Sort of a choppy/spinachy look, and I was surprised to see what looked like a few small bits of twig in there.
Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 190 degrees, 3-1/2 minutes.
Scent: Now you're going to think this is strange, but hear me out. You ever been out house hunting and walked into a new home under construction? You know that unique smell of freshly cut wood and the last vestiges of drying paint? That's *almost* what this tea smelled like. That may *sound* bad for a tea, but it wasn't. Once steeped, however, I detected sweet, almost grapelike notes from the tea. When I realized this package says "musc." for "muscatel," I remembered that Darjeelings are known as "the champagne of teas," and the taste tells us why!
Color: A medium orange-brown.
Flavor: What an utterly delicious tea! From first sip to last, I really enjoyed this tea's full, rich and almost sweet taste. I drank one cup entirely black and finished it with no puckery sensation. Mid-way through the second cup, however, I decided to add a bit of milk. Again, just a great cup of tea!
Additional notes: If you have the Michael Harney book, I highly recommend reading his excellent intro to the British Legacy Teas and the Darjeelings. Harney says the northeastern region of Darjeeling is famous for three seasons of tea, spring's First Flush, summer's Second Flush, and the late summer and fall Autumnal teas. "Though they grow more subdued the farther they get from spring, all three seasonal teas have a charming rounded quality, a depth and a gentleness to rival Chinese black teas." He also notes that Darjeelings should be brewed between 190 and 212 degrees.
Next week's tea: Margaret's Hope, which I've been eager to try!
Oh my! I got a chuckle out of your description of the scent of this Darjeeling, considering the scent of my house right now. But, I believe you are right on. Sounds like a great Darjeeling.
ReplyDeleteI have tried a few Darjeeling teas and really enjoyed them. This one sounds like a stellar pekoe tea. I like that it is not very puckery. Hopefully, I would smell the grape more than new house smell. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've discovered the real muscatel flavor. To me it's kind of like sourish grapes, maybe a little unripe. It's the mark of a quality Darjeeling, certainly. --Teaternity
ReplyDeleteWhat a great name and your description really makes it one I'd like to try and I really do like Darjeelings.
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