Yet another very high-quality first flush Darjeeling from Happy Earth Tea. All of their teas that I have sampled have been similar, and all have been excellent.

Dry leaf smells strongly nutty and of caramel, only slightly fruity and floral.

Upon drinking, I found this to be the most brisk and bitter of the four first flush teas I sampled from Happy Earth. There's not much bite, but there's an edgy undertone that emerges and actually comes to dominate, for an interesting experience. There are only hints of the typical muscatel qualities that I think of for first flush that is this green.

I find this cup develops and becomes more complex as I drink it. There are a few hints of vegetal tones I find slightly unpleasant, but there are also some very welcome ones: a woody quality, almost oolong-like, and a hint of wintergreen.

I also found this tea grew on me between drinking it, as is often my experience with edgier aromas. Like the others, this tea easily brewed two very flavorful infusions. I liked brewing it this way, although I suspect that 3 or more infusions would be possible if you used briefer steepings and more leaf.

In the end though, the differences between this and the other first flush teas from Happy Earth were subtle: all of the teas were top-notch. The main reason I would prefer this is that it was pretty easy to brew (contrast with the one from Arya estate).

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