I suspect this is from Makaibari estate, not just because of the fair trade and organic certification, but because it bears the familiar aroma of black teas from that garden.

This particular batch is exceptionally fruity, one of the frutiest Darjeelings I've tried yet. There is an intense grape aroma, so sweet and ethereal I'd even call it estery. There's a faint rice-like quality, and perhaps a faint hint of fennel, but there isn't much else to the aroma. Only a very slight hint of bitterness.

This tea is mostly smooth, slightly sweet, very low in bitterness and astringency, but with more sourness than I would prefer.

Overall? I was extremely impressed by the aroma of the dry leaf, but upon brewing, I am disappointed. I do not like the flavor profile of this tea: it's too sour and there's not enough bitterness. I also find the aroma to be rather flat. The fruitiness is fleeting and there's just not enough else there. Too much like a Bai Hao / Oriental Beauty oolong, and that's a style of tea that I honestly am not a fan of.

This is the first tea I've bought from Wegmans that I thought was overpriced. It was marked $99/lb but rang up as $88/lb. For this price, I expected something top-notch, but I've had batches of tea come out of Makaibari estate (assuming that's where this is from) for less than half the price that I enjoyed much more.

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