Tea: Sungma 2nd Flush Darjeeling
A Darjeeling Second Flush from Harney and Sons
This tea has been retired/discontinued.
| Brand: | Harney and Sons |
| Style: | Darjeeling Second Flush |
| Region: | Darjeeling, India |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Loose? | Loose |
| # Ratings: | 2 View All |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 11 of Darjeeling Second Flush
✓ 66 of Darjeeling Black Tea
✓ 69 of Harney and Sons
✓ 78 from Darjeeling, India
✓ 209 from India
Review of Sungma 2nd Flush Darjeeling
February 24th, 2012
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 8 of 10 | 5 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 83 of 100 |
| Excellent | Excellent | Good Value |
The aroma of the dry leaf of this tea really got my attention: rich and strongly aromatic, fruity, deep, but also light and fresh. I received this and the Singbulli first flush as samples from Harney and Sons.
Like the Singbulli, I prefer brewing this tea for 5 minutes, as recommended. However, I also experimented with brewing gong-fu-style. When brewing gong-fu-style, the earlier infusions had more tones of lemon and citrus, the middle infusions were darker, and the later infusions had a dark color but light flavor, with oatmeal-like tones dominating.
When brewing for the full five minutes, the results were a more complex cup, with a hint of a wintergreen quality, a strong fruity (grape) presence and some deeper, skunky and herbaceous tones as well. Dark in color but strangely fresh, light, and cool-tasting flavor.
Even after 5 minutes, there was a little flavor left in the leaves for a second, pleasant, but less interesting infusion. When brewing for 3 minutes, the cup was lighter in body, and I noticed a little more of the oatmeal-like quality.
Also, a note, Harney recommends using lower-temperature water, I actually preferred boiling for this one. There were no unpleasant tones that came out and I felt it brought out greater strength and complexity...but then again, I tend to like some bitterness in my tea.
This tea was very good. However, comparing it side-by-side with the Singbulla first flush, to which it is oddly similar in some regards, I strongly prefer that tea. This tea seemed, to me, excellent, but not exceptional as that tea was. For the amount of first flush I've tired, I have tried embarrassingly few second flush teas, so I can't really say how this compares to a typical second flush. But, compared to other high-quality Darjeelings, it was one of the better ones I've tried.
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Comments:
 | MantraTea wrote: on February 26th, 2012 |
Sungma 2nd flush from Sungma TE - Being as Importer of this presitgious Tea directly from TE. Tasted Sungma 2nd Flush 2011 SFTGFOP 1- Beautiful dried Leaves when steeped the attractive appearance, smooth liquor and fragrant nutty cup, the steeped leaves had grassy tinge yet coppery. With an infusion of 5 minutes in rolling boil of 195 c.
