My favorite ever green tea was a long-leaf green from Makaibari estate. This is a very different tea, and alas, I did not enjoy it quite as much, but it was still a very good tea.

I find this tea tastes more like Chinese green teas than most green teas I've tried from India; it reminds me of some Sri Lankan teas made in the style of Chinese green teas.

Brews a quite dark-colored cup, as dark as some lighter Darjeeling first flush. Thick-bodied and somewhat astringent. Complex aroma that is highly herbaceous and somewhat smoky, with tones of celery and parsley, and suggestions of honey and floral qualities, without being strongly floral. Almost suggests nutmeg or mace.

Flavor is quite sour.

I think I would like this tea more if it were less sour and astringent. I found that it was even rather astringent when brewed with water at a low temperature, however.

If I were given a cup of this and told that it were chun mee or gunpowder green tea, I might think this a top-notch example of that style...but compared to other teas I've tried from Makaibari estate (especially their long-leaf green), I am slightly disappointed with the level of astringency and sourness in the cup, and the aroma isn't quite as pleasing as I normally experience their teas to be.

To put my disappointment in perspective though, even if this is my least favorite tea to come out of Makaibari, it's still a good tea.

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