OK. This is tough. I wanted to write a review and provide ratings that would be fair and encouraging to other readers, but I'm conflicted due to my own taste bud preferences. My very first experience with a 2nd Flush Darjeeling was a Taylors of Harrogate, which I liked, due to it's malty, full-bodied, and high 'glow' attributes. My next experience was a Makaibari Estate 2nd flush from The Fragrant Leaf. That was, to date, my absolute favorite Darjeeling. Amazing character, perfectly balanced on the maltiness scale, and wonderfully noticeable 'glow' as it infused through my body. Next, I tried a Darjeeling from Ahmad. To me, this was different. It was light in character, aroma, body, and had really minimal 'glow' as it infused through me. And yes, it had a bit of that green tea vegetal character that I prefer less in my black teas. Still, that tea wasn't bad at all. And now onto this. I read the reviews at Steepster, and at Upton, and so I felt that this Puttabong 2nd flush would be the epitome of malt, body, aroma, and glow. The tea is NOT bad at all. It's got incredible aroma, for sure. But... it's almost ALL vegetal. When I started to infuse it, I IMMEDIATELY noticed that 'fresh mowed lawn' smell, and my nose wasn't anywhere near the cup. I decided I'd attempt to steep my way through that, and so at the 6 minute mark (didn't want to ruin anything), I gave another sniff. Still highly vegetal, and hardly any of the fruity smells. I wouldn't think this is muscatel. Much more like a 1st flush tea. The taste was a clone of the aromas. Fairly astringent at the 6 minute mark. I can't say that I felt the expected Darjeeling glow I've noticed in other 2nd flushes. It's certainly complex, but maybe too complex. I'd almost describe it as a bit 'musty'. It was too much like a thick smoky broth, than a splendid tea. Maybe the only solution here is to reduce the steep time down to no more than 3 minutes. But I tend to like my Darjeelings a bit richer than that. That's the mission I'm on. To find 2nd flush (or 1st flush if out there) Darjeelings that have that divine fruity complexity, with little if any of that vegetal herbaceous aroma and taste. And I wish we could add a flavor characteristic called "glow", because to me, that's an additional attribute that signifies an outstanding tea. It's a blood-brain barrier sort of feeling - one that any tea drinker feels inside them, subtly, whenever they have swallowed a truly great tea! Anyway, for those who love 1st flushes with a substantial liquor, this may be a tea you want to try! Me, I'm still on the hunt for a tea that matched the glow that hit me with that Makaibari Estate 2nd flush! PS. at 5 minutes, the caffeine is overtaking the theanine, so it's a slightly heart-pumpy (not ideal) lingering profile.

Add your own review

Comments:

Alex Zorach wrote: on September 8th, 2013

I think what you are looking for may be tricky...the Darjeelings that have that fruity

Alex Zorach wrote: on September 8th, 2013

Seems there's a bug in the comment code; I thought I had fixed this bug before but maybe it has reappeared...I'll have to get on that, probably won't fix it till some time tomorrow.

Alex Zorach wrote: on September 10th, 2013

Wow...that bug was devilishly hard to catch, but very simple once I found it, it seems everything after double quotes was getting cut off.

At any rate, the Darjeelings that have that fruity "Muscatel" quality, I find also tend to be ones with a highly vegetal character. There are exceptions, however. Makaibari estate is definitely one of my favorites.

It's hard to pin these things down though, because different people don't necessarily mean the same thing when they use descriptors like "fruity" or "vegetal" or "muscatel". I found that trying muscat grapes was illuminating--now I better know what is meant by "muscatel", and it does include more than just fruitiness, those grapes have a sort of dark, almost skunky overtone. But it's not the more spinach or asparagus-like quality that some Darjeelings have.

And I do find that some Darjeelings have a "musty" quality to them.

I recently tried a Puttabong first flush from Happy Earth Tea--absolutely loved it. The description claimed a "hint of malt" but I didn't really feel that...it seemed more caramelly to malt. Describing these things in words remains really hard...

Chris Budd wrote: on September 10th, 2013

Alex, first, thanks for taking the time to fix the bug and rewrite your reply. Your words are educational, as well as insightful. You've made a good point. The 'language' that each of us is using is subject to interpretation and person-to-person nuance. I realize now that my description of this Puttabong was possibly misleading. When i refer to 'vegetal', I meant 'grassy'. When I brewed this tea, the first thing it reminded me of was a non-oxidized green tea. Green teas have their time and place for me, but are far from my favorite. So, my baseline for unappealing character is when a black tea's aroma and taste reminds me of a green tea. And this puttabong Darjeeling reminded me of that. And it was the first Darjeeling I've tasted that seemed to have 'grassy' dominate. I couldnt really taste any of that malty (by that I mean sort of cocoa-like caramel-malty). For me, the Makaibari 2nd flush I had, had a wonderful balance between a malty taste, along with a sort of fruitiness. I will have to try some Muscat Grapes as well, because this may be the taste I'm referring to. By 'fruity', I think of Ceylon teas as the epitome of that sort of taste. Bright, sunny, honey-ish, nectar-ish. Let me ask you this, if I may. Since I have identified the Makaibari 2nd flush Darjeeling as a fine balance between malt and fruit-ish, with very little 'grassy-ness', and since you also know and like that particular estate's tea, can you think back to your experiences with other Darjeelings, and tell me if you can suggest a few (either from Upton, or elsewhere) that would be in the same 'ballpark' as Makaibari? I'm wondering about the infamous Margaret's Hope, or... others like Thurbo, Arya, or Castleton. Some of these are pricey, but if any particular one has a reputation that proceeds it, please do tell! Thanks!

Chris Budd wrote: on September 10th, 2013

And by the way, my 'grassy' would match perfectly to your 'spinachy' or 'asparagussy'. For me, these are not flavors I particularily prefer in a black tea. I sweeten my tea with honey, often, and as many know, it's a weird mismatch to try and sweeten a green tea with sweeteners. It just makes little sense unless some oxidation has taken place....

Alex Zorach wrote: on September 10th, 2013

This is tricky...I have sampled hundreds of teas but I'm hardly an expert on the individual estates, having sampled at most 1 or 2 teas from most of them (there are so many estates!). The only two that come to mind are Singbulli and Sungma.

Keep in mind, it's not just the estate, but the company you buy from that matters. Each estate produces teas of different grades, as well as individual special batches with certain characteristics. A given type of tea from a given estate also will vary from year to year. Each company has its own unique criteria that they use to select the tea with. I've often found more consistency among tea companies than I have among estates.

For example, Happy Earth Tea sent me 4 samples of first flush...and they were all very similar to each other; they were also among the greenest first flush I've ever sampled. A different focus was Sonam Paljor Lama's now closed venture, Fresh Darjeeling Tea. I sampled three of their teas, and in spite of having radically different colors and overall characters, all three had an overwhelming strong asparagus-like quality to their aroma. Yet another example of a sort of continuity is the qualities exhibited by the Himalayan teas (not all Darjeeling but Nepal and neigboring regions) sold by Rare Tea Republic and Republic of Tea. These teas I've all found to have a subdued character (no strong flavors, but very full and flavorful nonetheless), with a modest background of vegetal tones, and a darker, richer character (not overwhelmingly green like Happy Earth Tea's first flush). Upton, I just love ordering a bunch of their samples...their items go in and out of stock so fast, I could give you recommendations all my favorites among the single estate Darjeelings are out of stock and discontinued. One of my favorites from Upton was from Barnesbeg estate...it's the only tea I tried from that estate, but it had a very green character, but no vegetal tones...instead very fresh tasting, vaguely suggestive of citrus and mint.

You can't go wrong ordering a bunch of small samples from Upton and then buying the ones you like...but some of my favorite Darjeelings have actually been from other companies. Arbor Teas sells three Makaibari estate teas that I like, and the Singbulli and Sungma teas I liked most were from Harney and Sons. You actually might want to try Harney and Sons because I think they tend to select teas with a more British character...possibly less of that vegetal or grassy character you're wishing to avoid.

Good luck!

Login or Sign Up to comment or reply.