This tea is subtly different from other Darjeelings. The leaf is big and looks more like a Wuyi oolong than anything from Darjeeling. The aroma is rich and deep, notes of caramel and malt, a hint of the characteristic fruity/floral/vegetal notes, more typical for an autumnal flush Darjeeling.

Upon pouring the water, an interesting pungent note came out that I didn't notice at all in the dry leaf, reminding me of the Seeyok autumnal flush from Udyan tea that I recently sampled and reviewed. It's both fruity and skunky (not in a bad way).

This tea also tastes very different from how it smells. There's a surprising note of clove, an aromatic note I rarely encounter in black tea, only in certain herbs (like tulsi and other basils). The cup also has this very slight, gentle edginess or sharpness, just enough to keep it interesting. It's less smooth than the dry leaf's smell suggests.

This tea works very well when brewed more strongly, but you have to be careful not to oversteep. I like using a bit more than a teaspoon of leaf and steeping for five minutes but no longer. The only problem with this is that it doesn't resteep quite as well if the first steep is this long, but I still resteep it. It also works well with a 2-3 minute first steep if you want a very smooth, mellow cup.

This tea was enjoyable and interesting, but it didn't stand out quite as much as some of the other teas from Udyan tea, like the Castleton china black or the Himalayan oolong. I thought the price was good, but not quite as much a steal as some of the prices on the other teas like the Castleton.

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