This tea is the most like a Darjeeling that I've ever had from outside Darjeeling and neighboring areas (like Nepal, Sikkim, etc.). It barely resembled other Nilgiri teas, so I'd recommend it more for people who like Darjeeling than people who like Nilgiri black teas.

Dry leaf looks wiry and robust, inconsistent lengths of leaf, and smells potent and interesting, it's strongly fruity, with a hint of malt, and a sort of odd, damp smell. It's pungent, almost skunky and sort of dirty smelling. The fruitiness reminds me a lot of a Darjeeling. Intriguing and it makes me curious how this tea will brew up.

Brews a bold cup with a very smooth mouthfeel, low astringency, very subtle flavor, quite sweet, very low bitterness or sourness.

Very similar overall character to a Darjeeling. Harney describes the character of this tea as in between that of a first-flush and second-flush Darjeeling, and I agree, I think this description is spot-on. It has the light body and fruitiness of Darjeeling first flushes, but the aroma is subtly different, and there is much less astringency. There is something sort of illicit about the aroma. It's floral, but pungent and herbaceous, a little intoxicating, but the cup as a whole can also be a bit much. Like many high-grade Darjeelings I find myself unable to drink this tea quickly, it can overwhelm me somewhat, and I need to sip it slowly.

Resteeps very well, better than most Darjeelings. Second cup is similar in aroma and flavor.

I liked this tea a lot. It was also reasonable in price, compared to teas from Darjeeling of similar quality.

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