Full bodied with classic second flush Darjeeling flavours, this pure tea is smooth and assertive with a lingering finish.
Flavour
Muscatel, cocoa, oak, earthy, walnut with floral and honey notes
Harvest
Second flush, summer
Processing
Hand picked; Chinery bushes
Elevation
1,900 metres
The full sized leaves create a second flush Darjeeling with a natural sweet musk aroma and a smooth, deep flavour.
The reddish amber liquor reveals a layered taste of muscatel, cocoa and walnut with a full mouthfeel that’s slightly dry and lingers on your palate. The natural sweetness is subtle and reminiscent of honey with hints of oak and floral in the background that typifies the essence of the unique terroir.
This versatile tea easily pairs with breakfast foods – like a cinnamon bun with raisins that bring out the tea’s underlying fruit flavour – and savoury dishes made with Brie as the slightly dry finish complements the fat content in the cheese.
3g per 250 mls (1 cup)
First infusion: rinse leaves with 95oC water for 10 seconds and discard water; infuse for 3 minutes at 95oC
Additional infusions: gradually increase steeping time with each infusion
7g (2 tsps) in 100ml Gaiwan
First infusion: rinse leaves with 95oC water for 10 seconds and discard water; infuse 20-30 seconds at 95oC
Second and third infusions: infuse 20-30 seconds at 95oC
Additional infusions: double infusion time with each additional infusion
3g per 250mls (1 cup) of room temperature water
Brew in a tea flask at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Taste as it's brewing and strain the tea when you like the flavours.
The Darjeeling region contains 87 tea plantations with 61 of those divided into three depending on the altitude. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, up until recently Darjeeling was the only region outside of China where the Camellia sinensis var sinensis prospers. With the emergence of neighbouring Nepal as a tea producing region with a similar terroir, cultivars of the var sinensis have also prospered here.
A “flush” is new growth of tea on the tea bushes and they differ depending on the area that the tea is produced. Darjeeling is harvested four times a year: first flush (spring March-April), second flush (summer May-June), monsoon (July-October) and autumnal flush (early October to mid-November). Early excessive rainfall can shorten a second flush harvest and lengthen the monsoon harvest..
Each flush reveals unique and distinct characteristics. The second flush is typically more prized than the first flush as it is sweeter and mellower with a unique muscatel flavour. Whilst a first flush liquor appears to look more like the "champagne of teas”, it is a second flush that has the muscatel aroma that earned the region this reputation.
In 1885, the Castleton tea estate was planted in the Kurseong Valley with primarily pure China bushes. At 980 to 2,300 metres above sea level oxygen is reduced and the area is often covered in mist, so the tea leaves grow slower. This results in teas with a concentrated and complex flavour that is celebrated by tea connoisseurs.
