This tea’s leaves are a variety of green and brown shades – definitely a lighter Darjeeling, edging into Oolong levels of oxidation. They’re nice and large and unfold upon steeping.
The liquor is a golden color, and both it and the leaves have a floral, slightly fruity (white grape) smell.
Astringency is muted but present. Note that I steeped at 190, as I typically do for Darjeelings, so it may be more pronounced at a higher steep temperature.
The mouthfeel is very light.
The flavor is primarily floral, almost jasmine, with notes of white grape and some vegetal hints(perhaps string beans). It’s reasonably sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. The floral and sweet notes are not as pronounced as the best first flush Darjeelings, and it tastes very slightly stale (it’s close to a year old, since it’s from the 2012 harvest).
The second steep hold up relatively well, although more malty and earthy notes start to show up, and the sweet, floral notes are diminished.
I enjoyed this tea quite a bit and would definitely consider buying a bag of it, although I’ll likely wait until the 2013 harvest. I’d recommend as a very well-priced first flush Darjeeling.
