2 Tasting Notes
400ml of water at 200F 5.5g tea Steep for 2 min 10sec
Cotton nel was used.
Astringency is not beautiful.
There is little sweet taste lightly.
The balance of astringency and sweet taste is bad.
It is better than the tea leaves harvested in 2011.
It is worse than the tea leaves harvested in 2010.
Preparation
Kobe,
I was looking at your website. You are rating the 2nd flush Castleton (T1110). Not the 2012 1st flush Castleton (T100) which I listed and tasted. As the new 2012 2nd flush teas are not in Mariage yet, it is most likely a harvest from 2011 or older. Also, the recommended steeping time is 5 minutes.
5 minutes are too long.
It is the futility of time.
Different teas, different flushes, different harvests require different steeping times. 2011 FF Castelton required a full 5 minutes to extract all the flavor and taste the tea had to offer. This changed to 2 minutes for the 2012 FF Castleton. The taste came alive in 2 minutes. Anything above 2 minutes brings about an unpleasant astringency. 2012 Ambootia, 5 minutes, 2012 FF Moondakotee 4 minutes, 2012 Jungpana 4 minutes and for most of the rest of the 2012 FF Darjeelings, 3 minutes. i have tried all of the 2012 Mariage Freres 1st flush and the real winners are the Namring and Castleton. Completely different from 2011, the 2012 Namring offered teh prefect balance of flavors and taste with just a hint of floral notes evident in the scent of the bewed cup.
A pitiful person.
And a regrettable person.
There is no thing as which Darjeeling this year may be sufficient.
