1.25 tsp (scant) for 300nL water @ 95C, steeped four minutes.
I discovered this in a large tin, tucked away, in my tea cupboard, and now, after a long tryst with floral oolongs I’m back to Darjeelings. (Also: I really need to clean out my tea cupboard. It looks like a small warehouse.)
Dry leaf: long and twisted, mostly dark brown with some green, as is usual with Darjeelings. A few twigs.
Wet leaf: lighter brown and darker green, giving heady scents of muscatel, nuts, honey, and turned earth.
Liquor: light to medium copper with plenty of down.
Scent: a bit flat. Not to worry, as the flavour takes over. Assertive for a Darjeeling — I’d guess there’s little to no first flush here. The muscatel matures to a more winey finish, which might have something to do with the age of these tea leaves — at least five years old. Astringent finish with mineral notes that make me think of cool mist and welcome rain: clean running water.
