Tea2You

A well-rounded darjeeling of high quality which favours, to a slight degree, astringency over muscatel – for those who enjoy the second flush of this wonderful tea variety :)

So I think this is the right place to review this tea. Taking a bit of a guess.

I was visiting a relative today. This relative is aware I really like tea, but that is the extent of it. So she says to me that a friend brought her some real tea from England. It is English tea and I just have to try it. She says it is English Darjeeling. So at this point I am already not looking forward to this because 1) I dislike Darjeeling but I don’t want to say that because she is so excited for me to try this tea, and 2) There was a lengthy discussion in which she was adamant that this was “Darjeeling made in England” even though I tried my hardest to explain that it was not grown (or made) in England.

Then she proceed to tell me where the tea was and asked me to make us both some because she didn’t know how to make it.

The package read “Fresh Hand Picked Darjeeling”. It recommended 1/2 tsp per 8 oz, in boiling water. There was no other info about the tea on the packaging. It was clearly a green Darjeeling.

So I brewed up 3 cups (a second relative arrived while I was making the first two cups). Let me start by saying all Darjeeling tastes like ashtray to me. It doesn’t matter if it is high or low quality, 1st or 2nd flush, green or dark, or what steeping parameters are
used, it all tastes like ashtray.

The ashtray this time was a bit more floral from being a greener variety. It was ok. It was quite dry and could have used a bit of sweetener.

I falsely told my relative I thought it was good.

This is a very very very fine Darjeeling from the tea stall at London’s Borough Market, Tea2You, which is a one-man show for tea with a webstore (www.tea2you.co.uk). There are only about six to ten kinds of tea for sale at any point but they are all top-notch. He’ll ship to the US free for orders over 13 quid (hear that, Ahmad’s? Only £13!), so even though I don’t live in London anymore I can still afford one of my favorite weekend treats on a Tuesday in California.

Anyway, the tea! This Darjeeling brews up amber and smells of honey in the cup. It has a rich mouthfeel and the taste is also reminiscent of honey with wood. Very easy drinking, I never put sugar or milk in this one. Delicious. Also good for a 2nd steep, takes 8-9 mins. At £4.95 for 50g of tea, price is comparable to other luxury brands. Highly recommended!