Before I begin this review, allow me to offer a sincere thank you to Susmita Mukherjee and the folks at Vahdam Teas for graciously providing me with free samples of this and a number of other interesting teas. I relish the opportunity to try new things. It was great of you to send some of your teas to me and I honestly appreciate it.
This particular tea is a second flush Darjeeling from the Lopchu Estate. I was unable to find much information about the estate itself, but I did discover that several purveyors of fine Indian teas offer a range of teas from this estate. I also discovered that Lopchu teas are kind of outliers compared to many other Darjeeling teas. They are noted for their intensely woody, smoky, and often spicy aroma and flavor profiles. They are not regarded as smelling or tasting much like other Darjeelings. After spending a day tinkering with this tea, I can definitely offer the opinion that it is unique compared to every other second flush Darjeeling I have tried.
I prepared this tea Western style. I initially started with a 5 minute steep in 205 F water, and while the results were drinkable, the flavors seemed a tad muted. I then tried a 5 minute steep in 200 F water. The results were better, but still lacked a certain vibrancy. I then took a research break and discovered that Teabox also offered a second flush Lopchu and provided a brewing guide. They recommended a water temperature between 185-194 F for this tea, and realizing that I have lately been having better luck with slightly lower temperatures when I brew Darjeelings, I decided to follow their approach. I ended up steeping a teaspoon of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. That did the trick for me.
Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced smoky, woody, and somewhat chocolaty aromas. After infusion, the dark amber tea liquor produced pronounced scents of wood, smoke, bread, malt, dark chocolate, and bitter, oily nuts. In the mouth, I detected a unique mix of malt, baked bread, smoke, wood (it reminded me of both oak and pine at points), and roasted nuts (beech, hickory, walnut) balanced by touches of autumn honey, Muscatel, semi-sweet dark chocolate, fig, and prune. The finish was decidedly woody, malty, nutty, and smoky with pleasant Muscatel and honey presences on the back of the throat after the swallow.
Wow! This was a different kind of second flush Darjeeling! Previous reviewers and other vendors weren’t lying about this tea being unique. Though I failed to note the spiciness that some people seem to get out of Lopchu Darjeelings, I was impressed by this tea’s aroma and flavor profiles. At times it reminded me a little of some milder lapsang souchongs, or perhaps even some Keemuns. That being said, I found this to be a boisterous tea with a very forceful presence, especially in the mouth. All in all, it’s the sort of tea for which I would have to be in the mood. I would have no issue with recommending it to fans of orthodox Indian black teas, but I would also offer the opinion that one’s enjoyment of this particular tea may depend on the degree to which one is willing to tolerate more strident aromas and flavors than many contemporary Darjeelings seem to offer.
Flavors: Bread, Dark Chocolate, Dried Fruit, Fig, Honey, Malt, Muscatel, Roasted Nuts, Smoke, Toast, Wood
