90

Here’s another sample sipdown for y’all. This was the last of the first flush Darjeeling samples Vahdam Teas sent me last month. I still have an oolong and two white tea samples to finish, one of which is the Avongrove Emperor, a tea I’ve been wanting to try for over a year. Since I’ve been impressed with the other teas I have received from Vahdam, I will likely get to those in the near future. This Darjeeling was yet another hit.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced subtly nutty, grassy aromas. After infusion, I noted scents of roasted almond, malt, Muscatel, grass, and straw. In the mouth, the liquor displayed a slight astringency along with notes of wood, grass, straw, lemon rind, Muscatel, malt, toast, beechnut, roasted almond, pungent herbs, and chestnut. There were hints of orange and mango lurking in the background too. The finish was somewhat dry, featuring lingering impressions of nuts, malt, grass, straw, and Muscatel.

Vahdam Teas impressed me once again with this Darjeeling. Of their offerings I have sampled in the past month, this one possessed the aroma and flavor profiles I most often associate with first flush Darjeelings. It, however, was not my favorite. I came to appreciate some of the milder, fruitier, sweeter first flush teas more during this time, but I still would not hesitate to recommend this tea to anyone looking for a quality first flush Darjeeling.

Flavors: Almond, Astringent, Chestnut, Grass, Herbs, Lemon, Malt, Mango, Muscatel, Nutty, Orange, Straw, Toast, Wood

Preparation
5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

Location

KY

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