(This review is for the Spring flush 2016)
Ahhhh, the taste of terroir..
Nepal borders Darjeeling , & i think this comes out in the taste in a big way. It tastes to me like very forgiving super sweet FF DJ rather than a fujian white. Or is that my brain knowing that Taplejung might as well be Darjeeling? (in India terms its a drive away, :lol:) Anyway I spent a while cross referencing FF DJ process vs White & they are very similar anyway, so great! I learnt something again today. And thinking back on it, they can be very similar, cant they.
I used quite a lot (~5g?) & about 3:30 80c, & didnt get any FF overbrewing. It is pretty delicious. Fresh golden water with essence of apricots, oranges, maybe even raspberry Mixed with the ‘hay’ taste of a white, also some FF nutty underneath. Amazingly delicate but unmistakable smell of candy apples & a sweetness in the feel that just coats the mouth with sugar, while not being cloying. The first cup went very quickly. Its pretty subtle & delicate, but really good.
Second cup I just left the leaf to steep, and drinking a cooler cup I also get a little milk with my fruit.
Third cup I just did 90c & left it again, this one was less of everything else but with a hint of citrus. Still got the sugary aroma though. By this third cup I felt pretty warm & nice from the chi.
ive found quite a few Nepalese teas from Alistair now that I really like, this one I reckon with really pedantic brewing – accurate weights, pushing the citrus flavour out more with 85-90c or just longer steep times you will end up with something even better. Will have to experiment & report back if the fruit can be brought out using this method.
edit* The instructions say to use roughly 85c, I should have looked harder!
But even as it stands with my underbrewing, I would re-purchase this one for sure, & im already looking forward to tomorrow morning when im finishing the rest of the sample with a higher temp
Flavors: Apple, Apricot, Candy, Citrus, Cotton Candy, Hay, Nutty, Orange, Sugar
