Darjeeling Singbulli Oolong Tea Second Flush

This is very tasty – it is definitely sweet but I don’t get a lot of fruity notes. It is a little like musty apples almost, with how earthy it tastes. I enjoy it, but I always enjoy oolongs. I did two western style steeps and it kept me up long enough to finish my portfolio. Tomorrow I turn it in, and hopefully this time next month I will be a certified teacher. :)

Lewis & Clark Traveling Teabox – Tea #22
The mystery of this Darjeeling will be lost on me.. as they usually are. The color of the mug is a unique bright orange! Already interesting. The fragrance from the untasted mug is like a lemon maple syrup but the flavor only has hints of both of those. Otherwise it’s tough to tell! A little stone fruit. Not very much muscatel. It’s very light flavored and I can’t piece the rest together… I tried another Darj the same way as I steeped the second cup of this one (unique with that one).. but this one turned out a little bitter steeped that way but still maintaining that orange color. I wish I was more profound with this one.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 20 min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // half mug // 15 min after boiling // 3 min

Lewis & Clarke TTB

Yay, a second Darjeeling from Golden Tips! This one is an oolong, whereas the last one was a black tea, so I assume they’ll be quite different from one another. The leaves of this tea remind me of Oriental Beauty – they’re varying shades of brown and grey with silver tips mixed in. Dry scent is pretty similar to the other two Darjeelings, with sweet and slightly musty hay and grain notes. I used the lower end of the steeping time spectrum again, at 4 minutes.

Yum, the brewed aroma is a luscious mix of strong honey, sweet fruit that definitely leans toward grape juice, and bread notes. Wow, I actually really love this one! And it does somewhat remind me of Oriental Beauty in taste as well. There’s a ton of honey sweetness mixed with a lovely grape juice-like deep fruit flavor. I also taste a bit of that nice somewhat roasty autumn leaf note that I associate with oxidized oolongs. This tea screams “Autumn!” to me and I love it.

Thanks so much, Cheri, for including this tea in the box! :D

Today, September 3, 2014, was a historic day chez sherapop: her first experience ever of a darjeeling oolong tea!

I had no idea what to expect. First off, the dried leaves are beautifully variegated in color, size, shape, and texture. There are a fair amount of very attractive shiny silken textured tips among some darker, chocolate brown leaves and lighter, grayish-green leaves. The scent of the dried tea is definitely more darjeeling than oolong, but it’s a lighter, less grassy, and less nutty darjeeling.

The brewed tea, was more of a light peachy than a golden amber color, and tasted like … drum roll … darjeeling-scented oolong! Of course the “flavoring” comes from the tea itself, not from anything added. The texture is more like oolong, with the same juicy succulence found in lower oxidation oolongs.

I was very happy with this glass and decided to try a second infusion, since oolongs are always good for multiple steeps. This one was no exception to that rule, so I hereby do fully and truly aver that this darjeeling is an oolong! On the scale of green to black oolongs, I’d say that this is more fully oxidized, but since all darjeeling “black” teas are really oxidized to 90%, I’d guess that this one is more like 60%.

I received the 2013 second flush as a 10gm sample. For me it’s perfect…. I love Darjeelings and I love oolongs… A perfect mix. It’s very flowery with a sweet honey flavor. I wasn’t even tempted to add milk and sweetener.

It’s okay. It’s not a spectacular oolong, or a particularly horrible one. It just doesn’t stand out in the crowd.