Darjeeling

Fruity, slightly astringent, solid but nothing spectacular. Leaves are chopped in fairly small pieces. Daily drinker tea.

Oh goodness, this was awful! I’m not sure what I did, maybe (probably) overleafed, but the liquid came out cloudy and had this strange bitter taste. It wasn’t even the bitterness that threw me off, it wasn’t that bad honestly, but it was something about the flavor. Maybe this one’s gone bad, but my other Joseph Wesley teas seem to be holding up well. I’m not really a huge fan of Darjeeling anyway, but this was a different kind of yuck.

Bought this at the tea festival in NYC the other day. It is quite good. It’s not malty. It’s not too astringent. Has a bit of a fruity note but not a strong one. It’s a fairly mild tasting black tea in truth. I don’t know if this is a first or second flush Darjeeling. The website says it was picked before the monsoon. They also mention a spicy note and thinking about it now it is in fact there, but mild.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 185 degree water for 3 min.

I’m sad my review for this has disappeared.
My palate lately seems to have died and a lot of teas have been tasting the same.
But here is my take on it anyhow. This is a really fruity tea. It reminds me of fruitcake in that dried fruit soaked in alcohol way. Quite wine-ey. There is some mild astringency, just enough to be pleasant. Overall, a very good Darjeeling. It sets the bar high!
Too bad I only have a bit left. Would be willing to send it to anyone wanting a taste

I received this one free from Joseph Wesley. Thank you so much Joe!!! It is greatly appreciated.

For the most part I don’t usually like Darjeeling. It seems to always taste like ash or dirt or a mixture of both to me. It doesn’t matter whether it is high or low quality tea. I haven’t been able to figure out why most Darjeelings taste bad to me but every once in a while there is one that I don’t mind. There are a few blends of Darjeeling I do quite like, Red Tailed Hawk from A&D is one of them.

First off, I love Joseph Wesley’s packaging. It came in a cardboard tin, the tea was in a sealed package inside the tin with an additional card with brewing instructions.

The dry leaves are small, dark and uniform in shape and colour. This tea is pretty. The smell of the dry tea is quite sweet. Maybe a sweet floral type scent, floral more like honeysuckle vs rose.

The tea brews up a reddish brown colour. The scent is still the sweet floral. There is also that slight scent of ash that I often get from darjeelings. This tea tastes quite good. It is definitely on the small list of darjeelings I like. The tea is crisp and clean. There is a strong sweetness, and a light honeysuckle type floral flavour.

While the tea is hot, I quite enjoyed it. There was a very slight but pleasant drying on the back of my palate after each sip. I found after it significantly cooled, the pleasant dryness turned into an astringency that I didn’t like. The ash flavour also became more dominate in the cooled tea with a long lingering aftertaste.

I definitely like this tea while it is hot. I am sure I will be able to manage drinking it that way :)

I did NOT want to be the first to review this tea…mostly because my notes are short and to the point, without a lot of descriptors. This will probably be the same…my apologies to Joseph Wesley…"cos this deserves more than I can/will give.

I will start off this note by stating I am not a Darjeeling sipper. This sample that I received from Joseph Wesley may just change that! I haven’t thoroughly explored the realm of darjeeling’s because I thought I didn’t like them…that muscatel thing. Of the very few I’ve tried it had this fruit note that just did not please my palate.

Well, I have to say, I think I get now why people love darjeelings. This is not like any Darjeeling I have tasted (so few that my comparison is laughable). The prominent note was spice, followed up by floral (very mild) and finally fruit (can’t pinpoint) but not like the usual muscatel that you find in Darjeeling. Mouthfeel was fairly light making it an excellent choice for an afternoon tea. I didn’t brew it in my usual glass mug, but I recall the liquor being clear coppery reddish.

This Darjeeling really changed my mind…I think that spicy note got me! Thank you Mr. Wesley for introducing me to quality Darjeeling…I wouldn’t have tried it otherwise, but next time I order, I would definitely put this in the cart.