Patience is a virtue when it comes to Darjeeling First Flush. A complex tea that varies from season-to-season, it is considered the most prized, luxurious and unique tea in the world: the champagne of tea. The leaves are picked in Darjeeling and then carefully tasted and selected by us in Melbourne. This year we chose a delicate, almost green, Darjeeling picked in the second week of March. Not content with the young tea picked in the initial frenzy for first flush we patiently waited for the tea pickers to reach dizzying heights in the Gielle tea estate, with elevations of up to 6000 feet above sea level. There the leaves enjoy ideal conditions and are shrouded in a beautiful mist. The reward: a fresh, fruity flavour with an exquisite floral character. The estate where our Darjeeling is picked is named after Gielle Khola, the river that passes through the tea garden in the Himalayan Mountains. The effects of the river on the region have led to its reputation as ‘the land of sweet water.’ This tea has come on a very long journey to your cup.