Namring Estate 2nd Flush Darjeeling

2/18/14 Afternoon tea with my husband. 1 packet/12oz/212F/2.5min From my Select box! Pretty pretty brew. I enjoyed it very much, though I can’t describe it well since it’s the first darjeeling I’ve drunk in ages and ages. I brewed it as per the instructions on the packet, and it made a nice potful for dH and I to share before he left for work.

I pulled this sample from the T&C TTB before I sent it off, and now I’m glad that I did. Lately, I’ve been drinking a lot of the same teas, so I haven’t been motivated to write tasting notes. I thought I’d be a tad more adventurous today, so I steeped up this darjeeling. I’m still on a quest to figure out the different types of straight black teas, so I had to snatch this sample out of the box to try.

The packet says “muscatel and cut wood.” I’m definitely getting a woodsy taste out of this one, but I’m not entirely sure what muscatel is even supposed to taste like. So perhaps it is in there and I’m just not tasting it? To me, it has the malty flavor of a black tea with wood notes in there. Others have also mentioned something about lemon that I’m not picking up on either. I do have enough leaves for another round, so I will keep these facts in mind and see if I pick up on any of that next time around.

I did quite enjoy this tea, though. It wasn’t bitter and only had a slight hint of astringency. If this is representative of darjeelings in general, that is definitely a direction I want to be exploring!

I brewed up another glass of this Namring Estate 2nd Flush Darjeeling from Upton by way of Steepster Select. I’ve been exploring the second flush darjeelings from Golden Tips and was wondering how this would measure up in comparison. I think that it’s not as good, but it’s true that I used only half of my envelope, so 2.2 grams (it contained 4.5 grams) for about 8 ounces of water. I kept the temperature cooler (82C rather than the Steepster Select recommendation of 100C—which is a big mistake, imnsho), and I brewed for about 3 minutes.

The resultant liquor was amber colored and pretty good but not great. I do not believe that darjeelings can be successfully re-steeped, but I tried last time (Steepster Select says on the envelope that it’s good for 3 re-steeps!). It tasted like dishwater, so I’m not bothering this time.

Does anyone in the universe, aside from Steepster Select, recommend that darjeeling be re-steeped? I’ve never read it anywhere. It seems like a ploy to make the program seem to cost less than it does. You do not, my tea-infused friends, get four 12 ounces cups of tea from this envelope. No, you do not.

This sample tea came from the February Steepster Select box, which shows how far behind I am in trying out the samples that I have — it’s now the beginning of June.

I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at the other reviews and I saw a lot of dismal thoughts about this one. I confess that 2nd flush darjeelings don’t tend to be a favorite of mine, but I’m up for trying any tea at least once.

I noticed the wet leaf smells very “woody” — almost like musk — when I took the infuser out of the teapot. The tea liquor steeps up to be a medium orangish-brown in color. As far as the flavor is concerned, Upton’s flavor description seems to be spot on. I would also describe it as woody with a hint of muscatel. There’s a slight astringency in the finish but it is palatable.

I liked this better than most of the other reviewers did; though I still don’t plan to put this on my shopping list anytime soon. A pinch of raw cane sugar makes a nice addition to this.

I started my writing class yesterday which is very interesting so far. Maybe I’ll get inspired soon to write some more blog postings. :)

:/ I had a nice pretty review written, and then my computer crashed. So sorry that I can’t be bothered writing up as nice of one.

No aroma when I opened the pouch, leaves were a lower quality than I would normally like, but as I had been given this sample, I don’t know where this degradation happened.

As it brews. no distinct aroma, maybe some faint wet cardboard. brews dark for such a surprising little amount of tea, but I guess that is from it being crushed.

The tea itself is pretty awful. If I had more of this tea than the sample, it would be reserved for ice-tea grade only. No muscatel, bitter and astringent, I see no “good” taste in this tea.

Backlog:

I love a second flush Darjeeling, so I was happy to find one in my Steepster Select box from February. A lovely fruit note: black currant and grape. I am tasting sweet and a hint of tart from these fruit notes. Somewhat tannic, but, that’s something I tend to expect from a Darjeeling like this.

I taste muscatel, woody notes, subtle hints of earth, a wine-like finish. A nice afternoon cup.

This tea had such a nutty roasted aroma that I was almost taken aback by the tangy tannins that hit me on the first sip. Was pleased when it mellowed into a malty finish, and actually find the tea as a whole to be quite enjoyable. A nice, medium bodied tea, but the tannins give a little pucker that I almost found refreshing on a warm day. 7.5/10

I had the last package of this tea this afternoon at work. After exploring other Darjeelings this one stands out as pretty flavorful. I really enjoyed this for an afternoon tea! I am upping my rating of this tea.

(1st Steep – 2.5 min) This tea has the softer aroma and flavor that you would expect from a Darjeeling. The muscatel flavor mentioned in the description is present but not overpowering. It is more of a slight sweetness followed by a slight woody flavor. It finishes clean and has a slight drying sensation. All in all I would say a great late afternoon tea. However, I could see myself drinking it all day.

(2nd Steep – 3 min) I noticed very little change between the first and second steeping of this tea. Possibly a little less of the drying sensation at the end, but it was minimal.

(3rd Steep – 3.5 min) The third steeping produced more of the cut-wood notes with the sweeter flavors more subtle. However, it is still a great drinking tea that has proved enjoyable all day.

I will probably continue drinking this tea in the afternoon, and probably up the initial steep time to 3 minutes.

A bit too much muscatel for my taste, with coppery aftertones and bitterness on the tip of my tongue. Not my favorite tea from this box, but it was better than the jasmine.