Darjeeling 1st Flush Rohini Emerald Green

The loose leaf looks great, though it is 6 years old. As derk noticed, as it is from her, and actually from White Antlers (Thank you both!). The leaf looks pretty much as on photo, though bit darker.

I decided to brew 3 grams in my 300 ml glass cup. I broke my gaiwan today, so I have decided to order a new one! From Tangpin (someone suggested them and I kinda liked some stuff they had and this was the “last drip” to place an order)

Well, it wasn’t remarkable tea. It was green with mineral notes, quite dry. Overall somehow too much hay-like. This tea seems I will get rid off soon somehow. Not really impressed and having way more another greens which needs to be drank as well and they are better.

Sealed bag, Spring 2014 harvest.

Delicate, brittle leaf in colors faded grey-brown-green. Smells spicy, dry and pungent — desert earth and green bell pepper without sweetness underpinned by muscatel and strawberry.

First steep had a dry grass-desert earth aroma and a light golden color with a tinge of green. Viscous and smooth finishing dry with minerals and salivation. Mostly tastes of dry grass, barely noticeable apricot aftertaste. Feel mintiness in chest and in the sinuses. Second steep was basically hot water.

I would say time hasn’t been so kind to this green tea but RahRahSan’s review 6 years ago suggests that it was never remarkable to begin with. At least it had a nice mouthfeel.

Alistair of What-Cha sent me a sample of his Darjeeling First Flush 2014 Rohini Emerald Green Tea with my recent order knowing of my last disastrous attempt at Indian green teas this year. Generally I don’t care for Indian green teas, I feel they overbrew to easily and become bitter; drinking Indian greens makes me feel like that particular type of tea novice who likes all teas except greens because they had a bad experience with them. I like to think that I am not prejudiced against Indian greens, but I do know that I can be overly critical of them. So take anything I say about this with a grain of salt.

The dry leaves are not particularly interesting; there is a lot of variation in the shapes, size and color of the leaves although this is fairly common in Indian greens. Generally I prefer tea that has a uniform shape and size so I always cringe a little when I see Indian greens.

For my first infusion I brewed at 176°F for two minutes. Even before it was done, I could smell the hay aroma. It had a very pure grassy taste, there was a little fruit notes, something like unripened apricot. It almost had an umami taste, but not exactly.

I decided against doing a third infusion, I didn’t feel it had much more to offer and in my experience Indian greens don’t make it past the second stepping. It wasn’t a bad green tea, but it definitely benefits of adding some form of sweetener to it. While I didn’t use anything in my tea, this teapot easily serves two, so I served the extra cup to my guest who happened to add a little honey to hers, and hers tasted considerably better.

I don’t think I would try this again, I much prefer second flush Indian greens, the muscatel taste in later harvests make Indian greens so much more interesting than first flushes. I don’t think this is a bad tea, just not one for me. I am not a fan of ratings, but if I had to give it a score I’d probably place it somewhere between seven and eight (out of ten).

(Photos at http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-chas-darjeeling-1st-flush-2014.html)