Darjeeling Autumn Flush Jungpana Black

This is my cup of the evening, while I catalogue all my black friday teas.

I brewed this according to the package directions, 96C for 2 minutes, but I think for my next cup I’ll lower the temperature. There are lovely fruity, grape notes along with some malt, but also an ashy character that I’m not loving. Though as it cools, the ashyness mellows out and becomes much less noticeable.

This is turning out to be quite a lovely cup. I think I may have a love affair with Darjeelings, which is probably a good plan, as I have an absurd number of Darjeelings in my collection now.

I have a confession that some of my friends back in Kansas City are going to hate me for, I really don’t like their BBQ, sorry guys! I grew up in the South on delicious Southern style BBQ, and then I left and have not had any for almost fifteen years. Until today. I had BBQ so good that I actually cried, no lie, I sat at the table eating my food while crying. I tolerated other types of BBQ because I craved it, but really, in my book nothing compares to it. So that is my confession, I hope I don’t make too many enemies!

Travel has taken a toll on my perception of time, so What-Cha Wednesday is on a Thursday this week, and the particular tea has an autumnal flair, Darjeeling Autumn Flush 2013 Jungpana Black Tea, which is perfect for this time if year. There is something about Darjeeling teas and autumn that go perfectly together, doubly so if it is an autumn flush. The aroma of the dry leaves is sweet and muscatel, it reminds me a little of white wine and scuppernongs, with a rich undertone of sweet potatoes and roasted peanuts. I think spending time in the South is having an effect on my nose, those are such Southern foods! Regardless of my nose’s current influence, the smells is quite good and of course sweet.

Brewing the leaves seems to make the aroma even richer, very sweet and immensely rich, it has a real depth to it with notes of muscatel, molasses, sweet potatoes, and a tiny hint of distant flowers. The liquid is still sweet and rich, but it has a lightness where the leaves had depth. There are notes of sweet potatoes and scuppernongs with a finish of chocolate and flowers.

This is a Darjeeling to sip while lounging somewhere you can peacefully contemplate something, be it the tea you are sipping or your surroundings, or just the glories of cheese. It has that feeling when you sip it, the tea is a perfect companion for getting lost in thought because its journey through flavor notes is gentle. It starts with a rich molasses and sweet potato, after this the flavor turns light and sweet with a distinct note of golden raises and honey. The end has a cooling effect and a hint of loam with honey sweetness. Surprisingly I gave the rest of my sample to a friend who wanted more experience with Darjeeling, even though I wanted it all for myself I knew it was the perfect Darjeeling to use as either an introductory tea or one to get more experience with. My reasoning for this is it has the distinct notes associated with an Autumn Flush Darjeeling while having a reasonable price and very clear flavor notes. It is also good for experienced sippers because yum.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-cha-darjeeling-autumn-flush-2013.html

I’m surprised I am the first to review this tea, and this should be a little interesting because I’ve been developing a Gongfu brewing method for Darjeeling tea lately, so this tea was one of my Guinea pigs for that.

The first infusion is a honey-gold color with a sweet, mild flavor and a clean mouthfeel. There are slight aromas of oats and malt and the flavor is a nice all-around mellow sweet taste with very subtle hints of spice. The signature muscatel grape aroma that Darjeeling is known for is very present when smelling the wet tea leaves, but as of the first infusion, I’m not detecting it yet in the brewed tea.

The second infusion looks like a citrine crystal caught in sunlight. Now I can taste some floral notes and the muscatel that the leaves were hinting at and a little hint of tannin. There’s more depth and boldness to the flavor, but it is still overall sweet. there’s a lasting sweetness and tang on the tongue which accompanies the hint of dry texture from the tannins.

Third steeping is even richer in flavor. It’s become more difficult to describe but it is starting to taste more like a black tea with a bit more of the tannin and malt flavors and the accompanying sweetness more in the background. It has a very full mouth feel that feels heavy and thick in the mouth. There is very little dryness or bitterness in the finish.

The fourth steeping is very rich and mellow with notes of butter and oak along with the muscatel and subtle hints of floral. The fifth steeping is starting to mellow out some and has a similar flavor. I could keep going with this tea, and I imagine doing so will produce even mellower brews from here on out.

All in all this is a nice Darjeeling if you’re looking for something very thick and buttery feeling. That was the most prominent feature to me that I think would make this one appealing. It’s not quite as floral as some others I’ve had and the muscatel note is not as strong. It’s really sweet in a sort of honey-like way, rather than in a light way like nectar or sugar. There is very little drying or astringent quality to this tea. It leaves a long-lasting flavor in the mouth.