Darjeeling 2nd Flush 2014 Jungpana AV2 Yellow Tea

Sipdown (243)!

Finishing this one off after having had it in my cupboard for a long time.

Against my better judgement I actually followed the package directions to a tee this time: 95 degree Celsius water, four minute steep. Honestly, that seems way to hot to me for both a Darjeeling tea and a yellow tea, but what do I know?

Anyway, it was ok. Like other times I’ve drank this one it had the same sort of grassy and nutty combination of flavour, but it’s a bit more astringent than I’ve experienced with it before – almost to an unpleasant point. I mean, it’s totally tolerable but I’m not loving the dry mouthfeel here at all. Now, is that ’cause of the hotter water/long steep time? Probably? So, maybe I should have just trusted by gut.

Oh well, regardless I’m done with this one now and it’s not something I’m going to order again so it’s a bit of a mute point.

This is the other yellow tea that Sil sent to me.

I think I like the other one better. This one is a little bit too green for me and little too bitter. It’s more grass than hay.
Oh well happy to try it. Thanks Sil

This dry leaf smells strongly of new hay. The leaves are absolutely gorgeous. 3-4 shades of green and brown all coiling around each other. The taste almost reminds me of an unroasted oolong or moderately strong green. This is lightly roasty and mildly fermented. It is an extremely interesting tea that I would grab more of in the future.

Thanks so much for sharing this, KS!

I’ve had this one a couple times now and can honestly say that this is a darjeeling that i can get behind. It’s lacking that muscatel taste i don’t love…and there’s a sweetness here that is delicious. The last of this is off to Terri to try out since i know i owe her a few interesting teas to try heh

When you try this one use a clear glass teapot. The leaf filled mine with floating, hanging, and settled leaf. It was the best leaf display I have seen in a while.

This is my first yellow. It starts subtle with stone or possibly nutty notes, then is submerged under a wave of good bite. Quite a contrast. Your left smacking your lips and tasting lingering floral and vegetation.

The second mug found the subtle notes replaced with bolder notes that reminded me of biting into a raw white potato along with the sweetness of corn. This is again followed by the wave that withdraws leaving the vegetal aftertaste.

Complex and interesting. I love how each of the reviews here have interpreted it in different ways. That kind of reflects that complexity.

I have returned to being myself! Ok, I know that sounds weird, but several years ago I took my lip piercing and nose piercing out, for some reason, I honestly don’t remember why. I have missed it terribly and said a big YOLO and re-pierced them, nose a while ago and lip today. Something about having blue hair and piercings just makes me happy, but I have always loved that style, blame growing up in the 80s and 90s and wanting to be a glam rock princess from day one. Now the real debate, do I want any more piercings, there are several I want and can’t get (scar tissue on my belly, so no belly ring) and several that I think I would look really derpy with (like my septum and dimple piercings) but I think an extra eyebrow ring could look really cool. Also need to redo my ears for like the fifth time.

It is Wednesday, meaning it is time for the What-Cha Wednesday traditional review, what can I say, I love tradition, plus What-Cha keeps introducing me to fascinating teas and terroirs. Today’s tea Darjeeling 2nd Flush 2014 Jungpana AV2 Yellow Tea definitely fits into the fascinating category, it is from Jungpana Estate in Darjeeling, and is a 2nd Flush, but it is a little different. This is no black, oolong, or green Darjeeling, this is a yellow! It is hard enough to get a yellow tea from China, but having one from India, well, that is just like finding a treasure. Sadly my searching to find out more tasty info on this unusual tea was not the most fruitful, I did find out that it won an award for its 2013 harvest, so congrats to you tea. This tea’s aroma is pleasantly transportive, not that I can really figure out where it takes my mind, but I can say it is somewhere deep in my memories and very comforting, it makes me wistful. Emotional impact aside, the notes are peppery, distant blooming flowers, sweet muscadines, and a tiny touch of sweet, warm hay. It smells light and pretty, yes, it is a pretty smelling tea, mellow and delicate while being distinct.

The brewed leaves are surprisingly complex, presenting notes that I honestly was not expecting. There are notes of sweet hay, pepper…ok those are not surprising since they were present in the dry leaves. Orange blossoms is a pleasant surprise, since it just smelled like generic distant flowers before…but whoa, sea air and wet slate, that unexpected by quite fascinating. These last notes are at the finish and very faint, they add some interesting depth to the delicate tea, and oddly enough the smell of the wet leaves reminds me of the way Charleston smells, which is pretty awesome. The liquid without its leafy friends is delicate and sweet, like orange blossoms, orange blossom honey, and a touch of freshly mown hay.

Well, my mind is blown now. Seriously, there are too many things with this tea, just wow. Ok, to put it out in the simplest terms, it starts with fresh vegetation, lettuce, and pepper, this pretty immediately transitions to sweetness. There is a blend of orange blossoms, honey, and fresh hay. The finish is grapefruit, and then the most amazing thing happens. A few, I don’t really think it is seconds, at the most two seconds pass after you swallow the tea a floral explosion happened in my mouth. So, a little side story, at the Kauffman Gardens in Kansas City, there is an observatory filled with orchids and various citrus plants (along with ferns and palms, but they are not relevant to this story) when I was there in spring all the orchids and citrus trees were in flower, it was amazing. That is what is happening in my mouth, with an added nectar sweetness, it is mind blowing.

For blog and photos (including my fancy face :P ): http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-cha-darjeeling-2nd-flush-2014.html

This will be my first yellow tea.

I’m really enjoying the smell of the dried leaf – very strong notes of sweet hay, that remind me of farmland in autumn or being in a clean barn.

The liquor is a warm yellow, and there are notes of hay, malty sweetness and a hint of vegetal on the nose.

On the tongue it’s rich and nutty, sweet and malty, with hay, fresh corn and a hint of green grass. There’s a slight tang on the finish, and dry leaves.

This is beautiful, and a perfect tea for the beginning of autumn. It evokes cool breezes and warm, bright sun and being outdoors in the prairies, bundled up in warm clothes with pinking cheeks. So good.