Darjeeling Autumn flush 2014 Gopaldhara Red Thunder Gold

Fairly smooth on entry, with light malt and a mild fruitiness at the forefront. Faint notes of muscatel and wood are accompanied by slight astringency in the finish. This tea has delicate flavors and wasn’t as bold as expected.

Sooo I think this is the right tea. It has such a long name, lol. Anyway, I haven’t been doing many reviews lately because I feel kind of intimidated by everyone else’s eloquent reviews and kind of powerless to articulate what it is that I’m tasting in the tea. But I guess I’ll never get better without practicing . . .

I think this is the first real high-quality Darjeeling I’ve tried (most of the samples I’ve gotten over the past months have been Chinese tea) and I was worried I wouldn’t like the difference in flavor but apparently I really do. It somehow manages to be floral without being too astringent, and it’s great on its own or with milk and sugar. I didn’t steep it as long as recommended because it reached desired strength before that, which means it’ll probably be great for several steepings (though I haven’t got there yet). Of course, I don’t know how representative this is of other Darjeelings, so I guess I’ll have to look around for some more samples so I can compare them all. Thanks for sharing, JK7ray! :)

Now I just wish my neighbors would stop singing “eeeee” in such a pained tone of voice. I mean, what possible purpose can that serve? If it’s so important to sing “eeeee,” at least try to sound happy about it. Maybe I should go ahead and do some opera singing today just to make things even.

This was really nice — a very balanced darjeeling that’s sweet, and has a wonderful aroma. Opens up as it cools down.
Much nicer on first steep, I misjudged the timing a bit, so my second steep was a bit less flavorful.

I think I’m going to try a lower water temperature next time.

2 tsp tea, 10 oz water, 200 degrees, 3 minutes. This is the first time I’ve ever tasted a darjeeling tea, and I am loving it. Sweet, not bitter, grapes (skins too), and red wine. Apparently it’s quite caffeinated, so I’ll be bouncing all over my house tonight and probably cursing myself as I lay in bed wide awake at midnight. I regret that I did this in the evening because I wonder what the second infusion will be like. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow as I think this tea will likely become part of my daily morning ritual for awhile.

Today’s introductory paragraph shall be played by the ‘Hello my baby, hello my darlin’ hello my ragtime gallll’ Frog (or is it a Toad) from classic cartoons of yore. Basically as soon as you start paying attention to it, poof it is still, relaxed, and croaking contentedly. Basically I lack anything interesting to say and do not feel like complaining about my meds. So here, frog dance time!

It is time for my weekly coverage of a new tea from What-Cha, specifically Darjeeling Autumn Flush 2014 Gopaldhara Red Thunder Gold Black Tea, in honor of the steaming bowl of Jaipur Karhi I have sitting next to me, the most superior of canned curries, for those lazy days. This is a unique Darjeeling, not only is it plucked late in the year (hello Autumn Flush) it is grown at a high elevation, meaning it gets frosted over which causes the tea to wilt, starting the oxidation process while the leaves are still attached to the tea plant. This tea is only produced in limited quantities, this particular batch is more tippy than most, giving it more of that fuzzy gold that I adore. The aroma of these thunderous leaves (also apropos since we are under a perpetual flood and thunderstorm warning as of late) is soooo intense, would have knocked me off my feet I was not already sitting down. Very strong notes of roasted peanuts and acorn squash, then the intensity mellows out and notes of raisins, spicebush, black walnut shells, and lastly a delicate hint of sandalwood at the finish. This is a super aromatic tea, so be prepared!

Into ye old steeping apparatus the leaves go, and by steeping apparatus I mean lidless yixing teapot I use for later flush Darjeeling tea. Because why not? The aroma of the dark leaves is so sweet, strong notes of raisins and roasted peanuts with a distinctly floral and woody sandalwood finish. The liquid is heady without being floral (apparently that is a thing, or at least I perceive it so) strong sweet notes of yams, raisins, roasted peanuts and a finish of acorn squash. Yum.

Oh MAN this tea is freaking delicious! It is intensely rich and heavy, with a creamy mouth feel and a tiny hint of drying at the finish. The taste starts out as a not too sweet blend of loam, roasted peanuts, and squash, this transitions to a more sweet taste profile of squash blossoms (not something I run into often) raisins, and lily flowers. The finish is a malty blend of raisins and sandalwood, giving it a lingering aromatic aftertaste. Me thinks I am going to need this tea as a staple in my tea stash!

For blog and photos:
http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/06/what-cha-darjeeling-autumn-flush-2014.html

The dry leaves in a warm gaiwan smell nutty with a hint of cocoa. After the first infusion, the wet leaves smell like flowers and apples, just a touch of cocoa at the end.

The first infusion is really sweet and honey-like. There’s a hint of white grape and maybe orange. It’s subtle and smooth. The second infusion is much more floral tasting than the first, with a hint of the lingering white grape flavor as before. What’s really interesting about this tea is that it doesn’t taste like tea to me… It tastes like water sweetened with honey and infused with fruit. It’s kind of unique in that way. It is very clean and light, quite easy to drink.

I did a few infusions with this, brewing a bit longer each time. Even if I brewed it really long the flavor never became overpowering.. It was always floral, slightly fruity, not bitter at all.

What-Cha’s description says it reminds of red wine. I would have to say it reminds me more of a white wine (maybe because I brew it more lightly), something sweet like a Gewurztraminer.

This is liquid gold! I opened my package and reveled still fresh and downy gold and black buds. These leaves had a strong aroma of spiced honey and black currant. I brewed these aromatic beauties in my french press. The steeped leaves kept the spiced scent and gave up the sweets. My cup gave off the scent of a beautiful orchid. This brew tastes of sweet honey, muscatel, and white grapes. The liquor carries a dominate fruit tone alongside maple syrup. This was a perfect morning brew. I wish I had more of this.

https://instagram.com/p/0nJIVazGcl/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel