I just received several Arbor tea samples for evaluation and happen to be in the mood for Darjeeling today, so this one is up to bat. Before I get into the tea though, I want to mention their packaging – the samples are in biodegradable, opaque cellulose bags. I like that there is one less piece of plastic to worry about resulting from my tea habit.
The dry leaf really runs the range of colors, from green to medium brown to dark brown, in nice size chunks. The smell of the leaf is really rich, with fruit, grass, and the characteristic muscatel all present.
The steeping parameters recommend a slightly lower temperature and shorter steeping time than regular black tea, so I’m giving it 3 minutes at 200 degrees. The resulting liquor is a very pretty clear medium-light orange/brown, and smells nice. Not whack you in the face strong, but an interesting mix of malt and fruit.
Taste – really good! There is a pronounced fruit juice element to it along with toasted bread, with the aftertaste moving towards dried apricot/peach. I’m getting a pleasing amount of astringency but no significant bitterness. I often put milk and sugar into Darjeeling and find that brings out the muscatel notes, but with this one I’m afraid that would cover up too much of the flavor I’m getting from it straight, so I’m going to leave well enough alone.
