Huh, I thought I had posted about this…
I’ve definitely had it before.
Anyway, as many of you may already know, I don’t actually care much for Darjeeling. I find it too finicky to brew and too prickly and grassy in flavour. I honestly don’t understand all the Darj. hype. I can only imagine that once upon a time somebody somewhere did some excellent marketing.
So when I was given 100g of this along with 100g of EG (sigh), it was accepted with as sincere a smile as I could muster and a secret thought that it would be exclusively for the husband, as he doesn’t dislike it as much as I do.
For the sake of thoroughness and openmindedness and what have you, I did try a cup of it though. This is the one I thought I had posted about, but apparently hadn’t. I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoyed it, but it wasn’t totally offensive either. I think I would say it was probably worth around 70-75 points, and drinkable. The things that I dislike about Darjeeling weren’t standing out so much.
This may be a question of leaf quality. The bag has no information on it at all regarding origin, so I assume we’re talking about a blend of several estates. This also makes me suspect that it’s a somewhat lower leaf quality than the FFs Darj-lovers happily shell out small fortunes for every year. The bag doesn’t even have any information regarding leaf grading on it.
So hot, it turned out surprisingly drinkable.
On a whim I tried putting some in the fridge for a cold brew last night and I have tasted the result this morning. It’s quite weak in flavour with a smidge of that prickly grassyness that I associate with Darj and don’t much care for. However, in a cold brew it doesn’t seem to bother me as much, probably because the flavour of the tea itself is so very, very delicate.
I wouldn’t say it was like drinking a glass of cold brewed tea really. It doesn’t really taste like something that is easily identified as tea unless you know about it. It’s more like drinking a glass of cold water with just a little bit of flavouring to it to make it interesting to drink. Not very different from how you can make a jug of ice water more intersting and refreshing to drink by tossing in a slice of lemon.
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Like you, I always find First Flush Darjeelings a disappointment and can’t understand the hype. I have to say that I’ve had some enjoyable Second Flushes, though. It might be worth not giving up on them quite yet. Well, except for that cut grass\new-mown lawn note, perhaps – that does seem to be a fairly regular flavour note and if you particularly dislike it …
Yeah, I can’t get to terms with that grass note really. But this one works in a cold brew, and if Darj will consistently work in cold brews, then there’s hope for me yet. :)
I suppose I just prefer a more grainy flavour profile in my black tea.
By the way, I haven’t been around much for the last few weeks, so, here’s a belated congratulations and best wishes for the future to the both of you.
Thank you. :)
Like you, I always find First Flush Darjeelings a disappointment and can’t understand the hype. I have to say that I’ve had some enjoyable Second Flushes, though. It might be worth not giving up on them quite yet. Well, except for that cut grass\new-mown lawn note, perhaps – that does seem to be a fairly regular flavour note and if you particularly dislike it …
Yeah, I can’t get to terms with that grass note really. But this one works in a cold brew, and if Darj will consistently work in cold brews, then there’s hope for me yet. :)
I suppose I just prefer a more grainy flavour profile in my black tea.
By the way, I haven’t been around much for the last few weeks, so, here’s a belated congratulations and best wishes for the future to the both of you.
Thank you. :)