85

I’ve been having mixed feelings about Darjeelings lately. I’ve been sampling a lot of them, and some I really like, and some are more of a miss, but I’ve been finding a common thread amongst them has been a kind of ashy, char, mineral note, which I’ve not been wild about.

This one fortunately is a bit different. There’s still a distinctive Darjeelingness to it, but it’s primarily got a lovely, sweet muscatel flavour, with just a hint of minerality. I catch a wisp of citrus on the finish, but it’s incredibly subtle and brief.

All in all a very tasty Darjeeling. Interesting, that Darjeeling oolongs and blacks seem undifferentiated to me. Though perhaps, given the less than complete oxidation of Darjeeling blacks, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Flavors: Citrus, Mineral, Muscatel

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 7 OZ / 207 ML

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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