I really think I have been feeling UNDER caffeinated today, not enough tea obviously so I set out to remedy that this afternoon.
Here’s another first flush sampler from Upton. When spring arrives my thoughts turn to first flush darjeeling and shincha, evidently. :)
I steeped this up in a new glass teapot (wonder how long it will take to break this, ha!). Upton claims you can steep this at 212F but I was skeptical so I went for around 205.
The tea liquor is a beautiful dark yellow and right away I am flooded with a ton of flowery aromas in the nose. I’m not so good at picking out the scents of flowers. Is it magnolia, is it gardenia? Who knows. Whatever it is, it’s freaking awesome.
I’m also reminded a bit of pineapples here. Pineapples and honey. A sweet nectar-like infusion with a mild astringency. Definitely intoxicating! I might try to steep the rest of this sample at a slightly lower temp next time to see if I can kick out a bit of the astringency. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful and delicious tea.
I read recently that darjeelings have more in common with oolongs because unlike regular black tea, they are not fully oxidized. I concur. This tea is nothing like a black tea but there’s nowhere else to put it. Perhaps Steepster should add a new category for darjeelings.
