Giddapahar Darjeeling Extra Special

I’m working from home today because of the blizzard here in NYC, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to try out a few new teas. Although most of my tea drinking happens at work, I don’t like to try anything for the first time there since I’m not able to be too careful with my parameters.

Anyway, this tea has been sitting forlornly in my box of untried teas for longer than I care to think about… actually, I’m pretty sure I picked it up during Stacy’s birthday sale. This has the usual first flush herbal/grassy thing going on, but it’s not as strong—or as off-putting—here as they are in many Darjeelings I’ve tried.

I’m getting the hint of lemon mentioned in the description, and, I think, also the almond. There is that trademark Darjeeling fruitiness, but it’s nothing I’d especially associate with either peaches (well, perhaps under-ripe, slightly sour ones—and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible) or blackberries, I don’t think. There’s a bit of astringency, which is a plus for me as far as Darjeelings go.

Even though I’m usually not the biggest fan of first flushes, I’m really enjoying this! It’s definitely a tea I’ll consider restocking next time I place a Butiki order.

Thank you Stacy for this sample!

This darjeeling has a nice light floral aroma. Initially the taste hits me as vegetal then transitions to a light floral taste that I associate with darjeeling. The finish has a moderate astringency.
This tea hits me as being a mix of green tea and darjeeling.
The more I sip the more prominent the vegetal notes. This one isn’t really to my liking.

Hay, jasmine, woody and a touch of almond and maybe some peach and it is astringent. Gets better half way through the cup, seems milder and more of the almond notes come out as the temperature cools.

Thanks so much for the sample Stacy. Although I wouldn’t say that any Darjeeling falls in my top ten, I like to keep them in the rotation, and this is very nice. I need more tastings before I rate it, but I like it. It is refreshing and bright with layers and nuances. It has a very very low astringency and a delicate floral flavor that lingers.

Like another Steepster mentioned in a review for this one, lately I’ve been leaning towards not saving my premium teas for special occasions—I’d rather drink them whenever the mood strikes (and gosh, I have enough of them!). Though I suppose today was sort of special in that my husband returned to work after a dreamy, fantastic summer where we did all the things we’ve ever wanted to (including travel through nearly 20 states! 4 separate trips, only 1 of which involved flying, complete with weddings, meeting people in person for the first person I’ve known online for years, hiking, camping, swimming, deserts, ocean, great lakes, mountains, history, cemeteries, speakeasies, tea gardens, public nudity, 1 trip involving driving through 11 states in 11 days, what else…and food. Lots and lots of glorious regional food, high and humble, yum!) but kept putting off (this was the year, in the face of potential impending doom re: teaching). I knew we’d both need some TLC this evening so after dinner we ate slabs of pound cake with fresh blueberries and just relaxed, and for me relaxing post-dinner means special tea. Calm before the storm!

This is a surprising darjeeling for me. The initial brewed aroma is quite almondy which gives it a kind of rich heft I’m not accustomed to with darjeelings, and then there’s a lot of greenness (by the way, the leaves dry and steeped look more like green tea than black to my uneducated eyes…they’re pretty, but then I tend to think all leaves beyond CTC are). It feels much more like a Chinese tea in that respect, and skimming the site notes I see the plants did originate in China. As it cools a bit, more familiar woody notes come in (and they’re oh so lovely), floating above the ever-present-if-somewhat-receding heavy food-y, almost savory nutty greenness. Quite unusual for me, very enjoyable. If you are someone who likes all of the nuance, drinks-like-a-meal heft, and delicate perfume-y elements of Chinese tea and are generally wary of darjeelings (seems a common profile here), this might serve as a nice bridge. As a darjeeling freak/fiend, I would’ve been disappointed if the stuff I love about them—that unique woody astringency that gives way to refreshing sweetness!—didn’t show up here, but it does, and just gets fuller and more wonderful lingering on the tongue. It’s a bit like a best of both worlds situation.

That sweetness just gets more and more interesting once the cup’s empty and it settles in your mouth. It reminds me a lot of, bear with me here, the particular vegetal sweetness of the heart of a steamed artichoke as well as the residual aroma from the steam. That might sound gross to some, but it’s marvelous. How uncanny. (And how much simpler for me to enjoy this way, ha.)

I’m interested in preparing this more lightly next time to see if Stacy’s notes about blackberries and lemon (yum) come out. Either way though, a very enjoyable, filling but nuanced cup.

Thankyou for the free sample Butiki!

This Darjeeling has a very soft, sweet smell. Not very exciting, but certainly pleasant. In fact, the tea tastes like it smells. It’s floral, clean and leaves a dry aftertaste. Very good. 10/10

Ohh I so enjoyed this Darjeeling! I was so sad when my cup was empty! I actually said that out loud! I got all the sweet juicy notes and left such a great taste in my mouth. This was a sample I received and will have to order this one!

Sample from teamore! Thank you kindly.
For starters, I’m not fond of astringency to tea. It’s a huge turn-off to me when I’m trying a new tea. I understand that yes, it doesn’t necessarily mean I steeped it too long, or used water that was too hot, or that there’s some fault in the tea itself. But personally, I don’t enjoy it. Anyway, moving on…
(first steep at three minutes)
The astringency in this cup is very distracting for me. I try to see past it. The more I drink the more I can pick out certain flavors: berry, citrus, floral. A slight creaminess and a vague sweetness. It tastes very green to me somehow. And the citrusy sweet aftertaste it leaves in my mouth is really pleasant, but as I said, it is VERY hard for me to pick it apart from the astringency, even if it is mild. I’m really sensitive to it. It could still be my fault; I didn’t wait very long after heating water to near-boiling….okay, I’m trying this again. Second steep here we go. I’m really hoping it was an error on my part.
(second steep at four minutes)
Astringency has stepped off a bit. It’s juicy and it dries my mouth a little. I’m getting more of the creamy-floral notes underscored by citrus. Still, this is not likely to be a tea that I find myself wanting more of in the future. I have enough to experiment a little more, thankfully, as I will. I just don’t think this is to my taste.
Thanks again teamore! I am still glad I had the chance to try this.

Tea #36 from Considering a new TTB
There are a lot of flavors going on in this tea and I can’t quite sort out how I feel about it. I wish there had been more of this in the TTB so I could have a few more cups and get a handle on how I feel about it. I definitely prefer the second steep of this over the first. The first was quite astringent for my tastes, but the second was sweet, almost fruity tasting with a lot less astringency. I did enjoy this, but not enough for me to order it the next time I cave and place a huge order with Butiki. I haven’t ordered from Stacy in quite some time, so perhaps I’ll break down and place a huge birthday order.

This tea will not be continuing on, I finished off the last of it.

Sipdown of this great sample from keychange this morning.

Even as it cools, it seems to get better and better. I’m intrigued now. I plan on trying every first flush Darjeeling from Butiki. The hay flavour in teas seems to get me. Once I have it, I must always have it. White Rhino had the same effect with the hay quality.

Thanks keychange!

P.S. My non-tea drinking friend sent me this last night. I thought it was pretty funny. http://s770.photobucket.com/user/courtneyns/media/Steepster/tea_zps66db2496.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0