First Flush Darjeeling Jungpana FTGFOP 1

Oh my goodness!!! so light, so different, so delicate… so tasty…
I think I may have used a little too much leaf or perhaps not enough water as it’s a little bitter, but otherwise, this goes so far beyond my expectations, I’m not sure where it lands!
Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the “woodsy” flavour, but I find that with foods I generally dislike, the cream of the crop will still be amazing for me. Licorice candy, for instance. I always disliked it, but then had some gourmet version of it, and wow, it blew me away.
That is how I feel about this tea.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I “enjoy” woodsy teas, but there you have it.
Oh, and I know it’s terrible of me, but I tried half a cup with milk and I daresay I loved that even more! the fine, light and meadowy characteristics still come out, only it’s also milky.
I could drink this all day. No tea has ever given me such pleasure!
If it was a tad maltier, that would push it up to 100 for me… that, and perhaps more controlled water temperature.
ya can’t have everything right? There has to be something left to dream for…

I seem to question my rating of this tea every time I make it, as the first steep is definitely not that good. I assume I just haven’t found the right way to make it proper yet… it always ends up bitter, but I’ll keep trying. But then, before I lower the rating, I steep for a 2nd time, and boom! It strikes me! This tea is heaven! The 3rd steep is also pretty good, but the 2nd is definitely pure bliss. And so, once again, I will not lower the rating!

I bought 10g of this today…

I can really smell the mushroom as it steeps and my poor gag-reflex is working over time, but I will prevail! I will taste this! and worst comes to worst I know a co-worker who would kick ass for what is left of this bag. So blessedly I am not worried about waste!

I think I may have over steeped this, by accident… The flavour is such a “superman punch” to the face I almost lost some teeth on impact! That being said….: I LIKEY!! I think I just might have to add this one to my list of blacks that are must have on shelves!!

It is good and defiantly a “treat” tea since it is only a once a year thing.

Bravo DAVIDsTEA!! I’ve been longing to try a Darjeeling first flush since I got a taste of my first (tea) love Margaret’s Hope second flush and discovered the many estates and varieties that exist. And just the other week I was reading the DarjeelingTeaXpress blog and store website where they have some of this very tea for sale (about the same price) along with some lovely pictures of the estate. (found here: http://www.darjeelingteaxpress.com/products/2011-Darjeeling-First-Flush-Jungpana-Black-Tea.html)

And now for the tea! A rich sweet aroma followed by an equally sweet and delicious liquor – hardly a touch of astringency but with that characteristic darjeeling flavour – yum!!

It was so funny, because I really just walked into the store to buy some Buttered Rum (currently the top rated tea on Steepster!!), and one of the workers recognized me and said “Hey, I have something for you! Darjeeling first flush!” Nearly knocked me off my feet! Haha..

I received my DT order this morning just in time to make this for my morning tea.

The leaves dry looked quite green, mixed with dark, and smelled delectably fresh and grassy. It turned out to be lovely, as expected. Very smooth, lightly astringent, light but rounded. It had a really nice sweetness, and I was getting some floral from it. Yum! I was hoping it wouldn’t stand out too much, discouraging me from buying more.

Another $1 Straight tea, on the recommendation of the sales girl…

First steep: I think I left the bag in a touch too long because as lovely as this is there’s a bitterness that lingers on my tongue. Oops.

Second steep: Much improved from the first steep: earthy, smooth, slightly floral, and very much a “Darjeeling”. There’s just something about that flavour that one can’t quite describe.

Third steep: Not as flavourful as the first or second, but still steepable!

The leaf is a beautiful mix of green and dark…steeped, it loves to unfurl freely in the pot. Do not trap this leaf in a ball or bag, allow it room to move. It is medium and small broken pieces once fully steeped.
The liquor is golden and the aroma distinctly the woodsy, earthy Darjeeling.
It has the flavour of dark truffles, and lingers on the back of the tongue.
Enjoy this brew without milk or other adornments, as it deserves your full attention.

I think this is my first darjeeling. It’s definitely my first FTGFOP 1, so I was very excited to try this tea! To be honest, I already made one cup of this and it was much too bitter for my tastes. I adjusted the steep time and water temp to my tastes (195F @ 3min seems to keep most black teas from getting bitter in my experience). I’m not sure how well this tea does in multiple steeps but I’m hoping the second cup lives up to the reviews!

I really liked the smell of my second brew – a delicate orange touch. But as I drink it, it still has this odd burnt/bitter taste to me, but that may be because my first infusion was with water at 205F. This tea isn’t as smooth as I would like and I find myself thinking I would rather have a cup of golden monkey. I am going to hold off on rating until I brew a first cup but at this point I’m kind of disappointed. However, I’m ready to admit my role in brewing this tea and to keep adjusting until I find something that works better. I have to believe this tea is as good as other say it is!

Clean, mellow, solid plain tea

Awesome te

Is it worth $15 for 50g? YES, very much so. Liquid gold! Was this year better than last or vice versa? Let me know if you’ve tried Jungpana Darjeeling from previous seasons.