Second Flush Darjeeling

I’ve flip-flopped over whether I was ever going to try David’s straight teas. I mean, I’ve always intended to, but I can never quite get my mouth to name any of the classics, when it has the option to say something like Bamboozled. As much as I admire my fellow Steepsterites who can actually taste and describe all the aspects of a straight tea, I do not have such distinguished taste.

Me likes me sprinkles

In all honesty, for me, the true appeal of Davids Tea has always been their jazzy flavors with the quirky little names. It’s just too difficult for me to ask for something classic when I can try something called Kiwi’s Big Adventure, Big Apple, or Cookie Dough. Every time I plan a trip to DT, I tell myself that I’m going to try at least one of their straight teas just to see what it’s like. But once I get in the store, I lose all focus and before I know it I’ve ordered a counter full of fun flavors and I eventually leave with nary a straight tea in sight. Seriously, sometimes I have the attention span of…

…

…whoops! Sorry, got distracted…

..Where was I? Oh yes! So Davids Tea had a $1 deal for their single serving packets of straight teas. It was as if that deal was catered to make me finally bite the bullet and give ‘em a go. I think I bought about 4-5 different types, and this is the first one I’ve tried so far. Just as I suspected, I get far more steeps out of this tea than I would out of my fun teas. And it really does taste delicious, it’s fresh and traditional. It tastes like fancy, you know, if fancy had a taste.

If I can manage to maintain focus for long enough during a future trip to David’s Tea, in the sea of jazzy fun-time teas, I would definitely repurchase this one. It’s tasty, it’s classic, and it’s a great option for my guests who are overwhelmed by the crazy flavors in my tea cupboard and ask “don’t you have any normal tea”. I’m sure they mean the commonplace bagged stuff, but if I serve this to them, I’m sure no one will complain.

This sample was from a swap with Cavocorax. This is only my second time trying Darjeeling but I think I may like this stuff a lot.

The dry leaves smelled of honey and malt, and the cup tastes of smooth, bright honey, malt, and “summer woods”. I ate some Greek honey yogurt right before drinking the tea, so the honey may be enhanced and the briskness toned down to an afterthought in this particular cup. Or maybe the tea is enhancing the honey from the yogurt. Either way, creamy yogurt and this cup seem to be good companions.

Darjeeling usually smells a little of hay to me, in all the times I’ve sniffed the stuff in stores, but today it’s not that strong in this one. It’s still there but not blatantly obvious. Maybe that’s the yogurt again. Super tasty stuff, anyways.

side note: The David’s Tea sample packet that the tea was in said to steep this for five minutes but I’m too much of a weakling for that and steeped it a minute under. I also dumped the whole packet into a 24oz pot and filled it right to the top. Messy, imprecise prep.

Dry Leaf Nose: Refreshing forest air. Woodsy with mushroom notes, cooling.

Liquor: Brown (dark honey type – 2nd flush) clear with a bright, spicy and woodsy aroma.

Flavour: Semi bright with a mild astringency, this Darjeeling captures the essence of the mountain region in which it’s grown. Woodsy, hardwood flavours of fresh mushroom and meadow flowers. Some honey notes with a delicate and fresh earthy character.

1 tsp for 250mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

RICH.

Lots of muscatel in the aroma, which is great. David’s Darjeeling had really disappointed me, being all earth and twig with not a hint of muscat, which, for me, is what makes Darjeeling tea so special. I only used 1 tsp instead of the recommended 1.25, because I’ve only got a little sample pack here and want to stretch it out. No fear: this Darjeeling is quite rich and fresh and easily forgives some skimping. Liquor is dark copper with gold. Aroma is redolent with muscat, as noted, and wood. Some honey and florals in the taste, a fair bit of earth — unusual for a Darjeeling, even a second flush. Dry leaves look a bit twiggy but also very tippy. I love Darjeeling and can be quite snooty about it, declining this estate over that. This one is really friggin good, provided you like the stronger second flushes. And muscat.

Tried this one with the beau a few days back and forgot to log a note – I remember being pleasantly surprised with the quality initially but finding it become bitter as time went on despite careful steeping. The falvour and aroma were rich and earthy, but the finicky nature of the tea didn’t endear itself to me. Will try again with the rest of our sample later on, at the moment I wouldn’t feel the need to restock it. I could certainly live without it, there was nothing remarkable going on.

I own David’s Darjeeling and enjoy it, so I grabbed two samples of this for comparison.

It’s dark and musky, soft and smooth, slightly sweet and very earthy. It smells like a walk in the woods after the rain has stopped.

I’m drinking it in my forest mug too! I can’t tell if it’s better than the other Darjeeling but I do like it.

“One minute you’re defending the whole galaxy, and, suddenly, you find yourself sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette… and her little sister.” -Buzz Lightyear (I quote this because every time I mention “Darjeeling” my husband busts out this line from Toy Story. Every. Single. Time)

Now this is a Darjeeling!

In fact, I was so excited by this tea that I made my husband take a couple sips in order for him to “taste the Darjeeling-ness”. His verdict: “Not bad for dirty water” (He’s a coffee + rooibos drinker) and with more prompting, “Yeah, it does taste better than Red Rose or Tetley.”

My verdict: fresh and surprisingly light for a Darjeeling! It dances on my tongue in a way that only a Darjeeling can, rich, mildly astringent, with a woodsy/vegetal finish that reminds me of drinking tea with my Gramma. This is a tea that would make a tea party complete, even one with Buzz Lightyear or Gramma.

I can’t remember the last time I had a darjeeling outside of a breakfast blend, but this is the epitomy of the flavor I think of when I think “breakfast tea”: A little sweet, slightly bitter and tannic, just barely earthy, and almost fruity. No overly dry aftertaste.

I took this straight this morning because I’ve been trying to really taste my teas, but I do think this would have been improved with just a touch of honey and/or lemon. It did the trick of waking me up when I was stiff and sore this morning after my track workout last night. I didn’t want to mooooooove!

Hmm. This is the first “plain” regular old tea of Davidstea that I have tried,
I had two other darjeelings in my life, Twinings and a random bag of Darvilles of Windsor, which seemed pretty fancy.

I actually think I prefer the Twinings over DT’s Darjeeling, but I can’t recall if the Twinings is “second flush” or not, I guess that makes a difference. EDIT ok, so I just looked up the ratings of the Twinings version and I guess it sucks?? I will have to do a taste test at some point, as I said I’m really not qualified to rate Darjeelings, so take this review as you will :) *

I steeped it as per the directions, and I did a second steep which was not as good as the first but definitely doable.

I am far from a connoisseur of darjeelings, (or even breakfast blends and such classic staples), but I think this one was pretty good. I don’t feel it is a tea I would keep stocked, I only bought it as a sample pack on sale for 50 cents. My opinion is biased as I definitely prefer the more flavorful dessert teas over ones like this. Maybe I will come back to this in the future with more experience and more insight :)

This is… so good. Thank you Stephanie for the sample, I finally got around to it. Second flush > first flush. This is just so fruity! Like strawberry and lychee. There’s a small amount of floral. I have a couple of first flush darjeelings in the cupboard and this blows them all away. More bold, more fruit, mo’ flava.

I’m drinking this lovely darjeeling and previewing books about tea… Paradise!! :D

I got this last week with my order. While it does not set fireworks for me, it is a very tasty tea, delicate and earthy. Definitely something I like to have in stock. I love having it straight up or with additions of sort. For example yesterday I had it with some lavender… Oh it was good!!

Today I added some white chocolate and vanilla bean and then a splash of milk… Mmmmm… exquisite!

Well, my quest today has been to tick off as many straight blacks as I can. Third one of the day. Hopefully I can fit in 2 more (I do have a late night of studying ahead). I chose this one because I wanted to determine if it was the Darjeeling in David’s Organic Breakfast that I wasn’t liking.

It smells great – like a black tea haha.

Oh my. That flavour is very distinct. And unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me. Though I’m also not sure if that’s what was bothering me in David’s Organic Breakfast. Hmm. I’ll have to ponder on that as I finish this cup.

I’m finally trying a Darjeeling!

This one I definitely get the mushroom and floral parts. It’s a nice strong black tea. I’m really liking it. I added milk and sugar, and it seems to be very nice. I didn’t add too much sugar though. I didn’t want to overdo it. I’m not much of a mushroom fan, but I like this tea and how it has that flavour to it. This is one that I wouldn’t be able to drink too much.

Sample package label:
“This Darjeeling is a bright, woodsy and earthy, with notes of honey, fresh mushrooms and meadow flower. Parve.
1.25 teaspoon, 98*C (208*F), 5 min.”

Per http://www.davidstea.com/second-flush-darjeeling?&TF=77477126A52D&DEID=:
“Darjeeling is known as the “champagne” of teas: if it doesn’t come from India’s Darjeeling region, you aren’t allowed to use the name. That might be why the best Darjeelings taste just like the mountains they were grown on. While the first leaves in the spring tend to be delicate and almost green in flavour, second flush Darjeelings generally have a richer, darker taste. This one is bright, woodsy and earthy, with notes of honey, fresh mushrooms and meadow flowers – like a forest getaway in a cup.

Ingredients
Second flush Darjeeling tea (grade FTGFOP 1) from Darjeeling, India.

How to prepare
1 tsp / 98°C / 208°F / 5 min”

Heated to 212*F and allowed to cool to 208*F – verified with DAVIDsTEA digital thermometer
Steeped the entire 5 g tea sample in 12-oz for 5 minutes, then poured two six ounce servings.

Tasted without sweeteners, milk or cream.

The tea had a light woodsy/earthy fragrance.

Amber brown hue

First Infusion – 5-min:
This tea a light woodsy/earthy fragrance. It’s a full-bodied tea without any bitterness and a clean fresh finish. There was a slight but pleasurable hint of astringency.
2nd Infusion – 6-min:
A tad less full-bodied, with a slight trace of astringency but just as enjoyable as the first cup.
3rd Infusion – 7-min:
Too weak for an enjoyable 3rd infusion.

Impression: An excellent, full-bodied tea without any bitterness, a mild pleasurable astringency and a clean fresh finish. Well Done!

Thanks to DAVIDsTEA for providing this free sample.

This is my first ever Darjeeling and it WILL NOT be my last. The more black tea I have drank the more I am starting to really enjoy it. I bought this as a sample on my last trip to davids tea. It was at the cash register and I figured for a dollar why not try it. I am sooo glad I did. Very earthy. Someone mentioned it smelling like the forest after it rains and thats a good description(not the wormy after rain smell, the fresh smell). I actually steeped it again after the first cup as I was soo impressed and my wife had a sip and really liked it as well. cannot wait to buy some of this on my next trip to David’s!!!!

EDIT: I have since been to Davids and bought a full tin of this tea!!! its my ‘go to’ morning tea and my wife really enjoys it as well. No milk or sweetner….just straight up and I love it!!

So this tea I bought a sample of it from DT for 50cents since it was part of the boxing day sale that they had. I think I may try and get a few more of these because I rather quite liked it. I have been reading up on tea and tasting stuff, and I would say that this tea was a paradox for me. I didn’t completely love it, but I didn’t hate it either. So it made me enchanted and confused at the same time. This tea is definitely a darker black tea with a woodsy/ earthy kind of taste. And then there was a mysterious kind of sweetness to it… I’ll have to drink it again to get a better understanding of that flavour. I also found that I may have steeped it too long because I got a kind of bitter, yet not overly bitter taste from it. It will definitely need a second tasting to give it its justice. Next time I will steep this one at home as opposed to out on the go… so that I may see the colour of the tea.

I don’t eat mushrooms so I don’t really get the woodsy notes from this one… but despite having a box of Tetley in my tea cupboard, this is the first straight tea I’ve had since getting into loose leaf tea in June. It’s a nice, smooth tea that… well, sort of reminds me of Tetley. I think I’ll probably be getting more of this one, since I just bought the $1 sample they had.

I got a little sample packet for 50 cents at Davids, and I’m glad I chose this tea. It’s very light, and really good. I don’t know a whole lot about different black teas, but I know that I like this one and will probably get more of it.

This is a very easy to drink black tea. It’s not too bitter and it has a lot of flavour. I’m curious to compare it to first flush darjeeling.

Not as smooth as Nepal Black, a little more astringent, goes nicely with milk and sugar. A warm, almost toasted smell.