Makaibari 1st Flush Darjeeling 2011

I received this – my first ever straight Darjeeling – from Angrboda. Thank you so much!
Dry: floral with a little bit of almost juicy red berry. Definitely sweet smelling.
Liquor (3min): Beautiful coloured tea which reminds me of fuzzy peaches for some reason. It smells so good. I can’t even describe it… thoughts of a red gummy bear pop into my head. As for taste – I do not detect any astringency, instead I get a lovely berry.. huckle berry? I think so. It is quite mild with a hint of tang…much like a huckle berry.
This is rather floral though at the same time. It started to develop after the first few sips and now takes residence in the mid/late taste, with initial flavours being berry, then perhaps a lemony citrusy step into the floral.

Interesting and complex tea. I will try a resteep. I am so thankful this wonderful tea was my first introduction to Darjeelings. I may have to try more.. I’m intrigued. Thanks again Angrboda!

The first tea I tried from the August Steepster box.

Tea of the morning…. I am not that experienced with Darjeelings, but this one is good and smooth, even plain, for this not-usually-plain-tea-drinker. The leaves are green and brown, the liquor is amber colored. I do get the light astringency mentioned in the description. I will be interested to see what everyone else thinks of this one….

24 oz teapot, 4 1/2 actual tsp tea, 3 minutes with boiling water. No additions.

Another tea from the Steepster Select August box that dear Ricky sponsored for me.

I was in the mood for this. I’m not sure why, I just was. It’s weird because I’m not actually a Darjeeling fan at all. I tend to find the grassy, spicy notes rather too prickly and sharp. I used to really appreciate it, but things change.

But today this was really nice. Of course I do have that sour aftertaste now which is making me contemplate what tea to have next to make it go away with, but otherwise it just really hit the spot. Possibly because it wasn’t really all that offensively strong on those aforementioned prickly sharp notes of grass and spice.

My first tasting of the teas that were sent out in the Steepster Select box this month.

This is a decent Darjeeling. Certainly not the best one I’ve ever tasted, but it’s a good one. It’s a bit different than some Darjeeling teas that I’ve tried, it has a bitter note about mid-sip that then transcends into an astringent tangy note. Not unpleasant, just different. It has a really nice fruit tone, and a beautiful wine-like note toward the tail end of the sip. It is a pleasantly complex Darjeeling. I like.

Second try from the Steepster Select box.

This is my first try at Darjeeling. It’s not bad, but it’s still a tad more bitter than I would have liked. This could be my fault however as I think I miscalculated when I began steeping! I will try this one again though.

The second tea I tried from the August Steepster box. It’s a delicious darjeeling. Slightly green and floral. A little bit astringent. I try to under-steep this one to avoid bitter notes. Very nice overall. I could see drinking this on a regular basis. Not much flavor on the second steep.

Fresh out of the Steepster box, this too was the first tea I tried a cup of. I have had dragon pearls before and wasn’t in the mood for ginger.

The color I got was a great light honeyed brown at a steep time of 3m15s. I feel that the brew time is pretty spot on, getting a light tannin on the finish, leaving some nice mouth watering, but not so tannic that it is unpleasant.

As far as smell and sight I’m still learning more about properly evaluating and describing them. I had this with no sugar or additives. It was very mellow on the front and side of the tongue indicating not much sour or sweet tastes to it. There was a brief honey scent on the nose with some grassy and earth aromas.

The scent of this is delicious. Honey and something elusive.

The flavor is very, very different from the smell. It is intensely floral almost to the point of tasting like perfume… there’s a slight acrid tone to it. None of the sweetness of the smell transfers over. The finish isn’t particularly pleasant.

It’s one I’m tempted to add Agave Nectar to, to sweeten it, and I rarely ever add anything to my tea. Not big on this one at all.

Like the other notes, this is the first tea I am trying from the August Steepster Select box. I haven’t had many Darjeeling teas, but I am enjoying this tea. There is a slight drying quality mixed with the floral taste that balance each other. At the end there is a slight earthy nature. Definitely a tea I will be making another cup of.