Pure Darjeeling Tea

Sorry about the absence, Steepster! My laptop’s video card overheated, so I’ve been more or less without a way to update. (Because I sure as hell don’t want to write these posts on a touch screen with no mobile app!)

Anyway, this was on sale and I’m out of darjeeling, so I went for it. It smells pretty good for what I paid, which was two bucks. The scent doesn’t remind me too much of actual darjeeling. More like the standard fodder we make into sweet tea here in the south. As for steeping, I went with the preparation that was recommended on the envelope. Two minutes seems like a pretty short time, but by the end of that second minute, it looked nice and dark. This leads me to wonder if I could get a second steep from each bag. Hmmm.

The flavor is pretty solid, but not as strong as I expected. It’s satisfying, but a bit mild and dull. Next time, I’ll probably go with a longer steep time. It’s also very astringent. As for muscatel, you can kinda taste it in the finish, but otherwise, this is pretty generic black tea. Oh well, it’ll taste good over ice.

Backlog from Christmas day!

My mom happened to have a spare bag of this at the house and I really wanted a plain black so we fired up her new kettle (I bought her the Cuisinart variable one) and gave it a shot.

It was good for what it was – a bit bland, but I was glad to have something hot to drink. I remember a definite honeyed smell that did carry over slightly into the taste, but overall I really prefer a stronger, maltier black.

Ah well- it makes me happy to be back home with my regular cupboard!

A really good blended bagged Darjeeling. Makes excellent iced tea. Does not get bitter. Sharp and snappy with some muscatel and astringency. Much better than many alleged Darjeelings on the supermarket shelves. (Twinings, I’m glaring at you.) Utterly dependable. One of my go-to teas.

Also forgives a long steep.

This is my second time trying this. I like the taste. With this steeping time, it was on the edge of being bitter, but not quite. I like Darjeeling a little strong, but although I like this tea, it lacks something that other Darjeelings have. I can’t quite place it. It just seems a little bland, but still good.

This is not the most horrible bagged tea I’ve had. It’s actually pretty palatable compared to some I’ve had but it also doesn’t ‘wow’ me. I might buy it again if I were stuck with nothing else.

I prefer heavy, malty teas & like Darjeelings (at least the ones I’ve tasted) only in the afternoons when I’m at the office & don’t have milk. This one is really good: neither bitter nor excessively astringent, some aroma, and a nice lingering aftertaste. I’m guessing on the water temperature since I use the hot water from our cooler. I found it at Big Lots for $2 a box — a steal.

This is a bagged tea product with two unusual characteristics: (1) the bags are not folded over and stapled like most other bagged black teas in the U.S. (2) each bag contains an unusually generous amount of tea.

And it is a rich, mellow tea. Really very good. The flavor is very plain. The brew is neither spicy, nutty, tangy nor sweet. But the quality of this tea is uncompromising for a bagged tea. Good with milk or without.

The bags are individually foil-wrapped, and have strings.