Bungalow

I love Darjeeling.

Some years back, I received a beautiful tin that was filled with the tastiest Darjeeling. It was the first Darjeeling I ever experienced, and since that time, I’ve been trying to find a Darjeeling that compares. The tin has long since vanished in the “black hole” that is my art studio (don’t ask!) and the name of the company that distributed the tea has long since vanished from my memory. So I haven’t ever been able to restock my shelves with that exact brand.

However, I have found some suitable substitutes… that taste almost (if not just as) good as that first Darjeeling.

This is one such Darjeeling. It has a very pleasant muscatel essence to it – slightly spicy, musky/woodsy, with a pleasant, palate-cleansing astringency. Tannic, but not pushing the edge to bitter. Like a fine, dry wine.

Steven Smith rocks!

As I’ve noted before, until my senses return to full capacity, I won’t be offering a numeric rating to this tea – as it wouldn’t be fair. However, I do have enough of this tea to last me until I’m feeling better, at which time, I’ll rate it accordingly.

I’m not tasting fruit but toasty, nutty, buttery – YES. It’s Medium Brown in color and has a bit of a toasty after taste. This is a nice, average cup. I don’t think oversteeping/infusing would be wise…I think it may be bitter if over steeped/infused.

Thanks for the sample, Sara!

This one came in a nice sachet and was a decent cup of tea. Slightly astringent, brown in color with mild flavors of the breakfast tray: buttered toast and a tiny bouquet of wildflowers. I wouldn’t buy it, just because there are so many other darjeelings out there I love more (I miss the big floral, big orange-squash flavors), but it hits the spot well enough.

This tea reminds me of warm, buttered toast on a crisp fall day.