Backlogging and based on my memory and a few notes
Experience buying from Tea Trekker http://steepster.com/places/2820-tea-trekker-online-northampton-massachusetts
I bought four ounces of this back in the spring of 2011, and I have been brewing it off-and-on since then with temperatures a little lower than the ones I normally use for any other black tea.
I have had at least four Darjeelings to date. The first time I had this I thought it was harsh, but since then I have some to appreciate that distinctive muscatel flavor that seems to be characteristic of Darjeelings. Here is an interesting note about this tea: “I liked it better at room temperature.” I think the last time I brewed this one up I noticed a degradation in it’s flavor, so I hope to finish it up soon. It’s hard to say if I will buy any of these from Tea Trekker again; I may instead try a few samples from Upton or order a Darjeeling from H&S that my wife and I both enjoyed a sample of.
At this point I don’t feel I have to have a SF Darjeeling in my cupboard (I hope your not reading this, Excelsior) for a number of reasons (one being that I would rather stick to Chinese red teas). I have noticed that Darjeelings do not seem to do very well with multiple steepings, beyond say, two or three (I have been able to get five good steepings out of a number of quality Chinese red teas). This is my first SF Darjeeling, so I’m leaving off the rating.
(I still have some of this, so I may update this review at a later time).
