Arya Estate Emerald Second Flush

Thanks to ScottTeaMan for sending me a generous sample of this (the 2010 version)

So my cold has now moved into a chest cold (ugh), I think my taste buds are back but I may come back and revisit this one soon when I am a bit healthier. I steeped it at around 190 F for 3 minutes, I am guessing. I’m getting some light spicy notes in addition to very fruity ones. I am getting sweet grape, for sure, not muscatel per se but perhaps some white grape. I know this is supposed to be a green tea but it the color, when brewed, really just reminds me of a first flush darjeeling, it’s a light amber.

I always worry about excessive astringency with the darjeeling region teas but this one seems more on the mellow side which I am enjoying this morning. I think I would also like to try cold brewing this to see what happens. Thanks again for the great sample Scott…

This review is for the 2010 lot of this green Darjeeling, while the picture is of the 2011 lot, but the leaf is very similar. Very long green & white well twisted leaves that smelled light and airy, fruity, and dare I say creamy. Wet leaves smelled woody and as they cooled, they were alot more fruity smelling. They also unfurled to beautifully large whole leaves, some having brown edges.

The cup color was a medium yellow and had a sweet, lightly fruity nose, but I can’t place the fruit. The flavor is so sweet and smooth in my mouth, with a light fruit, creamy quality. I like it alot. Ssooo delicious and very relaxing. I’ve read that the fruit notes are pear-like, but I wasn’t getting that at all! Then again I’m not a big fan of pears, so I don’t smell or eat them very often.

My second steep on Thursday morning (same leaves), was steeped at roughly the same temperature for 3 minutes. I was still getting smooth creaminess and fruity aspects, but the fruit that seemed to come through was grapes. Not the sweeter red grapes, but green, which tend to be less sweet and sometimes sour IMHO. :)) I was getting some tangy qualities on my tongue-but not bitter. Darjeeling teas are sometimes compared to muscat grapes. I could definitely taste that quality here.

Last night I decided to brew this tea closer to brewing guidelines at 180 degrees for 3 minutes. I dozed off waiting for my tea to cool and woke up with cold tea. I drank it and realized this could be a good iced green tea. Using more leaf, a cold brew in the refrigerator overnight would be quite tasteful! So after midnight I had one more hot cup, adding additional leaves and steeping for two minutes. It was quite smooth and creamy and fruity and delicious!

This is a mild tea, so the qualities I mention above are not strong, but never lacking in flavor. This Darjeeling green tea is is unque tea, and I would have to say, just as good (if not better), than many Chinese green teas! Every green tea lover should try it at least once. :))

Cupped: Wednesday-Friday, February 1-3, 2012.

Reviewed: Friday, February 3, 2012.

This is such a pretty green tea – great long wiry twisted leaves and buds of green and white, with a bit of tan. Totally unlike an Asian green – at least in my limited experience. Very delicate, a little floral, a little sweet, a little mild nut. Very very nice tea

The 2nd of 7 samples from Thunderbolt Tea my humans tested. http://bit.ly/aZDDh5

So, this tea was a strange one. The leaves and the actual tea itself smelled and tasted COMPLETELY different. Now my palate might be “off” but this tea really smelled like lime and green pepper, but tasted like a rubber hose (literally) as well as STRONG flavors of mozzarella cheese! It reminded me of string cheese, the kind that we used to get at my house on certain occasions. SO Strange. I don’t know if I would drink it again for taste, rather I would drink it to find more flavors in it! Crazy for a Darjeeling Green!

Check out the full video review at http://teacast.net