TD56: Tindharia Estate FTGFOP1 First Flush (DJ-13) Organic

I’m more of a fan of second flush Darjeelings both because of taste and price. This one is a serious exception. At $12.60 for a 125g bag, I might reconsider! I only got a sample of course though which isn’t bad ($2.50 for 15g).

As its cooled though it has become very astringent. I steeped it for 3 minutes exactly and it was good for the most part. It’s weird because the almond flavor in here is almost playing on the astringency, and it tastes like a burned almond. Before this happened though it was a bit buttery and mostly fruity, with just a bit of astringency. This is kind of undrinkable now…so at least I have plenty more to now remember this: drink quickly!

And of course, if I can crack whatever it is with this tea, the 125g packet is a definite possibility. Otherwise I’ll stick to those seconds.

This tea’s leaves are a variety of green and brown shades – definitely a lighter Darjeeling, edging into Oolong levels of oxidation. They’re nice and large and unfold upon steeping.

The liquor is a golden color, and both it and the leaves have a floral, slightly fruity (white grape) smell.

Astringency is muted but present. Note that I steeped at 190, as I typically do for Darjeelings, so it may be more pronounced at a higher steep temperature.
The mouthfeel is very light.

The flavor is primarily floral, almost jasmine, with notes of white grape and some vegetal hints(perhaps string beans). It’s reasonably sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. The floral and sweet notes are not as pronounced as the best first flush Darjeelings, and it tastes very slightly stale (it’s close to a year old, since it’s from the 2012 harvest).

The second steep hold up relatively well, although more malty and earthy notes start to show up, and the sweet, floral notes are diminished.
I enjoyed this tea quite a bit and would definitely consider buying a bag of it, although I’ll likely wait until the 2013 harvest. I’d recommend as a very well-priced first flush Darjeeling.

I drank a whole pot of this tea and just had nothing in particular to say about it. It seemed less complex and fruit forward than I’ve had with other Darjeelings. It seemed almost like a cross between an oolong and a darjeeling. Definitely more oolong or green in nature. Perhaps that’s the first flush, but I’m not sure. It was very light bodied with a touch of yeasty toast and burnt almond and rounded with a bit of astringency, but no fruit that I detected. The leaves are fairly green and the liquor brews up a golden orange color. I found nothing offensive about it, but I didn’t love it as much as the last darjeeling I had. The first brewing felt a bit mild and the second brewing definitely too light and weak. A second pot with more brewing time revealed nothing new and I’m still pretty unimpressed with this one.