No. 1 Tippy Orthodox GFOP Darjeeling (TD50)

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Earth, Floral, Muscatel, Vegetal, Fruity, Nutty, Berry, Grapes, Red Wine
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Donna A
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 6 g 21 oz / 626 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

From Our Community

1 Image

2 Want it Want it

20 Own it Own it

  • +5

21 Tasting Notes View all

  • “2 heaping tsp. leaf to 500ml. in my Breville. Last time I had this I steeped it at 3:30 and thought that the taste could be developed a bit more. So tonight I went with an extra 30 seconds, taking...” Read full tasting note
    94
  • “I enjoyed a pot of this tea with my breakfast this morning. I’m still getting to know darjeelings. This is bold, a little floral IMO, but also kind of earthy & gutsy, if that makes sense to...” Read full tasting note
  • “So i have to say that I’m really glad that this darjeeling is a decent cup of tea. I was a little worried that I was not going to love them, since the first few that i’ve tried, I haven’t liked. ...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “I love the format of Upton’s samplers, and grabbed the black tea one as I would like to get more familiar with my straight blacks. This Darjeeling was really pleasant before breakfast today. It was...” Read full tasting note
    82

From Upton Tea Imports

An exceptional golden tip Darjeeling blend. First introduced at Upton Tea Importers in 1990, it continues to be their most popular Darjeeling.

About Upton Tea Imports View company

Company description not available.

21 Tasting Notes

94
863 tasting notes

2 heaping tsp. leaf to 500ml. in my Breville.

Last time I had this I steeped it at 3:30 and thought that the taste could be developed a bit more. So tonight I went with an extra 30 seconds, taking it up to 4 minutes, which is my usual steep time for black teas.

I think that this time the flavor of the tea came through even when hot – with the trade-off being that there was more astringency too.

Bottom line: I think it’s a more of an everyday black tea – the taste and smell are wonderful but there’s nothing overly complex about it.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Jim Marks

That seems really long for a Darjeeling. I wonder why it needs such a long steep.

JoonSusanna

I followed Upton’s parameters and my own preferences for a black tea when making this. Do Darjeelings normally require shortened times, despite technically being a black tea?

Jim Marks

In my experience, Darjeeling teas are quite delicate and tend to fare better at 2 minutes, or there abouts. You’re correct, of course, Upton does recommend a longer steep for this particular leaf. I was just wondering (aloud) why that would be. Especially for a tea that Upton claims is so popular and which you found to be rather flat even when steeped sufficiently.

Maybe it is just a bad year for this leaf…

Camiah

Upton seems to recommend ridiculously long steep times as well. I’ve had some greens they recommended a five minute steep for. Let me tell you, nope. They were much better at shorter steeps.

Jim Marks

I’ve been learning recently that, for most but not all teas, a 5-30 second steep with more generous amounts of leaf, not only produces a better first cup, it allows one to produce many, many cups.

Maybe I’ll get a sample of this the next time I order my benchmark lapsang and pu-erh from Upton and do a whole series of steeps at different lengths.

JoonSusanna

@Camiah: You’re right – sometimes Upton can be a little too generous on their steeping time. I’ve noticed definite improvement before in some of their teas by cutting a minute or two off total steeping, so that is something I will try with this tea as well when I make it again.

@Jim: I don’t think it’s a bad year for the leaf – I did have it cold brewed once and the nuances of the flavors were present then, which leads me to suspect that shorter exposure to the heated water will help the tea immensely. I will aim for about a 2:30 steep time and see what happens then.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

3294 tasting notes

I enjoyed a pot of this tea with my breakfast this morning. I’m still getting to know darjeelings. This is bold, a little floral IMO, but also kind of earthy & gutsy, if that makes sense to anybody, LOL.
This is a sample from the first package Sil sent to me, & it was a generous sample. I still have enough to drink it one more time. Thanks Sil! You Rock!

Sil

Yay for tea drinking!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
14991 tasting notes

So i have to say that I’m really glad that this darjeeling is a decent cup of tea. I was a little worried that I was not going to love them, since the first few that i’ve tried, I haven’t liked. This one though, is a pretty tasty cup! It’s not my favourite black tea but this is still an enjoyable cup. I’d love a bit more robustness from this but the tea is smooth and tasty.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

82
658 tasting notes

I love the format of Upton’s samplers, and grabbed the black tea one as I would like to get more familiar with my straight blacks.

This Darjeeling was really pleasant before breakfast today. It was nice and smooth but with a little bit of a bite. It’s flavourful but relatively light.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75
10 tasting notes

I had some of this in the morning and am working from memory, so I might come back and update this when I drink it again.
The leaves looked pretty good – not very broken, brownish-greenish.
Astringency was minimal and the tea is nice and round and mellow. The mouthfeel is moderate.

There’s definitely some of that typical floral flavor I expect from a Darjeeling. There are also more mellow malty notes. I presume the more mellow, robust notes are coming from the second flush leaves. There’s a hint of this brothy taste that I notice in some Chinese blacks and Japanese greens that I don’t care for. It really bothers my girlfriend, but it’s not the end of the world in my view. Overall, I prefer a first flush Darjeeling, but this is good too.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

70
111 tasting notes

Good “traditional” tea, mildly tart, pretty good.

Preparation
3 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85
183 tasting notes

Smells spicy, sweet, and rich in the bag. Scents that remind me of earth, minerals, and gravevine while steeping. The scents of earthy minerals come through on my tasting notes as well…it kind of reminds me of dark oolongs in a way, except maybe a bit more mild? I’m not the biggest fan of other Darjeeling teas I’ve tried in the past for some reason, they often have this bizarre champagne like flavor to them, but this one is pretty good. Pretty easy drinking.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

11 tasting notes

3 tsp of tea in brown ceramic teapot. Drank with cream. Brews very pale. Mild flavor, needed less cream than expected.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

76
8 tasting notes

Nice tea, I think I may try to steep a little longer at maybe 90c next time as this was a bit more bitter and astringent than I liked.

Flavors: Earth, Floral, Muscatel, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 6 g 10 OZ / 300 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

77
34 tasting notes

I think I finally found the right preparation for this tea. Unfortunately, my sense of smell is severely compromised due to sinus issues at the moment, so I still can’t fully appreciate this tea. From what I can tell, the flavor is much better-developed than in my first tasting, but the astringency of the second tasting has been avoided.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 45 sec 5 tsp 24 OZ / 709 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.