India Darjeeling Puttabong First Flush 'STGFOP1 China Supreme' Black Tea

I will probably call it a day after posting this review. I’m trying to stay on a strict exercise schedule, and I have deviated from it today. I have been very busy the last three days, and yesterday was a total nightmare. I don’t want to go off on a tangent here, so let’s get back on track. I polished off what I had of this tea in the summer of 2020. I had 100 grams of it to play around with, so it took me more than a bit to finish it all. I found this to be a very good, solid, approachable first flush Darjeeling black tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 fluid ounces of 185 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the loose leaf material prior to steeping nor did I attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to steeping, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of pine, almond, malt, baked bread, hay, straw, chili leaf, and green bell pepper. After steeping, I detected new aromas of apricot, plum, muscatel, peanut, orange zest, cherry, and cashew. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of pear, grass, hay, cream, straw, baked bread, apricot, pine, muscatel, green bell pepper, green apple, chili leaf, orange zest, almond, butter, cherry, and peanut that were accompanied by hints of plum, cashew, and peach. Each sip finished malty and nutty with slight tart fruit, pine wood, and grassy, vegetal impressions lingering in the mouth after each swallow.

This was actually a very pleasant, likable first flush Darjeeling black tea. Unlike some of the others I have tried, it was neither too tart nor too vegetal and offered a unique mix of aromas and flavors. The tea liquor, though somewhat thin, was nicely textured and vibrant in the mouth. Had some of the tea’s more pleasant and interesting aroma and flavor components come through a little more clearly and come off as being a little more persistent, this would have been a knockout offering. As is, though, it was still a very good one, especially for the price. I think it could have competed with some of the more expensive first flush Darjeelings I have tried in recent years.