Darjeeling Avongrove S.F. Organic FTGFOP1

Wow, I am the first to review this tea! And believe it or not, this is my first Darjeeling. At least the first that I can remember. I feel that I’ve probably had Darjeeling before, at least perhaps in a blend, because the scent of the steeping leaves is familiar.
I followed Zen Teas’ directions of a heaping teaspoon steeped for 2.5 minutes. The tea is a dark golden color.
Okay, this tea is smelling VERY familiar. I know I’ve had this somewhere! I’ve tasted it, and it’s a bit too hot to really taste at the moment, but I’m pretty sure my first introduction to loose leaf tea must have been a Darjeeling that my grandpa brought back from Russia. I instantly like this tea, and not just for nostalgic reasons. It’s tasty! It has some sort of a fruity flavor I can’t distinguish. I really wish I was better at this whole note finding thing, but I’m enjoying myself anyway. :-) It has an astringent finish that I’m not minding. I bet this tea would be amazing with cream and sweetener!

And so it is.

What I’m drinking here is a first flush of Zen Tea’s Organic Darjeeling. Connie, the owner of Zen Tea (www.ezentea.com), mentioned that this was one of their best sellers – that people were buying pounds at a time every weekend from their shop in the Atlanta area. I grabbed 2oz. for under $7.

I’m going to try this gongfu style. I’ve never done Indian tea that way. We’ll see how it goes.

Oh man! This tea is good! I can see why it’s so popular. It’s not entirely special or original, it’s exactly what a first flush darjeeling smells and tastes like. It’s like several other darjeelings I’ve had, but still… this one is done very very well.

Light and crisp citrusy/woody/assamica aroma. Citrusy flavor on the back of the tongue. I’m getting apple notes and classic assam flavors. Very mild astringency at the back of the throat.

This tea would blend well with apples or ginger.

I totes mc’goats recommend this tea. – Your Friend Rashad