TD41: Makaibari Estate FTGFOP1 First Flush (DJ-17) Organic

Hmmm…this is probably the best first flush I’ve had, but I’m still not feeling it. I don’t like how thin it tastes. It’s too light for my tastes, I guess, since it does slightly remind me of the nutty notes I like in second flushes, but way sweeter, and of course lighter with floral notes.

Other than it not being something I really go for, it is a really, really good tea. And when I looked it up to add on here, it was almost sold out for the year.

I have an older supply of Upton Tea Imports Makaibari Darjeeling, but it still tastes fresh and good, so I’ll just pretend that I acquired this lot more recently than I did.

The liquor is peachy brown, and the flavor has the characteristic complexity of a fine darjeeling. I have not been drinking darjeelings lately because I had a carton of light cream in my refrigerator which took forever to empty. To my amazement, a quart lasted something like a month, and it did not spoil. My impression is that light cream holds up better than half-and-half, and I also discovered that it does not dilute the tea in which it is added, so that’s another plus. With the end of that carton, I’m putting my Earl Grey binge on pause for while…

Well, all of that was only barely relevant to this tasting note, but for the next few weeks, I’ll be focusing on no-cream-added black teas, with the darjeelings at the top of the list!

This Makaibari Estate brew has the dried grassy smell and taste which I have come to associate with darjeeling, and the flavor and scent are also very slightly smoky. Neither bitter nor scratchy, this is a very good black tea for drinking au naturel! No adulterants, please!

>The leaves have a heady aroma,
>yielding a cup with flowery aromatics,
>a pleasing level of tannin and a light, crisp finish.

all of these seem to be true.

it also reminded me of the last year’s jungpana ex- ff.