A Darjeeling Sale - Some May Be Interested (this is not SPAM!)

Hello, all, Please don't consider this SPAM or even a recommendation (since I've never actually had any of these teas). I know some posters really do enjoy Darjeeling. The following was sent to me through a reader list and I thought some of you may want to take advantage of this particular sale. I've heard some good things about this vendor (and no, I have no vested interest). Anyway, the sale items are being shipped FREE worldwide and this includes the USA (which, apparently, this vendor does not always include in the free shipping list). So, if you want to take advantage of this, it's up to you. If you do, please share your reviews.

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Shen

Reply to
Shen
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Shen,

Thanks for passing this on. I drink a lot of Darjeeling and have to stock up on my yearly visits to the States, because I live in Taiwan! I love oolong, but sometimes I need my cup of tea with milk and sugar.

BTW, this sale refers to various batches from 2006 . . . How long might we expect Darjeelings or other blacks to retain their character? When I buy green tea, particularly Sencha from Japan, I usually have only 4 or 5 months . . .

I've never had a problem with stale black tea, but I'm curious, how long can a typical black tea last?

Thanks--

Reply to
mgford25

I'm sorry; I really don't know that much about keeping Darjeelings. The few I've had I bought from Lochan and they were delicious, so I shared or drank them pretty quickly! I imagine if they are sealed properly, kept from temp extremes and light, they would keep as an oolong would. Shen

Reply to
Shen

a darjeeling black tea if from the first flush retains its character for 3 to 5 months at the maximum an dif from the second flush then - 8 to 10 months at the maximum.

regards ankit

Reply to
Ankit Lochan

if the teas are kept properly then they retain for 8 to 10 months - if the conditions and the storage is not adequate then the teas do not have the freshness after 5 months.

regards ankit

Reply to
Ankit Lochan

I would think teas "on sale" would be beginning to fade, else why would they be on sale? But at any rate, they might be just the thing for a daily midmorning cup. Toci

Reply to
toci

Sales at my local tea shoppe are basically overstock, replacement stock, and slow demand. It's money in my pocket. I tell my vendors let me know when you are having a sale. I'll usually bite at half off.

Jim

toci wrote: ...other posts...

Reply to
Space Cowboy

On Jul 10, 10:17 pm, mgford25 snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

I have posted some observations related to storing Darjeelings a while ago but have done some experiments in the meantime. To keep it short:a lot of teas that are sold in Darjeeling town are packed "traditional style" - in a paper bag that is loosely wrapped in some aluminized paper, the whole affair held together with a string. While this might take care of nostalgic feelings and be just OK for some quick airmail shipping and immediate consumption it is not OK for long term storage or extended shipping trips, and this is where the problem starts. Tea rapidly picks up moisture and this way of packing downright asks for it. Most of the larger stores in DJ keep their teas stored that way, shelves crammed with 100g packs of tea, and believe me, most of those packs are sitting there for a loong time [upgrading and even relabelling old packs is pretty common practice]. Now let´s remember what makes Darjeeling such a nice place for growing tea. Among altitude and other things it´s the climate. Lots of fog and rain together with steep temperature gradients, and ambient humidity is what all those teas in chests and paper bags really need to "mature" [o-tone local vendor]. I´ve seen chests without lining of some kind, some of them, especially those in the shops might get opened a couple 100 times a day, each time introducing a new load of moisture and oxygen. Some of those teas I purchased during my first stay up there [long ago] didn´t make it beyond the one month mark - nothing left in the cup. Last time I came back with a nice collection of seconds and autumns and the stuff I got from the shops simply didn´t make it, despite having been repacked in special heavy duty bags, the moisture had already found its way into those leaves. When I sampled them, they were crisp, the teas wonderful, but there simply was no way for me to tell how long it could be stored. The stuff I got fresh from friends in the business [freshly fired] and immediately repacked myself is still great. I have some special 2005 seconds and autumns as well as some 2006 first flushes left, some of them still produce wonderful cups.

PS: I mentioned this before but back in Darjeeling I had quite a few arguments with local tea merchants about this old fashioned way they pack and store their teas [probably not much different from colonial times ?!] and after a few seconds it always came down like this: "What do you want ??? We are the "experts" and we know how to do it." One of them even argued that Darjeelings need to "breathe". No comment. Most of those guys don´t even drink what they´re selling, they prefer their chai. When it comes to packing teas you´d be better advised to look a couple miles further eastward [China, Japan, Taiwan]. Thanks to some excellent discussions on rfdt I watch moisture even more closely these days, especially when it comes to my beloved DJs. PPS: Since my shipment of some very special 2007 First Flushes got lost somewhere [sniff] and I´m not willing to pay those insane prices over here I recently purchased some tins of good old "Twinings Darjeeling" to comfort myself over the loss. While this broken blend simply can´t hold up to any of the high grade DJs, and ??? knows what it´s composed of, I enjoy it a lot and would prefer it to more than about two thirds of all those teas that are sold as "Darjeeling".

Bottom line: I´d ask Benoy if those teas on sale are still drinkable, thought about trying some myself.

Karsten

Reply to
psyflake

Some people emailed me stating that they were unable to travel from the link I posted re: this sale. I have copied the following straight from my Google Reader subscription so that you can get to it more easily, if you are interested. Please be aware that I am in no way promoting this vendor, I am just sharing information that may be of service to some posters on this list. Shen

Jul 6, 2007 (5 days ago)BLOWOUT OFFER - HEAVY DISCOUNT! from Darjeeling tea shop for single estate Darjeeling tea variety by snipped-for-privacy@thunderbolttea.com (Utsah Pradhan) We are giving you crazy blowout offer on Second Flush 2006 and Autumn Flush 2006 Darjeeling Teas. 25%-30% OFF with Free Shipping anywhere in the world. Its Stock Clearance Offer! Remember we don't sell bad teas, if its bad tea, we rather dump it in the ocean. Know More...

RSS from Thunderbolt Tea Add starShareEmail(Updated)Mark as readEdit tags: tea

Reply to
Shen

thank you shen - i could see what teas were on sale now . i had spoken to some more people on the subject and i was told that the thunderbolt site has been blocked in India - i dont know why - but i think it is true.

anyways thanks for the other link - i am grateful.

ankit

Reply to
Ankit Lochan

The accepted practice is use TinyUrl to keep it from breaking in some newsreaders.

Jim

Shen wrote: ...

Reply to
Space Cowboy

Might be a cross-culturing opportunity here: aging young sheng cakes at the edge of the Himalayas. "Six famous tea-curing mountains"?

-DM

Reply to
DogMa

I may be one of the very few people on this list who is NOT an I.T. person. I have not a single idea what "TinyUrl" is.............? If it would help move things along if I used it, kindly fill me in. Shen

Reply to
Shen

Last year I collected some sheng mushrooms from tibetan stores, a few of them showed spots of white mold while most of the older buildings are partly covered with back mildew. It takes about 3 days up there and my pipe stems start to loosen until after about one week they fall of by themselves. I´ve never seen that to that extent anywhere else in the world and after 150 years they still use those silly paper bags, while dirt cheap, easily sealable aluminized PE or Mylar bags are available all over the place. I better stop it here and have another pot of that Twinings broken DJ, nice batch indeed. Anybody else ?

Karsten

Reply to
psyflake

Humm......I think it's probably much better for your pu-erh to be in a "silly paper bag", as pu really needs to breathe and actually, the world can use a little less mylar and aluminum foil so that it breathes, as well. Shen

Reply to
Shen

Shen, I didn´t refer to Pu-Erhs or my private Pu-Erh stash which I keep in a nice airy place, but somewhere above I mentioned the local widespread practice of packing Darjeelings in those "silly paper bags"

- sorry for the confusion. All Darjeelings I know of definetely prefer aluminized Mylar bags to those made of paper, especially when they stay up there for an extended period. PS:I totally agree that this world slowly suffocates under a growing layer of plastic waste but let me express my doubt that the production of a paper bag "indian style" is environmentally less problematic. BTW, Ankit, I like the way you pack your WuYi Mtn. teas. Great bags indeed.

Karsten

Reply to
psyflake

Here is an example:

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Jim

PS I learned it from this group. I also use the compani> > > The accepted practice is use TinyUrl to keep it from breaking in some > > newsreaders.

Reply to
Space Cowboy

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