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My first enjoyable Darjeeling

Hi all,

Thanks to some lurking and searching here, I experienced my first enjoyable Darjeeling today. This brief writeup is aimed at other novices now or in the future, and also a way of introducing myself to the group. Hello!

Darjeeling to me has always meant "Yuck, bitter!" which in hindsight indicates poor quality and/or long steeping times. As I became aware recently that to many others, Darjeeling means "the height of tea enjoyment", I figured it was time to try again.

So I bought some Goomtee First Flush from The Tea Centre in Sydney (A$21.50/100g) and brewed up a pot (using an infuser basket, 3 minutes steeping time). This was much nicer than previous experiences, but not overwhelming. Straw colour, floral overtones, but generally seemed weak rather than having the delightful complexity I've read about.

Second attempt today, with improved results. Used a higher concentration of leaves for a single cup (in a small pot) brew. This time: no infuser, 1 minute steep. After straining into a glass I instantly prepared the second steep (2 minutes). First and second steep were very nice. A richer taste than yesterday, and a delightful accompaniment to my sandwiches. A sense of perfectly balanced tea: flavour without undue strength. No bitterness, very refreshing.

Summary: heaped teaspoon of tea, no infuser, 8oz boiling water, 1 min (1st steep), 2 min (2nd. steep), no milk or sugar, great results.

For future experiment: increase steeping time (probably 2 min will do), try a little sugar.

I notice IPOT sells Goomtee FF and SF, which is a good sign. A question for the more experienced tea drinkers: is the tea I bought at a Sydney store likely to be the same as the tea IPOT sells, given they're both called Goomtee FF?

Cheers, Gavin

Reply to
Gavin
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Gavin, welcome!

Although some consider it heresy, I find a little sugar offsets any trace bitterness, allowing longer steep times. I also recommend using water around 88-93 degrees C, especially for FF. Using lower temperature water gives you more latitude with steep times. I generally steep around 3 minutes, except when using BOP leaf, where I stick to 90-120 seconds.

In Darjeelimg a "flush" is a harvest season; within each flush there may be several batches or "invoices". Some will be better than others. Unless the vendor tells you what invoice their particular lot comes from there is no guarantee that his offering is the same as another's, even from the same estate. Heck, some vendors don't even tell you the harvest *year* unless you ask! Since freshness is a virtue in FF, it's always wise to ensure you're buying from the latest harvest.

Reputable online vendors tend to buy their tea and then seal it into various sized bags; since the tea is sealed from light and air, it's shelf life will be longer than a store, which usually keeps tea in big tins. It's certainly fun to go to the store and sniff all those tins, but it does nothing good for the tea, IMHO.

Regards, Dean

Reply to
DPM

I don't know this year's Goomtee FF, but based on my experience with other FF Darjeelings, you might want to go further in the same direction. Try using much more leaf for the same amount of hot water,

*very* short steeps (maybe 15 seconds for the first steep), and water not quite boiling. You might find you get five or six delicious steeps, each different from the others.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Hmm, 5-6 steeps? You'd want to be thirsty! I'll try it with my Teeli infuser, since I'd be looking at 5-6 smallish cups, not 5-6 smallish pots.

As a practical matter, how fussy should one be about freshly drawn water and correct water temperature for each of those steeps? I can't imagine refilling the kettle and "almost boiling" it for the sake of making the third or fourth small cup.

Gavin

Reply to
Gavin

Thanks for the info. I tend not to ask such questions since I doubt the person behind the counter will know the answer, and if they think I consider the year to be important, they could just pretend it's the current year. Best just apply blind faith until faced with contravening evidence :)

I'm sure you're right. I wonder if the effect on the tea can be quantified somehow.

Cheers, Gavin

Reply to
Gavin

Well, I usually brew roughly four ounces at a time in a gaiwan.

I'm about as fussy as you, but there are others who fuss harder.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Well, considering that some premium Darjeelings can exceed US$250 per kilo, I'm fairly fussy as to year, invoice and storage. Which is one reason I tend to shop with reputable online vendors - they know and understand the details, and expect that their customers are no less fussy than they are.

Dean

Reply to
DPM

Hi, Gavin. From your description, it doesn't sound like you are a novice to me! It's really refreshing to see a thread on darjeeling because it's become my new interest these days. I mostly drink Chinese teas, but I am wanting to know more about other tea varieties.

Anyway, welcome to the board.

Reply to
Mydnight

Darj rules.

Keep trying different estates, flushes, and years. Some will be blase', but some will be excellent.

IMO, all other varieties of black tea (Assam, Keemun, etc.) innately have one or more of the defects that imperfect Darjeelings have, and few have the chance at being as perfect as a perfect Darjeeling. IMO.

--Blair

Reply to
Blair P. Houghton

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