Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Apple Juice’

The leaves of the Castleton Darjeeling are very green and twisted. When I first tried one of these 1st flush Darjeelings a few days ago, I was thrown off by how similar the 1st flushes are to green teas. I don’t have any prior experience with Darjeelings, but I really thought that they were black teas and perhaps the later flushes are. I don’t know.

What I do know is that this tea is much more like a green tea. If you go into it, like I initially did, expecting a robust black tea that would take milk and/or sugar you will probably be disappointed. However, I’m going into this tasting thinking that this is a green tea.

The dry leaf had a very green smell, but not vegetal; almost a bit musky, but not off-putting. This Castleton brews up a rich, golden hue similar to that of apple juice and has a medium floral aroma. The first sip begins slightly buttery, followed by a light floral taste. As the cup begins to cool slightly, the fruity scent begins to come into play. It is a bit hard to identify the fruity taste however that Darjeelings are famous for (well, from what I’ve read).

This tea is pretty good, but is best when drank before allowed to cool too much. A light, pleasant floral aftertaste lingers between each sip.

You can purchase the Castleton FTGFOP 1st Flush 2010 Darjeeling directly from the Lochan Tea website.

I didn’t know what to expect from a 1st Flush Darjeeling, but I could have sworn it was a black tea. I did a bit of research and it turns out that the 1st flush is more like a green tea, so now that I knew a bit of what to expect I went ahead and brewed up some of this.

In the package, the aroma is very green but not vegetal. There is a bit of a fruity smell that is slightly hidden somewhere in there also. The leaves appear to be dark like you would expect from a black tea, but once they hit the water they turn a beautiful hunter green. As the tea steeps, the fruity aroma is intensified.

The Phuguri Darjeeling brews up to be a medium golden color similar to that of apple juice and still has that strongly fruity smell. The taste is similar to a green tea with a slight floral note that finishes with a grape-like sweetness. Even as this tea cools, the sweetness becomes stronger and the tea is perhaps even more pleasant.

This tea is a nice change of pace from what I usually drink and I’m looking forward to trying the other Darjeeling flushes in the future.

You can purchase the Phuguri SFTGFOP 1st Flush 2010 Darjeeling directly from the Lochan Tea website.