black teas
Organic Darjeeling (First Flush) Tea
The tea bush is dormant during the winter months. As spring arrives in March at the Darjeeling teas gradens around the foothills of the Himalayas, the tea plant begins sprouting the first new growth of the year - the "First Flush". The First Flush season can go into early May depending on spring rains and produce a unique tea that is almost as light as a green tea but with a more aromatic body. This spring tea is fresh and flowery tasting even though it is processed similar to a black tea.
Our 2010 Organic Darjeeling First Flush tea is from the Makaibari Tea Estate which is over 140 years old and sits at the base of the Himalayas. They have been committed to growing tea naturally since 1945. Their organic and biodynamic practices have earned them prestigious awards in the tea farming community as well as consistently producing award-winning teas. First Flush Darjeeling teas require careful preparation otherwise they can easily become too astringent. It is also a tea whose flavor fades much quicker than other black teas whose mature leaves and oxidation processes although them to keep for longer periods of time.
Every year, as spring arrives finish up whatever Darjeeling First Flush Tea you may still have on hand, then look forward to our offerings of the new spring First Flush Darjeeling teas.
How to Prepare Darjeeling First Flush Tea
Heat water (filtered if possible) to a boil 212˚F and then let cool before infusing the tea (180˚F). Add one rounded teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup (apprx. 8 ounces). Infuse the tea leaves for 2 to 3 minutes depending on taste preference. Do not over-brew the tea or else the natural astringency in the teas leaves will become too pronounced. Drink plain - the subtle flavors of Darjeeling teas do not hold up well to added milk or a sweetner.
INGREDIENTS: Organic black tea. Origin: Makaibari Estate, India.
Note: Darjeeling teas are much like "Kona" coffees from Hawaii in that they are grown in a very limited geographic area and the amount sold every year exceeds the actual harvest. Darjeeling teas account for less than 1% of all the tea produced in India. The typical Darjeeling tea bush must be hand-plucked and each plant only yields around 4 oz. of processed tea per year.
In the case of "Kona" coffees sold outside of coffee specialty shops, many are a mixture of a small percentage of actual Kona coffee blended with a large amount of other coffees that are then sold under the Kona name. The same is the case with many "Darjeeling" teas sold in larger markets. An amount equal to four times the amount of the annual Darjeeling tea harvested is being blended and sold as "Darjeeling" tea. Our Darjeeling teas are tracked by lot numbers back to the growing estates and are 100% Darjeeling estate teas.
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