Darjeeling tea drinkers - do you have preferred estates?

YatraTeaCo
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Thu Sep 27, 2018 9:11 pm

Excelsior wrote:
Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:22 pm
YatraTeaCo wrote:
Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:22 pm
Excelsior wrote:
Thu Sep 20, 2018 5:39 pm
There are times I wish this was an easy question to answer. Even the same Darjeeling, same estate, same flush, same DJ number, same grade (special finest tippy golden flowery orange pekoe), same retailer, will differ in taste depending on the prevailing climate and weather each year. So I go through the same ritual of ordering 10 to 15 or so Darjeeling First Flush teas every year, to find a taste I prefer. I don’t order sample quantities as trying to extract the best taste, takes trial and error, altering the parameters, requiring 3, 4, 5 cups.. The parameters change each year and even the suggested parameters my favorite retailer prints on their packages changes year to year, and will many times be different, according to the estate.

Thant being said, to answer the question, If I had to pick one, Margaret’s Hope Spring Flush, higher DJ number. Maybe between DJ30 and DJ40. Some will prefer the fresher, ,greener taste of a DJ1 or DJ2 tea. I prefer the deeper flavor and slightly more body offered by a mid to late DJ picking of a Spring Flush Darjeeling
Ah I remember having a conversation with you on Steepster about DJ invoices! Good to hear from you - I had pegged you as a Darjeeling connoisseur after our conversation and your extensive tasting of Darjeelings. In fact I had reached the conclusion that perhaps you taste more Darjeeling teas than some vendors (definitely me!).
I’ve been tapering off on drinking Darjeeling tea since it was so hot during the Summer months. Drinking lots of cold brewed Green Rooibos. Now that we are heading into Autumn and Winter, it’s time to finish off all the Darjeeling tea I have before ordering more.

It may not matter now since I’m drinking teas from two years ago but I am enjoying the 2016 Singbuli First Flush. Victoria also had good things to Say about the 2018 Singbuli First Flush. So maybe it’s an estate you might look into when procuring Darjeeling teas for 2019
I actually sourced from Singbulli this year - that and Puttabong delivered what I was looking for. Again, as a small vendor I need to spend my sourcing money wisely and these two estates stood out to me. The Puttabong was quite well received by tea professionals and critics, so much so that I was encouraged to enter it into the Global Tea Championship which I believe is currently happening in Boulder. Not sure how it will do, but I thoroughly enjoy drinking that tea.
YatraTeaCo
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Thu Sep 27, 2018 9:18 pm

Excelsior wrote:
Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:22 pm
YatraTeaCo wrote:
Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:22 pm
Excelsior wrote:
Thu Sep 20, 2018 5:39 pm
There are times I wish this was an easy question to answer. Even the same Darjeeling, same estate, same flush, same DJ number, same grade (special finest tippy golden flowery orange pekoe), same retailer, will differ in taste depending on the prevailing climate and weather each year. So I go through the same ritual of ordering 10 to 15 or so Darjeeling First Flush teas every year, to find a taste I prefer. I don’t order sample quantities as trying to extract the best taste, takes trial and error, altering the parameters, requiring 3, 4, 5 cups.. The parameters change each year and even the suggested parameters my favorite retailer prints on their packages changes year to year, and will many times be different, according to the estate.

Thant being said, to answer the question, If I had to pick one, Margaret’s Hope Spring Flush, higher DJ number. Maybe between DJ30 and DJ40. Some will prefer the fresher, ,greener taste of a DJ1 or DJ2 tea. I prefer the deeper flavor and slightly more body offered by a mid to late DJ picking of a Spring Flush Darjeeling
Ah I remember having a conversation with you on Steepster about DJ invoices! Good to hear from you - I had pegged you as a Darjeeling connoisseur after our conversation and your extensive tasting of Darjeelings. In fact I had reached the conclusion that perhaps you taste more Darjeeling teas than some vendors (definitely me!).
I’ve been tapering off on drinking Darjeeling tea since it was so hot during the Summer months. Drinking lots of cold brewed Green Rooibos. Now that we are heading into Autumn and Winter, it’s time to finish off all the Darjeeling tea I have before ordering more.

It may not matter now since I’m drinking teas from two years ago but I am enjoying the 2016 Singbuli First Flush. Victoria also had good things to Say about the 2018 Singbuli First Flush. So maybe it’s an estate you might look into when procuring Darjeeling teas for 2019
Btw - have you tried cold brew Darjeeling FF? It was quite the revelation this summer. I do in-store tastings every now and then and was flummoxed what to do during the warmer months. Cold brew Nilgiris and Darjeelings became my go-to and were well received.
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Victoria
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Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:52 am

I cold brewed Darjeeling this summer, very good. How many rounds do you go?
Ethan Kurland
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Fri Sep 28, 2018 1:16 pm

Victoria wrote:
Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:52 am
I cold brewed Darjeeling this summer, very good. How many rounds do you go?
Strangely, I loved it the first two times that I did it. A couple of weeks later I did not enjoy it much, preffered lemonade. For me, one round. Cheers
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Excelsior
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Fri Sep 28, 2018 2:30 pm

I have three containers in my refrigerator. Two cold brewed containers of Rooibos, and one FF Darjeeling. The Darjeeling leaves i use is from this thread's original poster Yatra Tea Company. I was taken by surprise how good an FF Darjeeling could taste, even cold brewed.
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Victoria
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Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:24 pm

Excelsior wrote:
Fri Sep 28, 2018 2:30 pm
I have three containers in my refrigerator. Two cold brewed containers of Rooibos, and one FF Darjeeling. The Darjeeling leaves i use is from this thread's original poster Yatra Tea Company. I was taken by surprise how good an FF Darjeeling could taste, even cold brewed.
Ohh, When did you put the FF Darjeeling in the refridgerator? and then use? year of FF? details .... :)
YatraTeaCo
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Fri Sep 28, 2018 9:15 pm

Victoria wrote:
Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:52 am
I cold brewed Darjeeling this summer, very good. How many rounds do you go?
Victoria, for personal use I re steeped twice and did not find a big difference in flavor. For tastings I want the audience to taste the first steep, so I did not re-use leaves. Nonetheless, I encouraged people to re-steep at least twice.

Since we're talking Darjeelings, I should mention that it is by far my favorite tea to demo. The aroma draws people in, whether brewed hot or cold, and the taste matches. The only tea that rivaled the Darjeeling was a FF Nepali tea, which, given the conversation about similarities between the two, is hardly surprising!
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joelbct
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Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:04 am

I'm a little late to this, but... Castleton, Gopaldhara, Arya, Okayti, Giddapahar, Goomtee, Avongrove, Glenburn, come to mind.
pase22
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Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:00 pm

joelbct wrote:
Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:04 am
I'm a little late to this, but... Castleton, Gopaldhara, Arya, Okayti, Giddapahar, Goomtee, Avongrove, Glenburn, come to mind.
Picked up 100g of Castleton today. Best darn tea I've had to date!
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joelbct
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Fri Nov 13, 2020 6:00 pm

pase22 wrote:
Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:00 pm
Picked up 100g of Castleton today. Best darn tea I've had to date!
Yes it is. And priced to match.

I just bought 100g of Castleton second flush, but I usually look for teas I can find at $20/100g or less for daily drinking.

I also found a 2020 Giddapahar 2nd flush that is almost as good, but half the price of the Castleton.
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pedant
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Fri Nov 13, 2020 6:32 pm

the particular batch matters more than estate imo, and great invoices/lots can come from any of the usual suspects.

just seeing "castleton" doesn't tell me anything. you need to taste.

that said, many of my favorites have come from castleton, arya, risheehat.
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