Darjeeling Tea Blog

Goomtee Yellow Tea, Second Flush Darjeeling

26 Feb 2010

Ah haven’t been able to update my blog for long. I recently wrote a description for the Goomtee Yellow Tea for Thunderbolt Tea sale page, thought I would share it here too. At least gets my blog rolling!

Without the tea maker, the tea really ceases to exist and thanks to Mr. Sagar Rawat, Manager Goomtee Tea Estate for this unique Darjeeling Yellow Tea. I was quite surprised at its attributes because it resembled black with the nutty character, green and white tea with its vegetal notes and oolong with its faint meaty character.

This particular grade of tea can be called one of the first Darjeeling Tea experimented at Goomtee Tea Estate by the Manager, Mr. Sagar Rawat. Its similar to green tea, but most Darjeeling green teas are average quality except for a few grades such as Arya Emerald. Most of Darjeeling green teas part a light vegetal note with accompanying light Darjeeling characteristics, but this as being a yellow tea imparts a total different character. The processing of yellow tea is similar to that of greens, but supposed to have a slower drying period. This yellow tea has come out to be quite different because of the Darjeeling characteristics present. If nurtured and processed well, this can have a new market of its own with a different fan base.

This batch was specially ordered by one of our wholesale customers, but Goomtee sent us some extra sack. Just a sack is remaining with us and thought why not we put it up and let others try as well.

Dry Tea leaves:
It seems to be a beautiful combination of yellow, black and green leaves, with an overall blackish-yellow appearance. The darker blackish leaves tend to have some yellow spots as if tending to peal off the dark façade and reveal the yellow inside. Quite a unique appearance. The leaves are curly, but not resembling that of bps grade which are much shorter in length. To be precise, it has got well rolled and twisted slender leaves which tend to curl. The first aroma gives an intriguing feel of roasted peanuts which is quite rare in a Darjeeling green. Recommended: Smell as soon as you open the pack. It has got considerable amount of tips and if observed closely, the black leaves tend to appear shiny due to the presence of minute silver hairs. Apart from the first roasted peanuts characteristics, it also imparts a slight fruity aroma, which also appears to have a very mild meaty character reminiscent of an oolong tea.

Wet Tea leaves:
It has a mild sweet, honey toned nose. The leaves tend more towards the yellow-greenish color leaving the black hidden. The curly leaves tend to expand and reveal its true size. Apart from the slight sweetness, it tends to be more nutty similar to almonds; fruity and the roasted peanuts character can be found here as well. It also has that slight vegetal notes common in Darjeeling green and white teas. Mild meaty character also present, but not prominent.

Cup or Tea Liqor:
It imparts a pale yellow colored liqor which has a weak body. The cup gets bitter if steeped for more than 3 minutes, so 2.5-3 minutes steeping recommended. It is slightly astringent leaving the middle of the tongue dry. It tastes like a green Darjeeling slightly vegetal, sweet, but also nutty as the black Darjeeling teas.

I rarely do reviews of teas because the very thought about not reviewing is - I want tea lovers to review it. I want to be an audience which entitles me to pick up my flaws and improve further. Well hope you like this one. Can be found on Thunderbolt Tea’s site as well! But on second thought, I will try reviewing some from now onwards, any tea, from anywhere!

First Flush Darjeeling Tea 2010
Now this is end of February and I am eagerly waiting for some of Darjeeling First Flush Teas from 2010. Very little rain till now and hope it improves. The silver lining for rain is there because its been quite cloudy for a couple of days. Just that the clouds are not being able to accumulate the amount of droplets needed

Regarding the Yellow tea above, a tea friend of mine, Max, has reviewed it as well, but is in Swedish language. You can check his review here

We are drinking Darjeeling Tea on Republic Day!

In: Darjeeling Festivals| Personal Ramblings| india holidays

26 Jan 2010

After 6 decades of working under the Constitution framed and adopted in 1950, today, India celebrates its 61st Republic Day! Happy Republic Day! As Mahatma Gandhi had said, when the power comes, it shall be vested in the hands of the people - we hope that all leaders know its true value and divert towards making a greater India keeping in mind the integrity and prosperity of the nation. Same goes to all of us - let us prove ourselves good citizens!

Today we will be going on a staff picnic and a huge Indian flag has been mounted on the vehicle. The picnic spot will be on the banks of river Teesta. Guess what, we will be cooking there on a huge fire built on three stones (historic hehe) and the fuel will be branches, twigs and stuffs like that - kinda camping, but we call it picnic. The other thing is everyone has carried a flask of their own - everyones so addicted with the tea thing.

We will be on a picnic way down to river Teesta, but will definitely be drinking our share of Darjeeling Tea the whole day.

We will be celebrating India’s Republic Day along with a cup of Darjeeling Tea!

Happy Republic Day!

Keep Sipping Tea!!

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Tags: darjeeling tea, indian republic day 2010

An Amazing old Darjeeling Tea photo I found

In: Darjeeling Photos

12 Jan 2010

I was just meddling with my old stuff and I found an old Darjeeling Tea photo. Its an amazing find and I had to post it here. Its so touching to see one of the porters carry tea chest in the olden days. The tea chest is clearly marked with the tea company name “NS Tea Co. Ltd.” and the tea garden name which is “Bloomfield” now known as “Orange Valley Tea Estate”. The invoice no. is also visible but not so vivid. I humbly salute all the pioneers and all the tea workers who put their blood and sweat in bringing up this famed Darjeeling Tea industry and for making it possible for us to brew this heavenly brew in the comfort of our homes.

I wonder how it might have been in the olden days? Wish I had perceived it, but what if I didn’t, I can still feel the presence with every sip of Darjeeling Tea I take.

Enjoy the photo!! If you think this is a valuable share, re-tweeting or sharing it on your Facebook profiles will be appreciated greatly. Sharing with other tea lovers can be a tremendous feeling.

You know the frequency of blog posts to this blog, just unpredictable and I can’t predict when I am gonna post next hehe, though I try to, cross my heart!!

Take care and Happy Tea Sipping friends!

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Tags: darjeeling tea history, darjeeling tea photos

New Darjeeling Tea Arrivals and our intentions to do something good this Christmas!

In: Autumn Flush| Darjeeling Photos| Darjeeling Tea Offers| New Tea Arrivals

27 Nov 2009

Hi wrote this for my Email Newsletter, but could occupy as a blog post as well, so…

With the advent of First Flush and the end of the Autumn Flush, the 2009 tea season for Darjeeling Tea has ended. Winter is totally a dormant period with no production at all, mainly due to severe cold weather conditions with lack of sunlight and rain which are much needed. The next big season for Darjeeling Tea will start from March 2010. We wait for the new First Flush season now.

Thanks Giving
We have tremendously increased the volume of teas we used to purchase and we would like to thank all the tea lovers who made it possible. Without you all, it would just be an impossible dream. We try our best to source what Darjeeling produces each season and thanks to all for liking our teas. Once again Thanks ALL for your support and for building your trust in us. One thing we promise you – we won’t let you down on your expectations!

New Arrivals and Discount Straight away:
The new arrivals on our store are the single estate teas from the last tea season of the year namely “Autumn Flush“. We were busy sourcing teas here and there and the good thing about Autumn is, you can get good teas at very affordable prices. Of course some teas are exceptional, like the Arya White Tea, which tend to have a higher price tag – don’t blame us, we bought it expensive!

With the advent of Christmas, just a few weeks away, we thought of giving discounts on our new tea arrivals as well. First Flush and Second Flush teas are already on sale and the discounts on the new Autumn Flush will extend till end of Christmas. Regular pricing of Autumnal teas will prevail after Christmas.

So now is the perfect time to order, as our slowest method of shipping takes about 15 days for delivery. Expedited is one week. Don’t wait, order now and stock up your teas for the coming Christmas! Boast away with your possessions and throw a Christmas Tea Party!! - Autumn Flush here!

Doing Something Good This Christmas
We always wanted to help non profit organizations / tea laborers, needy Darjeeling people etc. and have been doing in small ways. This time we want you to get involved as well. People travel all the way from different countries to Darjeeling to do their desired social work and here is your chance to give something to the needy. No, we are not asking for any money, we will tell how you can get involved. The perfect organization to work with is Hayden Hall, a women’s non profit organization which has been operational from 1969. They focus on poor women’s self-sufficiency programs which in turn focus on solving the problems their children, families and communities face. They make various handicraft products which are all amazing, but since we are tea centric, our focus got diverted towards the beautiful tea cozies that they make. We will not sell their tea cozies but instead send as a free addition to your existing order which should total up to USD 199. Don’t forget USD 199 total comes with Free Fedex or equivalent shipping and yes, this will also include one year of free membership to our Darjeeling Tea Club. Satisfied? How are you helping them – You buy the teas, we send you the tea cozies free. Our buying of tea cozies is indirectly your buying of the tea cozies and a direct support to Hayden Hall. And not to forget that all our teas are on sale at the moment!

(I visited Hayden Hall some days ago to place the tea cozies order and met Miss Radha, one of the main Hayden Hall social worker. It was a tremendous feeling talking about all things they are doing for the poor women folk. A visit to their 100% Fairtrade shop was just overwhelming. Meeting the actual women folk doing their daily jobs was like getting in touch with poverty trying to make a living - despite all their worries, very jovial women, always happy!)

Our Facebook Page:
Lately Facebook has been our regular update page and all things new are updated instantly. So if you have a facebook profile, you can catch us here! Thanks to Facebook for providing such a magnificent service. Our profile here!

Closing Note:
This year’s tea season’s been with up and down initially with the starting of First Flush and the hectic sourcing from the low production was difficult, but we thank God and luck that our pursuit for quality teas got fulfilled. We will be striving for the best First Flush teas next year and hope the weather conditions do peak up for the peak quality teas.

Some Hayden Hall Photos that I clicked when I visited them: