Yes, didn’t I mention the fact that fav Tea lover Darjeeling teas hardly stay long on our site. If your favorite tea is out for sale, grab it at the earliest. I am sorry to inform tea lovers who were planning on to buy Arya Ruby from us - the tea is out of stock now - ALL SOLD! Its just been about 2 months and not even 100 grams is left. I was thinking of saving about 500 grams of Ruby on my quota but gosh, now I have to wait for the whole year. I too was late I guess. Can’t cancel any others for my sake.
The same thing happened to Castleton Muscatel last year and I guess it will have a similar situation this year.
The deadline to update Second Flush 2008 Darjeeling teas on our main Thunderbolt Tea site was today, but we were unable to do so - it will be updated by tomorrow evening IST.
Update: The three orders which we received before our site could be updated with the “ALL SOLD” notice for Arya Ruby - no worries, your purchase amount will be refunded in full, but if you decide to buy other teas with the amount that is with us, you can just mail us or write to us using our feedback form. You have already been informed about the status of your order by email. If you haven’t received any of such notices, then your order is probably processed.
I would also like to update some info about our Thunderbolt Tea site - We have recently moved to our new server, though you can order hassle free, there may be some features like the support system not working. Please bear with us while we maintain. Your patience is highly appreciated.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
when can we expect the update on thunderbolttea website?thanks
July 9th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
hi peter, sorry the late response. yes the teas have been updated to our main site at http://www.thunderbolttea.com . There are greater options for buying now and if you are our tea club member then you are at a win win situation.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Hi Benoy,
So glad to see the new and UPDATED blog. Keep it going lad and tell us more about all the wonderful 2nd flush as well.
Cheers!
Samir
July 10th, 2008 at 11:03 am
hey sam! nice to hear from you! hope your event management thing is going fine in dubai. by the way friends samir is a friend and a brother to me. we always stuck through thick and thin. keep rocking dude!
July 13th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Hello!
I bought some of the second flush Castleton from you and i am very satisfied.
However i was wondering how you recommend brewing it?
I am currently using water just below boiling, and steeping for 5 minutes, doing just one steep. It gives me good results but i would like to hear from a real expert
TIA
John
July 14th, 2008 at 4:26 am
hi thanks john for the comment. well, the tea brewing actually depends on one’s own individual palate and according to what taste you like best, but we will tell you how we brew our Darjeeling teas for tasting. This is in plain simply English - we take about 2 - 2.5 grams (about 1 teaspoonful) of the dry tea leaves and drop it in the dry cup which hold roughly about 140 ml water. We boil the water once, just don’t over boil it or under boil it - Let it have a short boil. Pour the water onto the dry cup where you placed the dry tea leaves. Cover it for about 3-5 minutes (this depends on how strong or light you want, lesser steeping time for lighter liqor and vice versa). Leaving aside the white and green teas, Second Flush will have some body even at lower steeping times when compared to First Flush Darjeeling teas. China grades will have more body than the clonals. After the steeping is over, pour it onto your cup. Let it cool for a short while and then savor! China’s are best recommended for cups etc. It is also recommended that the cups are warm so that it doesn’t lose too much of heat.
Hope this helps.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Hi Benoy, One question for you… Do we always have to strain Darjeeling tea leaves after 5 minutes? Sometimes I find the tea too strong after 5 minutes. Is there particular timings for particular types of tea? Or maybe its upto individual taste huh?
Sam
July 16th, 2008 at 10:46 am
hi samir, actually your query has already been answered when I replied to John placed above your comment. Anyways, to answer you specifically - no it is not mandatory to keep the tea leaves steeped for 5 minutes. You can try different timings (experiment it) with lower steeping times. This solely depends on your palate and liking. If you like it light, steep about 3 minutes. The full body and strong attribute also depends on what kind of tea you are brewing. First Flush will be lighter in appearance, but if you over steep it, it will tend to get very astringent (bitter). Second Flush will appear to have some body even at a 3 minute brew but will be smooth.
Hope this helps.