When you hear “Darjeeling” you think - dessert tea – champagne of teas – light, floral and smokey – goes perfect with something sweet.
But when you visit the Boston Tea Campaign website, you suddenly realize that tasting Darjeeling teas is an experience much like tasting wines!
Boston Tea Campaign specializes only in Darjeeling tea and they have an amazing selection of Darjeelings.
This first Darjeeling I’m reviewing is not a mix – like many you would buy elsewhere – but all from one specific tea estate. It comes from the Ging Tea Estate, and thus is referred to as a “garden” tea – being from a specific garden.
Though Darjeeling is a very specialized tea region in India, even the placement of the Tea estate, the way they grow and feed their tea plants and the way it is picked affects the taste of the tea.
I begin with this Darjeeling from the Ging Estate. Ging is a medium small estate in a North Western Valley in India.
2nd flush refers to the second picking of leaves usually beginning in June through mid-July.
Boston Tea Campaign describes a 2nd flush tea:
Second Flush refers to the second harvest of the year, leaves picked from the beginning of June till mid-July. It produces an amber-gold liquor that is fuller and stronger in taste than First Flush.
This was one of the best Darjeelings I’ve had yet. (I have another estate Darjeeling to taste and review and I’ll let you know how it compares to the Ging.) It brewed up to a beautiful dark golden color. The fragrance is gentle, and the taste is full bodied. Most Darjeelings I’ve tasted in the past are weak and a little flavorless – but not this one.
It took milk well – and had a lovely fullness in my mouth – with a slightly fruity/floral undertone. Even my husband, who doesn’t care for Darjeeling – really enjoyed this tea. His comment was “it doesn’t have that smokey flavor I don’t like and is so smooth!” It’s true… it is a very smooth tea – like liquid silk.
I’m so excited to have found Boston Tea Campaign – who specialize in Darjeeling. I’ve found a tea that is not just an “afternoon tea” to drink with a sweet treat – but a tea that stands up to my desire for fullness, smoothness and unique flavor for my morning pot or afternoon cup!
I can’t wait to try my next Estate tea from Boston Tea Campaign! Stay tuned…
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"When I was a kid, in the middle of winter, my friend Penny and I eachbought a quart of ice cream, skated to the island in the middle of our lake and ate them. Soooo good and soooo naughty. It keeps us young to be naughty sometimes. I would just go for it an enjoy!"
marlena said, in reply to Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud on August 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
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"Well, as someone who has tasted a lot of chai tea, I can attest that this really is not very similar in taste to Chai. Chai tends to focus on the spices, whereas this tea’s focus is on the orange, with the spices being very gentle and more of an accent to the orange."
liber-teas said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm
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"How fun! I love drinking tea so I love that you have a whole blog related to reviewing them. One brand that I really love that I don’t see on your list is the Portsmouth Tea Company. When I lived in Boston I used to buy lots of their teas and they were oh so unique. They had some really great fruity and floral blends. It’s interesting that..."
Kelly said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:25 am
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"Haha!! My co-worker told me that she purchased this tea after having purchased the Matcha Latte at Seattle’s Best, and her and another co-worker purchased this because they believed it was what was served there. She stated to me today that “it didn’t seem the same exactly…it felt like their was something..."
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
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"I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that this is the concentrate that Seattle’s Best coffee shops use to make their matcha latte. The lattes I’ve enjoyed there were sweet with a definite melon flavor… and I have noticed that they sell other Tazo teas there. If it IS the concentrate that they use… I am..."
liber-teas said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:47 pm
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"I Love this tea!! This flavor is my favorite. I am so addicted to it! Thanks
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Betsy said, in reply to Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea on August 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm
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liber-teas said, in reply to Easter Tea from Dammann Frères on August 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm
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