Planter's Pride

This is another gift from my friend, Lucky :-). I like this tea a lot. Unfortunately, there’s no information on the package other than that it is a darjeeling. I haven’t had one in a while, but I feel like darjeeling is a good summer tea. It’s fruity, sweet, light, and fresh. To me, it tastes like mountain air. There is an astringency at the end, but that’s the only downside for me. It’s not too overwhelming, so I’d gladly drink a lot more of this tea. Good thing because I have 100g of it!

My lovely friend, whom we call Lucky because he was sick of Americans butchering his name, brought this back to me from his last trip home to Mumbai. I am guessing that it is a CTC? I’ve only seen one CTC and this tea looks like that; more granular than leafy. It certainly is bold with the base really shining through while the spices just round out the background, which I LOVE. The base is quite malty, somewhat chocolatey, and smooth and bold at the same time if that is possible. It really does take center stage at the beginning of the sip while the spices pop up more at the end, with the cardamon and cloves dominating the cinnamon and ginger. I like this better than any chai blend I’ve ever had. Is this even a chai? I have no idea what this is but I like it. Also, there were no brewing suggestions, so I’m flying blind here.