Since I really disliked the Earl Grey Green Darjeeling I sampled the other day, I noticed I had one other green Darjeeling in my collection, also a sample from Meowster’s cupboard destash (thank you!), so I still have a chance to try Indian green tea, without the flavoring. The dry leaf smells a little musty to me and I have no idea how old this may be by this point — I got it from Meowster in summer of 2018, and I have no idea how old it may have already been by that point. If it hasn’t held up well, I’ll likely cold brew the rest of my sample, since I seem to enjoy even the most ancient of green teas when steeped in ice cold water overnight. For now, I’ve brewed a hot pot, but used my “normal” leaf-to-water ratio and temperature for green teas (2.5g leaf for 500ml pot @ 175F, 2 minute steep) rather than what Vahdam recommended, after that sad sad pot of EG green Darjeeling the other day, which was waaaay too bitter using Vahdam’s recommended leaf amounts.
The steeped leaf smells deeply of cooked spinach. The tea is a pale yellow liquor and smells a bit smoky, a bit earthy (particularly of minerals/wet rocks), slightly nutty, and a bit of a dry herbaceous quality. The flavor reminds me of Gunpowder green tea or plain green yerba mate… I’m getting that tobacco smoke flavor over a dry grass/hay flavor, though the finish is heavily mineral. I’m getting a very subtle notes of nuts and lemongrass, as well. It’s mildly drying after the sip, but there is no astringency/bitterness during the sip.
I’m not much of a fan of smoky notes presenting in green teas, so I’m not really enjoying this one much (that “tobacco” sort of taste is just really off-putting to me). I’ll finish the pot, but think I’ll coldbrew the rest with a bit of peppermint leaf added to smooth out those notes until I’ve used up the sample. I’m still curious to try other Indian green teas; I wonder if they all have that “gunpowder” taste or if some are significantly different?
Thanks so much for the chance to try something new to me!
Flavors: Dry Grass, Drying, Herbaceous, Hot Hay, Lemongrass, Mineral, Nutty, Smoke, Smooth, Tobacco, Wet Rocks
I never was too impressed of Indian greens nor Ceylon ones. While they can be nice and tasty, usuallly I found them quite one-dimensional adn boring. And mineral for sure. Maybe I just prefer the green, grassy, umami greens?