Organic Makaibari Estate Darjeeling 2nd Flush Black Tea

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Organic Black Tea
Flavors
Not available
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Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Fair Trade, Organic
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 45 sec 2 g 8 oz / 236 ml

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13 Tasting Notes View all

  • “The guys and I are sharing a pot of this tonight with the balcony door left open. My glass mug is still steaming furiously, but I keep trying to steal a sip anyway. I’m impatient. I still love...” Read full tasting note
    95
  • “Backlogging. I’ve got a few early-morning classes this semester, and I’ve been taking tea in my Thermos, which is a lovely way to stay warm in the frigid lecture room. I love that it’s still hot...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “My first darjeeling! I’ll write more in detail later, but I wanted to get some quick notes down to remember the taste experience. Deep, warm, woody (not woodsy, not smoky) comforting flavor with a...” Read full tasting note
    91
  • “This morning, courtesy of Aubrey at Arbor Teas, I’m pleased to review the 2013 Organic Makaibari Estate Darjeeling 2nd Flush USDA Organic black tea, Western style: 8 oz / 1.25 tsp (2.0g) / 212*F /...” Read full tasting note

From Arbor Teas

This outstanding organic tea is biodynamically farmed at the Makaibari estate in India’s Darjeeling district. Established in 1859, Markaibari is the oldest estate in Darjeeling, where a strong commitment to sustainable farming prevails. This Fair Trade Certified organic black tea is made from the new growth of the tea plant a few months after the first harvest of the year, referred to as the “second flush.” Second flush organic tea from India (Read more

About Arbor Teas View company

We’re tea enthusiasts with a lot of passion. Passion for top quality tea, the environment, fair trade, and our community. We started Arbor Teas in Ann Arbor, Michigan, intent on creating a tea company as passionate as we are.Read more

13 Tasting Notes

95
735 tasting notes

The guys and I are sharing a pot of this tonight with the balcony door left open. My glass mug is still steaming furiously, but I keep trying to steal a sip anyway. I’m impatient. I still love this tea. It’s such a complex and summery thing.

We’ve been having a pot of tea every night, since I always have at least one person hanging out at my place these days. Previously, I’ve been blending my teas and not logging it because I don’t really like making pages for custom blends. But I’ve been mostly making “fall” teas. Apple cranberry, vanilla assam, stuff like that…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 15 sec

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80
176 tasting notes

Backlogging. I’ve got a few early-morning classes this semester, and I’ve been taking tea in my Thermos, which is a lovely way to stay warm in the frigid lecture room. I love that it’s still hot when I pull it out of my bag at the end of a 6-hour kitchen lab.

This Darjeeling is great, but 5:30am is not when I should be making a pot of tea, apparently. I had it in my head that this was an oolong. I steeped it as an oolong, and I expected it to taste like an oolong. I blame it on Adagio’s Ooooh Darjeeling…. Somehow. Really, it was just too early and I had no idea what I was doing. I shouldn’t be allowed to do anything without my morning cup… including making my morning cup.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Jaime 14 years ago

“Really, it was just too early and I had no idea what I was doing.”

Oh, how I can relate to that!!

Is your kitchen lab a quantity foods class? My longest one was only about 5…

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91
336 tasting notes

My first darjeeling! I’ll write more in detail later, but I wanted to get some quick notes down to remember the taste experience. Deep, warm, woody (not woodsy, not smoky) comforting flavor with a tasteful floral note. A slight astringency that I wouldn’t even call “astringent”; more just good. I am suitably impressed!

Edit a few hours later:

Soooo… I realized in retrospect that I may have goofed this tea. I poured it out of its (neat little!) sample bag into a tea tin that had JUST previously been home to some masala chai. I had rinsed the inside of the tea tin out, but unless this tea smells a LOT like chai, I didn’t rinse the aroma out.

Since the chai aroma still lingered, I don’t know how much that would have affected the taste. I didn’t really taste chai; I just tasted a combination of a dark, comforting base (which could possibly have been influenced by the chai) and floral notes. One thing I will say for it is that if it wasn’t labeled as a black tea, I would not have guessed it as such; the leaves look like “green tea” leaves (well, they’re green at least, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything), the liquor is a much lighter color than many classic black teas, and the taste is more plant-y than… well, at least the other black teas I’ve tried. Not that that’s a bad thing. Just unexpected! (…Tea newbie here, mind. Tea newbie.)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Nxtdoor 12 years ago

Someone should invent little packs that you can put in tins and they absorb flavour. I thought of the same thing when i washed out a “mamma mia” tin. strong, strong smelling tin, it might take a couple of days for it to air it out.

I wonder if it would work to leave baking soda in an empty tin for a day or so and then carefully wash it out. They say it absorbs odours but I never found it to be true whenever I tried to use it in my fridge.
TeaKlutz 12 years ago

I agree! Hmm, that baking soda thing might be worth a try, at least. For some reason, I hadn’t even considered the possibility of the aroma from the dry leaves lingering in the tin until the incident.

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139 tasting notes

This morning, courtesy of Aubrey at Arbor Teas, I’m pleased to review the 2013 Organic Makaibari Estate Darjeeling 2nd Flush USDA Organic black tea, Western style: 8 oz / 1.25 tsp (2.0g) / 212*F / 3-5 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.

Leaf: Thin twisted dark chocolate-brown, chocolate-brown, green and gold 2 cm or < in length.
Fragrance: Reminds me of hay with hints fine pipe tobacco
Liquor: Brilliant, clear, amber
Aroma: Muscatel!
Flavor: Muscatel!

3-min: A very smooth, light-bodied black tea. There was no bitterness or astringency. I let it steep another min.
4-min: A very smooth, medium-bodied black tea. There was no bitterness or astringency. I let it steep another min.
5-min: A very smooth, oh, so smooth, rich muscatel black tea. This is not as robust as a full-bodied Assam or Keemun, but you wouldn’t expect it to be as it is a Darjeeling! The muscatel white grape flavor lingers long on the tongue gently dancing – like butterflies flitting around on a cluster of blooms. There was zero bitterness or astringency. Oh, this is good! It brings a smile to my face – literally!

Re-Steeping:
6-min: Smooth & light-bodied w/o bitterness or astringency. I let it steep for another 4 min.
10-min: Smooth light-bodied w/o bitterness or astringency.

Impression: A very smooth, rich, and highly enjoyable organic Darjeeling with a potent natural muscatel aroma and flavor. Very well done! Highly recommended!

Thanks to Aubrey at Arbor Teas for including this gracious sample with my recent order.

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39311-perfect-tea-spoon
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39312-perfect-preset-tea-timer

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 3 previous comments...
TheTeaFairy 11 years ago

Yum, love a good muscatel SF. i’ve been in such a Darjeeling mood lately!

looseTman 11 years ago

I understand! They’re so different from robust black breakfast teas and such a refreshing treat!

mrmopar 11 years ago

I wish I could pen a review like this. Fantastic my friend!

looseTman 11 years ago

Thank you my friend! When the tea is this enjoyable, inspiration comes standard and the review nearly writes itself!

mrmopar 11 years ago

+1

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100
4 tasting notes

One of my favorites. It’s naturally sweet and reminds me of agave and grapes. It’s good by itself, but adding some light agave really brings out the flavor! I would call this a “medium” tea, good for any time of day. It’s refreshing and has a mild aftertaste with no bitterness. Overall, this tea is interesting enough for slow, contemplative sips, but it’s light enough so that just guzzling a whole pot works, too.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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