Darjeeling Pure Origine

I believe this is the right tea. Mine came as a sample tea sachet with a Dammann Freres order. I have had it for quite a while so it is quite possible that the quality has suffered.

First, I confess that my initial experiences with Darjeeling as a tea newbie were not good and it was all my fault. I didn’t know better and made them just like any black tea. After I learned a bit and made them as they should be, I liked them a bit more, especially one or two special ones. I preferred Chinese black teas over Darjeelings and gave up on most Indian tea altogether, except for a few blends.

I feel that this makes me unqualified to judge this tea, but I can state my opinion of it. It is smooth enough to drink without additions. There is definitely some fruity astringency, but not enough to make me to see it. I even did a second steep, because I still have some cubes of Dubliner cheese left and wanted tea!

I expect that a Darjeeling lover would have to great things to say about this tea, but this is not something that appeals to me. It was fun to give it a try! One of my favorite Darjeelings is a very earthy one from Luis Tea that my daughter bought in Budapest. The real Darjeeling enthusiast probably wouldn’t even like it because it is so different!

Hello Steeps!
Sorry for the 2-3 weeks of inactivity!

I got this as a birthday present from a friend named Puk. (Awesome guy!)
The tea came in a little black box with the name “Darjeeling Himalaya” on the side. I looked it up on steepster and I guess this should be posted under “Darjeeling Pure Origine”. Nevermind the name – it’s still awesome. The box contains 30 muslin bags of tea, that looks like mushrooms. They look so cute! I love it!

I brewed it at 80 celcius, for 3-4 minuttes, and the result is a golden liquid that smells like honey. It’s a bit bitter, but not a overbrewed kind of bitterness to it. Does that make sense? It’s a bit like honey, truthfully. Somehow this tea reminds me of orchids because of Its sweet and flowery note at the end. Great aftertaste – hard to place and quickly gone.

This sachet came as a sample with the advent calendar. I’m not sure if it’s the right tea, especially since the last reviews were years ago, but the envelope matches exactly the picture here.

Pretty full body with malt, leaf litter and wood. Smooth muscatel integration, smoother than I prefer. The light astringency adds a little something needed. I like the second steep better because it’s not as smooth and I can taste both some bitterness and a hint of citrus.

Thanks to Marzipan for throwing in a sample teabag of this from the DF group order!

I drank this down quite fast. My opinion on Darjeelings in general is middle of the road. I neither love nor hate them. This one was more honeyed than others, if I recall. No ripe fruits, contrary to the description. I’m sure this would have been good with milk, and maybe a small dose of sugar on top of that.

Just ordered a tea latte at Holts Cafe and this was the tea bag that it was made with. Tastes amazing though it could be biased by the deliciously creamy milk they used to make it with :) Definitely ordering this latte again, but would love to see if Holts has this in store as well on its own.

This is one of my favorite teas. Well balanced, smooth, wonderful aroma. Great first thing in the morning, especially on cold days.

While eating makis !