2016 Upper Namring Exotic Spring Darjeeling Black Tea

light honey vegetal aroma
lower astringency
lingering citrus finish
later steeps the honey and vegetal reduced with the citrus left standing

I was looking at the statistics of my blog and realized that once again I was oblivious to a milestone! I totally derped over a week ago when I missed my three year blog anniversary, and four days ago I derped and missed my 900th post. That is a lot, and considering I have notebooks filled with notes that have not made it onto the blog yet (or ever in the case of some teas and companies going away) I really do drink a lot of tea and have a lot to say about it, in perspective you can say that yes I am obsessed. Also, speaking of the blog, starting tomorrow posts will be going up every other day, I am excited to see how this new schedule will affect things!

You know one of my favorite things about reviewing Darjeeling teas? Knowing the name of the estate they come from so I can google the region and ogle pretty pictures, really this region of India is so gorgeous. Today’s tea is one of those, Teabox’s Upper Namring Exotic Spring Black Tea, this estate is both old and big, so big it is split into upper and lower, and then split into three gardens, with Upper Namring being the highest. The leaves are quite pretty, marbled greens, silvery fuzz, and golden tones, they look like sunlight through summer leaves. The aroma is delicate, notes of coriander and delicate distant flowers mix with fresh green grapes and a bit of raw rice blend with a subtle honey sweetness.

I decided to be a weirdo and brew this tea pseudo gongfu style and use my clay pot dedicated to first flush Darjeeling since the poor thing was gathering dust. After steeping, wow, the leaves really woke up! Very sweet scuppernong and honey aroma blend with a bit of arugula and nasturtium flowers giving it a peppery zing. The liquid has sweet scuppernongs and delicate distant nasturtiums with a bit of lettuce and coriander, blending green and sweet fairly well.

The first steep starts sweet, but has a slight briskness to it that keeps the sweetness from becoming too cloying and thick. The first note that popped up was sweet white grapes, they have a bit of tanginess making them more like table grapes than my beloved scuppernongs. Next is a blend of coriander, lemon blossom, and a crisp lettuce note. For the finish it is herbaceous coriander and a touch of sweet starchiness and distant flowers that linger into the aftertaste.

The second steep is much lighter in both aroma and taste, the aroma being mostly distant lettuce and sweet grapes. The taste is so sweet, no briskness to be found, just dense honey thick grape juice with a hint of lettuce at the finish. This is definitely the type of Darjeeling I would recommend to someone who likes their tea sweet, or is new to the fine world of first flush, it needs a little bit of a gentle hand with temperature, but will result in a wonderfully sweet steeping session.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/08/teabox-upper-namring-exotic-spring.html

I have a lot of love for fresh first flush Darjeeling (Nepal) teas. The season came around, and I had to scoop a bunch up. This is the first of many. I open the package and take a soft inhale. I am surrounded by a sweet squash flower scent with dark heavy wood and sap flowers. I can note a light spice of anise and peppercorn that lingers in the background. I warmed up my tetsubin and scoop the delicate vibrant leaves in. I filled the pot up and grabbed my cast iron cup and prepared for relaxation and sippin’. The taste was spot on. My first word on my notepad is simply “perfect”. The body was thick and sweet with a slight tang in the aftertaste. The liquor flows smoothly and calmly over the palette with a heavy floral note and roasted green base. A can pin point a bright hyacinth note that blossoms out of the brew. The aftertaste is thick and lasting with a candied sweetness. The brew continues in this manner and progresses with a slight astringency that keeps the brew interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I always love what Namring brings to the table.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHF-lwXA3Yq/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

Too busy enjoying this one to write a proper note right now. Suffice to say that the warm grassy aroma of the dry leaf, the honey and citrus aroma of the liquor and the sweet, slightly nutty taste is just what I wanted on a sunny bank holiday afternoon. Teas like this are the reason why Darjeelings are my favourite black teas. Now, I must get back to working or there will be no new berserkjaknowledge being spread around.

One of the three samples I received with my Teabox order recently was this particular black tea. I have had plenty of Darjeeling teas, and have enjoyed the light and delicate taste of spring teas. This tea is just that – light and delicate.

The moment you steep the leaves, the air around you start smelling fruity, like the fruits aisle at whole foods. I could make out mangoes, sweet and pulpy, in the aroma and i wa excited to taste in the liquor. Surprisingly, the liquor tastes more floral than fruity (in a good way).

This tea evokes the feeling of sitting by the window sill, on a spring morning, with the bright aroma of garden flowers all around you. It has restraint, a lot of it actually, and I wished the tea had more body. It falls short of spectacular on just that count.