An approach to 2nd flush 2016 Darjeeling tea
2016:
We had a
fantastic 1st flush 2016 harvest in Darjeeling this year. The
overall spring season was fruitful to all involved in the Darjeeling tea
industry. We were able to see some of the finest Darjeeling teas produced from
the young clonal tea leaves and some high quality classic Darjeeling teas made
from the pure china leaves.
This year the
pure 1st flush 2016 harvest started from the 1st week of
March 2016 and lasted till the 2nd week of April. Almost all the
gardens in Darjeeling are going through the dormant period at the moment and
only few gardens in Darjeeling are getting a slight hint of the 2nd
flush harvest in their teas at the moment but we cannot call this a pure 2nd
flush character. The most important factors in the 2nd flush harvest
are the right climatic conditions and soil conditions. It should not rain
during the peak time of this harvest as the best 2nd flush
Darjeeling teas are made from the most carefully plucked dehydrated leaves and
shoots.
Darjeeling
tea is known for its Muscatel character which is most pronounced in each of the
teas in 2nd flush harvest. Tea lover all around the world compare
this character with the Muscat grapes and wine. A perfect muscatel Darjeeling tea
is made from pure china leaves. A perfect cup of Darjeeling 2nd
flush Muscatel tea should have golden orange liquor; the aroma should be heavy,
filled with hints of freshly made chocolates, ripe peaches and dry fruits.
Every sip should have an in-depth taste of exotic ripe fruits with a lingering
sweet aftertaste. It is also very difficult to make a perfect batch of 2nd
flush Darjeeling tea as the peak time of this harvest only lasts for about
10-15 days. During this period of time a good tea maker has to choose and pluck
the right leaves and fine tune his tea making skills to make the perfect tea.
Once this peak time passes then the monsoon sets in and then it is impossible
to make a perfect batch of 2nd flush muscatel Darjeeling tea.
We have been
tasting a lot of samples from various garden of Darjeeling and we have also
tasted tea samples from early 2nd flush making gardens in Darjeeling
like the Namring , Risheehat, Selimbong and Singell tea estates of Darjeeling
and we feel that the perfect 2nd flush 2016 Darjeeling teas will
only start from the 2nd week of June onwards.
As usual we
have planned only to procure the finest quality Darjeeling teas and this year
we will concentrate more on the teas made from pure china leaves as we will
offer more of the classic muscatel Darjeeling teas and few high quality clonal
Darjeeling teas during the 2nd
flush 2016 Darjeeling tea harvest.
Till then please
keep visiting us for more details at www.teaemporium.net
