An Approach to 2nd flush 2018 Darjeeling tea

An approach to 2^nd flush 2018 Darjeeling teas:

    We are again very excited to select the finest 2^nd flush 2018 Darjeeling teas for our tea lover friends living all over the world. The 2^nd flush harvest is of the most important harvest of Darjeeling tea industry as during this period the teas produced in Darjeeling hill has a unique “muscatel” flavour which tea lovers all around the world compare with the Muscat wine or Muscat grapes. Tea experts even claim that this is such a unique character in Darjeeling tea during 2^nd flush harvest that no other tea growing area in the world can replicate this character.

     The ideal time for 2^nd flush harvest in Darjeeling is last week of May to last week of June but this year we are seeing  some early 2^nd flush teas as tea bushes were pruned early last year in most of the garden of Darjeeling after the strikes. For a perfect 2^nd flush harvest the night and day temperature difference should not be more than 12-15 degrees Celsius .The finest muscatel 2^nd flush teas are made from the most dehydrated leaves and buds. A perfect 2^nd flush Darjeeling tea should have dark golden orange liquor, with fully brown infused leaves. The flavour should remind of dark chocolates and Muscat grapes and should have a sweet and strong after taste. These are the few thumb rules that we follow while choosing the finest teas in 2^nd flush harvest.

      We taste about 40 cups of different teas from various gardens of Darjeeling everyday and have already started choosing the best teas. We will inform all our tea lover friends after the selections are completed and the 2^nd flush list is ready.

    Till then we appreciate your patience and thank you for reading this article. Please keep visiting our website for best of Darjeeling tea harvests.

An Approach to Autumn Flush 2017 Darjeeling tea

An Approach to Autumn flush 2017:

    The Autumn flush 2017 Darjeeling tea harvest in Darjeeling started around the 3^rd week of October 2017. This year`s harvest was very different from previous year`s harvest due to the 104 days of strikes in Darjeeling from the month of mid June. Tea leaves from tea bushes were not plucked for more than 3 months and the overall gardens were filled with wild plants. So, the workers of various gardens were busy pruning the tea bushes so that we could get a very good 1^st flush harvest next year.

    The quantity of pure Autumn flush Darjeeling teas are very less this year and after intense tea tasting we have selected 3 top quality Autumn flush 2017 Darjeeling teas this year from Puttabong, Upper Namring and Margaret`s Hope tea estates.These teas are produced in very limited quantities during the peak Autumn flush harvest.

     We are sure everyone will appreciate these high quality teas this season from our list.

An approach to 1st flush 2016 Darjeeling tea

An approach to 1^st flush 2016 Darjeeling tea:

   It has been a very dry and cold winter in Darjeeling after the autumn flush harvest in Darjeeling since last weeks of December 2015. We received a very good rainfall on the 10^th of February 2016 which is surely a very good sign for the upcoming 1^st flush 2016 Darjeeling tea harvest. It’s very difficult to choose the right 1^st flush Darjeeling tea during the initial stage of the 1^st flush harvest as the amount of the fresh leaves and shoots on the tea bushes are very limited and most of the lots produced during this period often contains some winter leafs in it and if one is really in a hurry to get the 1st flush teas of the initial stage of the this harvest then he/she can land on buying a mixed lot or a batch of winter and spring mixed Darjeeling tea.So one has to be very careful while choosing the teas.

      Since we are in this trade for the last 70 years and have been tasting the samples of different teas right from the beginning to the end of the harvest each year we have seen that once the few rounds of plucking is done properly during this harvest we can get rid of the winter leafs   and only then we expect to get the fresh shoots and buds from the tea bushes which is actually used to make the 1^st flush Darjeeling teas.

    We have tasted few samples from few of the gardens of Darjeeling and Dooars and can say that this year the 1^st flush harvest is a bit late. We expect that we will get the early 1^st flush teas from the clonal bushes like the AV2, P312, and BB157 etc. The 1^st flush teas from the pure china bushes will take some time to arrive as the china bushes usually takes some time to conceive the new leafs and shoots during the early spring due to cold and dry conditions during this time.

     A pure and good 1^st flush Darjeeling tea should have a bright greenish appearance, filled with tiny white silver tips. The cup should give out bright yellow liquor in the cup with fruity-floral aroma with a bit of astringency at the end of each sip.

 As usual we will taste and only procure the early season pure and true first flush teas and start offering them to our tea lover friends all around the world through our website. Till then we request you to keep visiting us at our website www.teaemporium.net and our official face book page www.facebook.com/teaemporium

An approach to autumn flush Darjeeling tea 2015

An approach to autumn flush 2015 Darjeeling teas 2015

    The monsoon harvest has finally ended in all of the tea gardens in Darjeeling and we are all eagerly waiting for the fresh and new autumn flush 2015 Darjeeling teas to arrive.

     Like every year, even this year the people of Darjeeling were in a festive mood since the “Dushera” festival had started from the 13^th of October and was celebrated till the 23^rd of October and we were all very busy celebrating this festival.

    Since we have continuously tasted a lot of tea samples from about 45 plantations of Darjeeling year long this year we got the hint of autumn flush harvest in some of the teas harvested after the 23^rd of October 2015. This has occurred since the climatic conditions have changed a lot in Darjeeling after the “Dushera” festival. The afternoon has been very sunny and warm but right after the sunset it gets really cold as we move towards the night.

   The climatic conditions play a very vital role for this premium Darjeeling tea harvest . The temperature difference between the day and the night should not be more than 9-12 degree Celsius. For a perfect autumn flush tea harvest the days should be sunny and warm and the evening should be slightly cold. A perfect autumn flush Darjeeling tea should have a dehydrated leaf appearance with fewer tips in it. The cup should be golden orange in colour and the aroma of the tea should have a matured sweet and dry pine leaf like character in it.

      As mentioned earlier we have restlessly tasted many tea samples everyday and we will procure simply the best batches from different plantations of Darjeeling and we also assure our entire tea lover friends around the world that only the best batches will be offered as usual.

   Till then, keep sipping into the finest Darjeeling teas!

An approach to autumn Flush 2013 darjeeling tea

The Autumn Flush harvest is the last and the final harvest of the year in the Darjeeling tea industry. This premium harvest period is awaited for a long time by both the tea lovers and the tea growers. This premium harvest takes place after the monsoon harvest which stretches from the month of July to 1^st week of October.

       This year we are expecting for the pure autumn flush teas to arrive after the 2^nd week of November 2013 as the “Dashera festival” has taken place on the mid weeks of October 2013 followed by a cyclone which has delayed this premium harvest.

        The Autumn flush harvest takes place for a very short period of time and the tea maker has to be very careful right from the beginning to the end of the tea production, as soon after this harvest the winter arrives and there is no tea production in Darjeeling in the whole of the winter season till the starting of March.

       A very good autumn tea should have a very dehydrated look in the dry leaf state and the aroma should be very matured and dry. The liquor in the cup should be slightly dark with rich after taste. The climatic conditions play a very vital role for the production of autumn flush teas. The temperature difference between the day and the night should be not more than 12-13 degrees Celsius. The autumn flush teas are normally high fired and fermented for a longer time than the 1^st and the 2^nd flush teas as a result of which these teas are richer in taste and has a longer shelve life.

This year we are expecting to have a great autumn flush harvest as there have been sufficient rains and the weather looks great at this point of time. We have already started to taste the samples from various plantations of Darjeeling and we will have the list of teas as soon as we receive the pure and fine autumn flush 2013 teas. Till then have patience and drink the fine teas that are already available in our list of premium teas!.

An Approach to 2nd flush 2013 Darjeeling tea

   The 2nd flush 2013 Darjeeling tea harvest has just started in Darjeeling. The dormant period is almost over in all the plantations in Darjeeling. This is one of the most important harvest in the Darjeeling tea industry. All the gardens in Darjeeling rely on their expert tea makers who are very careful while making the 2^nd flush teas as sometimes this harvest is so short that it might pass away within days.

           The most important factors for the 2^nd flush crop are the soil and the climatic conditions. The temperature difference between day and night should not be more than 10 degrees Celsius and the overall climatic conditions should be dry. The best teas during this harvest carry the muscatel flavour which is only found in Darjeeling teas and cannot be replicated by teas of any other regions.

         The best Muscatel variety Darjeeling teas are plucked from the most dehydrated china variety leafs and buds. Some of the exclusive teas are also produced from the clonal tea bushes. The perfect 2^nd flush Darjeeling tea should have slightly dark golden red liquor in the cup and a matured fruity /flowery aroma in the nose.

          We are already tasting a lot of samples from various different gardens of Darjeeling and we expect to have some great 2^nd flush 2013 Darjeeling teas from gardens like Turzum ,Sungma ,Puttabong ,Risheehat,Giddapahar,Castleton, Margaret`s hope and Thurbo. We also expect to see some great teas from the other unmentioned tea gardens as well.

      As usual we are working very hard to choose the right and perfect 2^nd flush 2013 darjeeling teas and shall inform all our tea lovers friends once the list of exotic Darjeeling teas are completed!

Margaret`s Hope ftgfop-1 ch. Exclusive DJ594/ Autumn flush 2011 Darjeeling tea.

We are really glad to have a wonderful tea from this tea plantation in Darjeeling after a long time in our list of Darjeeling teas. Actually after our friend (Mr.A.Gurung, tea maker) left the plantation in the year 2010 and joined another plantation we lost our interest in this estate`s teas as none of its teas were thrilling us after the new tea maker had joined the garden. Well they made good teas all the way long but the basic style of the teas were not matching our expectations.
As I have mentioned in few of my previous posts that this year about only 20% of the teas of this harvest is original autumn flush teas and rest of the teas being marketed as autumn flush is actually the monsoon or the 3rd flush teas. This happened due to the prolonged rains that lasted till the 10th of November 2011 and also due to cold low temperatures due to which the tea bushes could not generate enough leafs for the autumn flush harvest.
This particular invoice from the Margaret`s hope tea estate is hard withered as a result of which the dry leafs have a slight greenish appearance and has a typical fruity aroma in this state. This tea should be steeped for complete 4 minutes and when strained in a cup it releases bright golden liquor. Each sip is absolutely smooth and fruity and ends with a slightly burnt and musky aftertaste on the palate.
I`m sure this tea will be appreciated by everyone who loves Darjeeling teas!