Monday, November 28, 2011

Thurbo (tippy clonal ) Exclusive Ex-23/Autumn flush 2011



I am extremely happy to have this particular batch of tea in our list of autumn flush 2011 specially when there is a serious shortage of high quality teas in this season. We had cupped several samples from this plantation in this harvest and to be very honest this plantation produced some good teas when compared to some of the finest plantation in Darjeeling. Most of the clonal tea batches which rolled out after the 10th of November 2011 from this plantation were very nice and I must say that this year the Thurbo plantation has been making good teas right from the early spring to the end of autumn consistently.
Since we are located in Darjeeling and being one of the oldest traders from Darjeeling we share a very good relation with most of the plantation and specially Mr.J.D. Rai (the quality controller/senior manager of the group) had promised us to provide with a very special batch from this plantation and we are really thankful to him for offering us the batch no. EX-23 which is a typical exclusive quality autumn flush 2011 tea.This exclusive batch is plucked from the high elevation clonal fields of the Thurbo plantation.The dry leafs are very well sorted and has a fair amount of silver and golden tips and also releases a very unique ripe mango like aroma in this state. When steeped for complete 4 minutes the cup releases a bright golden/orange liquor.Each sip is extremely fruity and smooth .We assure a 100% quality guarantee for this exclusive tea and can declare this tea as a Tea Emporium signature tea of the season. Do not miss this superb tea!!!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Castleton ftgfop-1 (spl.ch.) autumn Dj442/Autumn flush 2011



We are really proud to have this tea in our list of autumn flush 2011 teas .We had cupped about 23 invoice samples from this plantation of Darjeeling and have selected this excellent batch. This tea was manufactured on the 14th of November which was actually the second last invoice that rolled out of the garden before it closed for the winters and I was really sad before I came across this batch as most of the samples that we had cupped earlier was either a bit flat in the cup or some had less aroma.
Actually this tea was made perfectly as it stopped raining in Darjeeling after the 10th of November and the leafs had enough time on the bush to dehydrate as a result of which this excellent batch of autumn tea is well withered, rolled and fired. The dry leafs are bright coppery in appearance which is truly a good sign of a perfect autumn tea. The cup has bright liquor which further releases exotic aroma of ripe fruits. Each sip is extremely smooth and finishes with a mellow after taste.
A classic offering of the season!

Balasun china classic sftgfop-1 /DJ 289 autumn flush 2011



Since the autumn flush 2011 started a bit late this year due to prolonged monsoons in Darjeeling we had a difficult time procuring the perfect Autumnal teas. As I have written in my previous posts that a perfect autumn tea harvest needs dry atmospheric conditions but right through the beginning of the month of November we had frequent rainfall in almost each alternative day, so one had to be very careful while procuring the right teas.
I came across this particular invoice from the Balasun tea estate while I tasted a lot of tea samples from Risheehat, Sungma, Puttabong and Balasun tea estates. The dry leafs are well sorted in this invoice of tea and the leafs are kept slightly large and bold and when this tea is brought near the nose it releases a unique aroma of dry fruits like dates and nuts. The cup is slightly dark and strong than the usual autumn tea and thus makes a perfect breakfast tea. This tea can also be enjoyed with a splash of milk and sugar. I have included this tea in my list as many tea lover friends of ours had suggested us to procure a tea that will suit as a perfect breakfast tea and we assure that everyone will admire this tea.
A perfect tea to start your day at a reasonable price!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Autumn flush Darjeeling tea harvest 2011:

Autumn flush Darjeeling tea harvest 2011:
The Autumn Flush harvest is one of the most important harvest for the tea plantations in Darjeeling which is actually the 4th harvest of the year and not the 3rd harvest mistaken by many. Actually the 3rd harvest or the monsoon harvest which stretches from the month of July- October 2nd week produces huge quantities of teas but the quality is not as good as the 1st or 2nd flush as a result of which these plantations gets a very low price for their crop as compared to 1st or 2nd Flush harvests. This happens due to excess rain and humidity during the monsoons in Darjeeling.
This year the autumn flush 2011 harvest has started slightly late, the original or the peak time autumn flush teas have started coming in from the 1st week of November. We have tasted a lot of tea samples right through the month of October but all the teas harvested during October are mostly pre-autumn teas. This has happened as this year we had a prolonged monsoon season which stretched till the 3rd week of October and we also had 2 major festivals during the month of October for which the plantations were declared closed for the festive season. The climatic temperature is also a major factor for this harvest. There should be a minimum temperature difference of 9-10 degrees Celsius for day and night. The normal temperature in Darjeeling for this harvest is about 18 degrees Celsius during the day and 8-9 degrees Celsius during the night.
A perfect autumn flush tea in dry leaf state should be bright coppery/reddish in appearance. The liquor of the tea should be dark golden in color and the most important factor which should be kept in mind is that each tea from the different garden will have a distinctive aroma of its own but the basic aroma that should be present in all true autumn teas are that it should always have an identical pine like aroma or the smell of dry leafs found in the forests during the winter time.
These are the few important facts about this wonderful Darjeeling tea harvest. Keep visiting us for our exclusive teas and Have a great tea time!