An approach to 1st flush 2012 Darjeeling tea:
The winters have finally passed away in Darjeeling and we had a very cold winter season here. It also rained at certain intervals here during the winters so we are expecting a much better 1st Flush 2012 darjeeling tea harvest this year than the previous last 3 years.
I had recently taken a drive downhill towards the Mirik Valley in Darjeeling where world famous tea gardens like Thurbo,Phuguri and Singbulli tea estates are located and saw a lot of newly grown baby shoots and buds on the tea bushes in the tea fields. This period of time is better known as the pre-1st Flush period. During this period of time the flushing of new shoots and buds are very minimum, so most of the invoices are often mixed up with the old leafs as a result of which the shelve life of a tea produced during this period of time is very less and a tea produced during this period often loses its flavor within 2-3 months from its manufacture. It really takes years of observation and knowledge to understand the real and pure 1st Flush tea. We have already been flooded with samples from various different gardens in Darjeeling but we are still waiting for few invoices to roll out of the gardens so that the yellow or the old leafs are fully cleared out from the tea bushes and then we shall start choosing the best invoices of Darjeeling teas as usual for our clients worldwide.
The manufacture of 1st flush teas have already started in lower elevations gardens in kurseong valley like Rohini,Tindharia,jogmaya and Jungpana tea estates but as I have mentioned above that the pure 1st flush will only start after 2-4 invoices roll out of these individual gardens and for that of course you will have to depend on your tea supplier.
The right temperature difference between day and night should be about 8 degrees Celsius for a perfect 1st flush harvest. Most of the finest teas are made from the clonal/young bushes during this period of time,as a perfect cup of 1st flush Darjeeling tea should be light/bright in color ,fruity and flowery in flavor and it should leave a slight astringency on the tea lover`s palate as an after taste. If all these factors are present in a 1st Flush tea then I would call it a well made tea.
I request all tea lover`s to have patience and keep visiting us on facebook (www.facebook.com/teaemporium) and our blog for latest updates!
Showing posts with label Darjeeling Green tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darjeeling Green tea. Show all posts
Friday, March 9, 2012
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!
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!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
An approach to autumn flush 2010
An approach to Autumn Flush 2010:
The Monsoon has finally ended in Darjeeling and we are enjoying some fine sunshine here and its getting cold each day. It is also a sign of relief for the Darjeeling Tea industry as during the monsoon season better known as the “Rains” the growth of the leafs are not under control so the quality of the teas are comparatively poor as a result of which the gardens fetch a very low price for their produce compared the 1st, 2nd and autumn flush. There are several factors which are involved to produce very good autumn teas, actually the autumn harvest is a character which passes over after the long monsoon flush and ends at the end of November and is actually not an individual harvest like the 1st and the 2nd flush. The teas produced in this harvest can be equally good as the 1st and the 2nd Flush, the right atmospheric temperature for this harvest should have a minimum difference of 7-9 degrees Celsius between day and night, the content of tips or Buds are less in this harvest and most of the good teas in this harvest do not have an attractive ornamental value and mostly look dehydrated.
Well these are few important factors required for making good autumn flush Darjeeling teas, there has been a shortage of at least 10-15% of the total annual production of Darjeeling teas this year due to several natural problems like uncertain rains, draught etc.so there is a serious shortage of good Darjeeling teas in the world market. We have already started tasting samples from various plantation in Darjeeling and as usual we will soon come up with the large list of exotic autumn Flush 2010 teas.So keep visiting
The Monsoon has finally ended in Darjeeling and we are enjoying some fine sunshine here and its getting cold each day. It is also a sign of relief for the Darjeeling Tea industry as during the monsoon season better known as the “Rains” the growth of the leafs are not under control so the quality of the teas are comparatively poor as a result of which the gardens fetch a very low price for their produce compared the 1st, 2nd and autumn flush. There are several factors which are involved to produce very good autumn teas, actually the autumn harvest is a character which passes over after the long monsoon flush and ends at the end of November and is actually not an individual harvest like the 1st and the 2nd flush. The teas produced in this harvest can be equally good as the 1st and the 2nd Flush, the right atmospheric temperature for this harvest should have a minimum difference of 7-9 degrees Celsius between day and night, the content of tips or Buds are less in this harvest and most of the good teas in this harvest do not have an attractive ornamental value and mostly look dehydrated.
Well these are few important factors required for making good autumn flush Darjeeling teas, there has been a shortage of at least 10-15% of the total annual production of Darjeeling teas this year due to several natural problems like uncertain rains, draught etc.so there is a serious shortage of good Darjeeling teas in the world market. We have already started tasting samples from various plantation in Darjeeling and as usual we will soon come up with the large list of exotic autumn Flush 2010 teas.So keep visiting
Monday, May 25, 2009
Rohini Emerald Green tea 2nd Flush darjeeling tea 2009
Rohini Emerald Green Tea 2nd Flush Darjeeling tea 2009
This tea just took me by surprise when Rishi (Owner of the Gopaldhara and Rohini tea estate) informed me that they are planning to harvest some very special Darjeeling tea this 2nd Flush harvest and he told me that they were panning to make some high quality Green tea in their Rohini Plantation from the young Japanese clonal bushes that were once imported from Japan to make some great green teas in Darjeeling, but the project never succeeded as the former owner of the garden sold the garden to Rishi and his family, they say that teas from this small sector of young Japanese bushes makes some very good teas which are very sweet in taste, he informed me about this when the dormant period between 1st and 2nd Flush was going on, he made several teas for me all season long but I exactly knew what I wanted…..so finally during the end weeks of May when the 2nd Flush harvest in Darjeeling takes place I asked him to make this tea for me, to make this tea it takes a lot of labour and hard work, only one leaf and a bud is plucked from this special sector of the garden when the new shoots have just grown out and is further withered for about 48 hours and then gentle steamed and then fired at the end , the idea of making this tea is to keep it as unprocessed as possible but at the same time it should be a well made tea, this superb tea also has bold looks as the leafs are kept unbroken , the cup is also amazing as after steeping the tea for about 3 minutes ,the liquor of the tea turns green like the colour of the Emerald stone, each sip in the cup is extremely refreshing with a very sweet taste of young cucumbers and young bananas that remains on the palate as an after taste, this tea will surely impress the white tea lovers too as the standard of this green tea takes Darjeeling specialty tea making to another level of satisfaction.
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