Photo: Norbu Tea |
Country of Origin: India
Leaf Appearance: dark, somewhat curly, scattered silver and gold tips
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 3 minutes
Water Temperature: 195 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain teacup and mesh infuser
Liquor: dark reddish amber
The arrival of fall means that I have a constant craving for Darjeeling. While digging through my sample box this one caught my eye because it is from one of my favorite estates and it had been a while since I had an autumn flush. The dry leaves were beautiful to look at. I loved the mottled mix of colors and the amount of fleecy buds were mixed throughout. The taste wasn’t as bold as other autumn flushes that I have tried. Norbu Tea describes it as medium bodied and I would say that is pretty on the nose. The taste was earthy and sweet with mellow floral notes and a hint of Darjeeling’s signature muscatel flavor. There was some astringency but only to add a refreshingly crisp finish. Don’t let the floral notes in this tea scare you. My boyfriend absolutely hates floral teas but he loved this one when he stole a sip from my cup. I love that the product description includes the sad but sweet story behind the name Margaret’s Hope. I’ll have the tell that tale in a future blog post. Since this is from last year’s crop, it is on end of vintage clearance until it is gone. Grab some while you can!
Not familiar with this type of tea? Check out my article, Meet the Tea: Darjeeling!
You can find out more about this tea here.