2/25/06


"Other tea isnt Darjeeling tea"
Methinks a cup of second flush Assam from the Moran/Sonari area is as
good as tea can get. Fantastic body, very strong, and quite, quite
bright. Darjeelings are no patch on it.
On the subject of Darjeeling vs Assam, one has to note that while
Darjeeling tea sell at higher rates pound for pound, it's more to do
with production and marketing than acual taste. For instance, a good
Assam estate manufactures 700 tonnes of tea year as against 100-150
tonnes for a good Darjeeling [maybe even less]. The whole Darjeeling
area makes 10 million kgs, Assam makes 400 million kgs. So, in terms of
consumption, Assam is ahead then. Even if you take it in absolute terms
[quantity X price] Assam teas still come out ahead.


Hello Sidman,

Leaving the issue of workers' rights and scamming vendors who mark up a
thousand percent, both legitimate discussion topics, Darjeeling is more
subtle and far more complex than Assams, no matter how good the Assams might
be. I admit this is an opinion, but it is a widely held one; Assams just
don't present the depth that you can expect from a fine first or second
flush Darjeeling, especially those grown at higher elevation. It is
absolutely true that on balance Assam teas are cheaper and far more
plentiful. They say that there is ten times as much Darjeeling sold as
grown. What does that tell us?

Michael