On 07/04/2015 5:04 PM, mandy george wrote:
> On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 5:19:45 PM UTC-4, mandy george wrote:
>> I love Darjeelings but have found it tricky to shop for them. I've
>> mainly gone for 2nd flush from good estates --- Thurbo, Namring,
>> etc,. -- and any affordable Castleton deals. I don't have a good
>> framework for choosing among them I generaly reckon I'll have to
>> pay $80 a pound as entry price. I've tried broken leaf and a few
>> blends but I really want the special surprise of the really good
>> DJs. I've also gravitated to Nepalese Gold and a few standout
>> estates like Guranse.
>>
>> I'd welcome guides and opinions. Also, any opinions on Teabox which
>> seems to be a potential game changer -- I tried a couple of their
>> samples and was pleased by just how quickly the order arrived from
>> India and the packaging. Are there other online providers that I
>> should look at?
>>
>> Thanks for any inputs
>
> Many thanks, Wes. Helpful and fuels my interest in exploring more. I
> just got Teabox's Darjeeling samples -- 66 teas. I'm a bit like the
> kid and the candy store. It's a superb mix and I find that it is both
> fun and perhaps even necessary to vary your pick, whereas with greens
> and whites I tend to stick with a few favorites. Darjeelings have so
> many shades of taste and I love that tension between the full and the
> subtle. So far, I haven't found a DJ oolong that stands out -- the
> lack that aftertaste complexity that can have me sitting up -- no
> grabbers so far.
>
> My next exploration is a few Assams. The estate labels don't seem
> worth the exra money and they so often seem on the edge of
> harshness.
>
> I will chec out the supplers youmention.
>
> Mandy
>
If I may add a comment. I have devoured various Darjeeling teas for
decades. At present, I find nothing superior to a fresh Namring Estate.
Year-old teas are generally quite drinkable and good value, but do not
compete in flavour with current year teas.

Chimera

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M. Blot > wrote:
>If I may add a comment. I have devoured various Darjeeling teas for
>decades. At present, I find nothing superior to a fresh Namring Estate.

It just happens that I am drinking the Namring second flush from Harney and
Sons this morning. I like it a lot, but it's a very different style than
most of the more popular first flush Darjeelings. It's much darker, without
that green note, and I'd suggest it's probably withered a lot more thoroughly
than the typical Darjeelings. This is something I like a lot, but not
everyone does (as witnessed by the large number of grassy darjeelings out
there).

I posted a month or two ago about testing a short list of second flush
Darjeelings... everything I tried had some good character of some sort.

> Year-old teas are generally quite drinkable and good value, but do not
>compete in flavour with current year teas.

If you're lucky, they have been stored well and are nearly as good as the
fresh tea. If you're not lucky, they can be like lawn clippings. It all
depends on how well they were stored.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."