Barbote Tea Nepal Black, tea from Narendra

the golden needle version label (this pack was plain)

Narendra Kumar Gurung

I've reviewed a golden needle and white version Narendra sent awhile back, the co-op style producer of Nepalese teas I wrote about last year.  Those teas are sold under a Barbote label through the Highlander Farmers Private Limited.  This review covers the black tea version.



I've tried this tea a number of times, and shared some with friends, I've just not got around to reviewing it.  It's nice; a well-balanced, complex, clean-flavored tea.  The style is probably closest to Darjeeling but it's different enough that the comparison might not be informative.  It might bear some resemblance to a Chinese black style, just not to a specific type that I'm familiar with.  It seems to vary some depending on parameters used to brew it; that can be nice to experience.


I asked Narendra what it was, and this was his input:

It is made from Tagda 78 and Gumtee, both are based on Chinese varieties. About the season, it is from autumn flush.  These were plucked till the Oct till the end of November.  After this we let the garden go on rest till spring that mean by March end.

These teas are from young tea plants, not more than 20 years old, grown by organic methods.


I'll keep this basic then; no need to write out 1500 words every post just to say all that I can think of.  It would work well brewed Western style but I'll prepare it Gongfu style because I'm in the habit.  It might well work a little better that way, but I'd have to try both again over a shorter period of time to be sure.

Review

Malt stands out as a main aspect, a much softer version than occurs in Assam (although those do vary; some versions are quite soft and mild).  A touch of dryness and very light astringency goes along with that flavor aspect, but it's a very soft and mild tea.  The astringency gives it some body and a different feel, no actual edge.  Beyond that the flavor is complex.  A good bit of mineral fills in a base.  One pronounced aspect reminds me a little of sweet corn.  Floral is so common in teas that it would be easy to just default to that description instead.

The aspects might come across more as fruit if the mineral, malt, and dryness weren't pulling it so far in that direction, countering a clearer interpretation of other lighter range.  Sweetness is pretty good; it balances.  I expect the flavors will shift and "clean up" a little next round, that the mineral toward light rust will be cleaner after an initial infusion.  Brewing it light (versus this being kind of medium, infused for well over 10 seconds) might help tease out finer aspect range for description.

Brewed lighter, and being a second infusion, the effect is different.  It wasn't musty in the sense of tea production being a bit off, it just seemed the way the mineral would come across would change.  Some of the warm earthiness, mild malt, sweetness, and light corn is similar to what you might see in different golden tips black tea versions, or even Jin Jun Mei (a Fujian, Wuyishan area origin black tea).  I like that character.  I'll be honest though, I'm really most taken with Chinese style soft and sweet blacks with flavors aspects in the range of cocoa, cinnamon, and dried fruit, or even roasted sweet potato / yam.  But this does also work well, and the way that shifting parameters changes its character gives it a lot of potential.

There's a lot more interpretation that could be applied to the earthy range; aspects like warm mineral, malt, and darker tones like dark wood (or leather, or even tobacco) could be described in lots of different ways.  I've just kind of skipped it here, passing on the general range description.  If you roast corn on a fire (still in the husk), and singe the husk and silk a little that gives you a sweet, rich roasted corn flavor, some caramel, and a darker earthier range from the light char that isn't so far off this.


On the next round astringency stands out a little more.  When preparing black tea Gongfu style at a high proportion small shifts in brewing parameters would change that without any actual transition coming from the tea itself.  This tea is intense enough that brewing it at a low proportion for Western style would still works well (I've tried it that way), and gives a different effect.  Backing off temperature just a little would change outcome too but I think using relatively hot water would be the best way to go, maybe not full boiling point but 90 to 95 C.  It's not as if there is any need to work around astringency as a concern.

Brewed slightly lighter the character does change back to closer to what it had been on the round before.  Astringency drops back and that malt, caramel, and roasted corn flavor picks up.  This tea is best brewed on the light side; the flavors are plenty intense and complex that way, and even the mouthfeel doesn't thin out brewed faster and lighter.  An aspect may hint a little more towards fruit but I'd need more rounds to isolate that better.

brewed stronger, but indoor lighting changes color too

I came back to brew the tea after a long break for a few more rounds (4 or 5 more; using a packed gaiwan for proportion really does extend the count) and a main aspect seemed a lot more like muscatel than I'd picked up on before (a type of grape).  That's the main characteristic aspect in Darjeeling versions, especially second flush, but it can be present in autumn versions too, just typically in a more mild flavor aspects and feel character.  A touch of citrus seemed present too; if anything the tea seemed even better even though it was a good number of rounds of infusions along.

I guess this did seem a bit like an autumn flush Darjeeling, to some extent; a bit subdued as some black teas go for astringency and feel structure, but still flavorful, complex, and well-balanced.  The initial malt aspect reminded me a little of better Assam instead.  Nepal teas are always a bit different, always their own thing.  This is a good example of one, a nice tea.