After talking to Rajiv Lochan in one of many social tea themed meetups this year he sent some different teas to try, some from Doke that they make, and others from other producers. In addition to being a producer they offer other teas through a Tea Swan outlet. I've been trying a good number of exceptional Gopaldhara teas for awhile but not so much of other Darjeeling, so this should be interesting.
I mentioned in that meetup summary post that Rajiv was one of the people that played a role in getting me into tea blogging. By chance contact through a mutual tea friend we had talked a little online, many years ago, prior to the 8 years I've been writing this blog, and he sent me some tea samples back then. There was no clear reason to, it was just an act of generosity and helpfulness on his part. It's not as direct as the lure of potential free samples led me into more formal writing about tea, to blogging, but that helped bring up the potential for that support. I wrote to practice writing and reviewing teas, and to share ideas, which I expected to tie to some form of discussion.
A bit on Darjeeling sources and styles prior to this write-up: the novel part of Gopaldhara's processing has been to focus on creating whole-leaf tea. These aren't exactly that; I can tell prior to opening the packages. For a Chinese tea drinker that whole-leaf presentation would seem objectively better, but to an extent it will also just be a different style. Once you open up the packages they look good though; the leaves are beautiful, and not so broken, whole enough that I don't expect related astringency to be a big problem.
I picked these randomly from a set; I don't know if these match up well for trying together, or if they represent the best of that group. If I remember right Arya is a well-regarded and therefore in-demand producer name, but that grounds a lot in a fairly unreliable memory.
The teas won't be as well suited for Gongfu brewing, so it wouldn't be right to try them that way, to not optimize outcome. I'm not unfamiliar with Western brewing but since I use it for a broad range of styles that wouldn't Gongfu brew as well I suppose I might have parameters for conventional black teas a little less dialed in. I could weigh it; the kids and I just did a science experiment using my wife's fairly sensitive cooking scale, but I don't weigh tea. I started out "eyeballing" proportions over 10 years ago when I first got into loose leaf brewing and never altered from that. It's uncanny how I can tell exactly how full a gaiwan will be with wetted leaves based on a broad range of types, that take up vastly different space in dry form. It's like that trick in knowing exactly which tupperware will hold a dish of leftovers, every time; it's a mystery.
It'll be fine, I've got this. I've tried a sensational amount of tea since that first set of samples, lots of it black teas, including a lot of Darjeeling and other Indian blacks. Astringency will probably seem a little higher than I'm used to but that's not necessarily a universally bad thing, since in the right proportion it can give a balance to tea experience.
There are no listings for either tea on their Tea Swan outlet but let's check how close those get.
Tea Swan Arya listing for "Delight": $10.49 for 50 grams (there is no "Ruby" page just now, only "Delight")
They've probably sold out of Ruby, or sold it directly through a wholesale level. This is most likely a different tea listing, a more medium quality level version, so it won't be helpful, and there isn't much on there about the producer background and such.
The first Google search listing for Arya Ruby is from the Thunderbolt outlet, selling that for $32 for 50 grams, before it sold out. Really? Seems aggressive, but then supply and demand do determine pricing. Vahdam had been selling 100 grams through Amazon for $19.99, so one third that pricing. Without that "Ruby" type branding you'd never know if you are comparing apples to apples but with that designation on both they should be the same (the exact same apple from the same producer, not just broader grouping).
One thing to keep in mind from these outlet vendors is that you can bundle a few types and it won't matter if you pay a little more for any one if you can buy specific tea versions that you really want at the same time, or offset that difference in value with another. The Doke versions are well worth trying out (Bihar region teas the Lochans make), and sampling teas from other regions at the same time would be interesting, especially if Nepalese tea could be part of that. Nothing against Assam, since those can be great, and I have been surprised by how good versions from Sikkim and Manipur have been.
Tea Swan listing for Giddapahar AV2 Clonal Wonder Black Tea ($14.74 for 50 grams)
This definitely isn't the same tea; only first flush versions are listed right now, no second flush. Darjeeling makers tend to sell different lots under different brands, or mix them, so without a clear brand match it's hard to identify that, even a tea would seem similar.
I suspect there would be a price difference between these two versions I'm reviewing but at significantly different prices I'd drink this tea if it cost less, for sure. The review notes explain that part.
It's interesting considering the Tea Swan brewing advice (part of it):
If you have got the primary flush Darjeeling tea, warm water to 80-85C. For the second flush or harvest time flush, warm water to 85-95-C.
Add one teaspoon for each container into the teapot.
If you're making an 8 oz container, at that point include around 3gm of tea. Pour hot water into the teapot. Steep it for 3 minutes.
Seems like good advice, especially the temperature part. One would hope that people know to re-brew a tea brewed at 3 grams per cup for 3 minutes, which is probably quite close to how I made these. You can even stretch a third infusion out of 3 grams of tea preparing multiple cups but two rounds would extract the most positive character from the leaves.
Review:
Arya Ruby: it's nice; there's nothing throwing off reviewing this as a positive, complex, balanced second flush Darjeeling version. I've brewed it using parameters that will produce two different and pleasant infusions, a little heavier on proportion than for the old "teaspoon a cup" standard, but that's just how I make tea Western style. Onto the flavor list part.
What I take to be muscatel does stand out as primary (an aspect range which I always thought I was clear on recognizing, but who knows). Wikipedia suggests that muscatel is "a type of wine made from muscat grapes," which of course I've never tried, the wine or those grapes. As I interpret it that aspect range is in between heavy and warm orange citrus tone, a bit grapey, with some character along the lines of rich red wine or brandy. Describing this tea is really mostly about describing a variation of that. It's clean, positive in nature, with feel / astringency nicely balanced, not overly sharp or heavy at all. If anything it's softer and smoother than I expected, but still full in structure. I wouldn't say that it has a dry edge but compared to even softer Chinese style black teas it might come across as such.
The citrus is nice; it really makes it. That pairs really well with the warmer and deeper mineral tones in this. Even though I've got a lot to drink compared to the tiny Gongfu cups I'm still having trouble discerning a lot of other flavor list. Muscatel really stands out, which isn't bad, since it's so positive, and since that is a complex set of flavors, really. I suppose the warm range I'm describing might come across like aromatic wood, like cedar, or the other richer and deeper fruit flavor someone might interpret as in the range of dried tamarind. Comparing and contrasting with the Giddapahar might help.
Giddapahar: different! But still overlapping some. I like it, but it has more astringency edge, and it's moved off the "straight muscatel" effect into a warmer range, towards spice, or even a bit earthy. Part of what I said about muscatel applies here too, but that's only one part of a range, more or less primary, but it stands out less, and it's evenly balanced with the rest. The Arya Ruby had a wood-tone component that seemed like cedar but this comparable range is a lot stronger and heavier. Of course I'm not guaranteeing that the proportion is identical, and that's exactly the kind of shift in effect that even a relatively minor difference in proportion or timing could cause. Or even water temperature; I'm using water not far off boiling for these, but someone being careful to pre-warm devices and use right at boiling temperature water would see more astringency edge extract.
There's a catchy part to this, along with heavier flavors being interesting, but not necessarily really positive or negative. It strikes me as being towards a spice tone. The part that's slightly wine-like in nature in the Ruby is even stronger in this, for sure. It makes for a mix of inputs that are positive and then some negative, in relation to the Ruby version, and the balance just lands in a different place. On the negative side that astringency form isn't quite as smooth, and that dark wood / earthiness isn't really positive. On the positive side the extra lean towards spice and the wine-like range is interesting and pleasant.
For me liking lighter, sweeter, fruitier Chinese black teas (which I really appreciate heavy fruit flavors, mineral base, and overall complexity in, to be clear) they Arya is a natural fit, but if the idea is to have a tea with food that changes things a little. The Chinese tea drinking theme is quite often not about that at all, maybe with a light snack used to offset just drinking a lot of liquid, and repeating tea-range experience too extensively for too long. Personally I'm very open to using tea as an everyday beverage; it would seem odd to me for people to let that entirely drop out. What are they having with breakfast, coffee? From that more ceremonial Chinese tea drinking perspective saying that a tea would be good with food could be an indirect slight, like saying one of these would be great with milk and sugar added, just not that extreme.
There's one more related factor, while I'm on this tangent: I eat just prior to drinking tea, or something light with tea, because I don't want to put my stomach through the experience of drinking a lot of tea without food. I've never had any problems with my stomach, at all, and my digestive system works pretty much as well as it did when I was 18, but I'd like to keep it that way. I don't blast my stomach with a liter and a half of tea with no food (usually; if I eat a little just prior to that I will, so reviewing often works out like that). And I don't overdo it with caffeine, so that I never have to worry about long term effects from that. With breakfast I drink tea, and also often with lunch, but I tend to not finish brewing cycles from breakfast and brew a bit more from then, since I've been working from home.
Second infusion:
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Arya left; a bit more consistent dark color |
Arya Ruby: not bad, not so different, maybe with just a little more heavier flavor range (again which is also an expected outcome from brewing stronger, that experienced tasters can learn to factor back out, for using a standard strong-brewed approach for evaluation). Heavy mineral steps up, more comparable in level with the muscatel range. Bright flavor range doesn't drop out, related to citrus, but it's in a more even balance. It's interesting how this is exactly what you would hope that a cheap Darjeeling tea bag would taste like, a standard type-typical optimum, but they never do.
They got oxidation level just right in this, it seems; the warm tones work well, the citrus / muscatel really hits, and the overall balance is great. It should be relatively fully oxidized, for second flush style, and it is. I think a lot of generic Darjeeling tea bags end up being all sorts of different leaf colors because they're mixing lots of all sorts of things (to get an optimum, to be most generous, or making the most of offsetting lots of different flaws, on a more practical read).
Astringency might have picked up a little but probably not as much as the flavor description made it sound. The balance is good; the tea is very approachable, not harsh in the slightest. At the right level astringency can just complement the flavors, and work as a style input rather than a flaw, and this is around there.
Giddapahar: this balances a little better, maybe a little lighter versus the other being a little heavier. I don't think that has to do with proportion or process in any way, just how the two versions naturally transition. After thinking it through a little more I think the "catchy" part, that I couldn't really place, might relate to a subtle and well-integrated root spice input (like sassafrass or root beer, not so much like ginseng, and definitely not ginger). A woody tone is probably as negative as positive, but kind of neutral, really some of both. It gives the rest good balance but offsets the clean effect just a little.
Astringency is comparable to in the Ayra version for this round; it's not harsh at all, just enough structure and dryness to fill out the experience.
Conclusions:
To be clear there are no flaws in both teas, as I interpret them; they're well made, and surely made from good material, with a universally positive experienced aspect outcome. They're quite good, even better than I expected. I like Darjeeling, so my expectations were positive, but the quality for both of these is really good.
Some potential "negative" one might interpret relates to style, expecting or liking something else more. Good quality Assam or Ceylon is also like that; you wouldn't dislike those for including any flaws, but might not like them as much as other types for preferring other character. Ten years ago high quality Assam probably wasn't very common at all, while that wouldn't have been so unusual for Ceylon or Darjeeling, but lots of good orthodox examples turn up now, and small-batch, specialty producer versions that can be really exceptional.
So just how good are they? That's harder to say. I'm not really a specialist when it comes to higher end, standard character Darjeeling, although I've tried a good bit over the years. I really can't place these in relation to the best versions produced by other Darjeeling estates, or sold by specialty outlets like Vahdam, Tea Box, or Golden Tips. At a guess these are pretty far up the scale, pretty good even as pretty good Darjeeling goes. It would be interesting to see if a pricing difference implied a potential quality difference between these two, but demand factors in too, so the reputation of a producer might change pricing, along with how the tea actually is.
I've been drinking more Gopaldhara than all other Darjeeling combined for a few years and I can say more about how they compare to their tea. The style is different. These seem more like good versions of what I've come to expect from second flush versions in the past, while Gopaldhara is pushing onto doing entirely whole-leaf versions, not even broken, and experimenting with different processing steps and styles. To me, and this is just my take, not necessarily what anyone else thinks, their teas end up being much lighter in tone and fruitier, and closer to good Chinese black teas in style. Astringency drops out to the extent that instead of considering whether it balances or not it's a minor input. Fruitiness bumps up, and flavor intensity, with range of flavor aspects shifting. Per my personal preference I like their teas a lot but I think that partly ties to preference specific to me, as a tea enthusiast more into Chinese teas. These two versions probably match prior typical Darjeeling type better, which for some might make them better.
I think for drinking these teas, or what I've tried from Gopaldhara, with food that evens things up a lot too. That extra bit of astringency edge doesn't just add balance to other sweetness and flavor range, it could help counter a food input.
I'm reminded of how back during my wine drinking days that was a main thing everyone kept on about during pairing discussion, about how for certain types of foods, a lot of them, both reds and whites needed a degree of astringency edge to hold their own, to balance. Then some other foods might not require that; it would depend. A wine maker friend pointed out that in some cases shared aspects makes for a great pairing and in other cases it's the contrast that helps. I remember one other wine specialist friend talking to a restaurant owner about how he drank vodka and grapefruit with food because it had plenty of acid range to match up with anything. He was only partly joking (he was drinking vodka and grapefruit juice just then), and for both I think that theme made a lot more sense than it did to me. How could you even taste food drinking that with it? To clarify these guys were kind of snobs, but also just "on their own page;" where we were was like that.
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sporty looking wine enthusiasts, and that general scene (photo credit) |
So on the whole I think these were really nice. "How nice?" might relate to style preference more than any attempt at objective quality assessment. I probably liked the Arya just a little more, but I think some of that preference issue mapped over to this judgment too, more than judging quality. The novelty in the Giddapahar version was equally interesting and positive, I thought, but I just love fruit, moderate astringency, and a lighter balance in black teas, and the Ruby version tipped towards that a bit more. The Ruby might have given up a little for complexity, but both had plenty going on, and both really lacked any significant flaws.
Really I would have to try both a few times to dial in my favorite brewing approach and see how a lasting impression versus a first impression worked out. There's a good chance that a heavier range and more complexity in the Giddapahar might seem better for repeated drinking, with Arya more positive in an initial taste, perhaps comparable to how the old "Pepsi challenge" made Pepsi seem superior for sipping a bit of both, but too sweet for many for drinking a lot of it.
It will be interesting trying more versions of Darjeeling from Rajiv, and then some more from Gopaldhara, to compare with these. I think that both these versions set the bar pretty high.
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a birthday celebration at a local restaurant, a family tradition |
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everyone takes a better picture than me, even aside from the strange movie-villain long hair look |
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just days prior; their birthdays are close, and we don't get observation on the actual date right |
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