Gopaldhara Everest Orchid Black and Rare Muscatel Gold (Darjeeling)

More great Gopaldhara Darjeeling!  I won't say much about them or other background since lots of posts have done that, and mostly just describe trying two more really nice versions.  

I have some spring and white tea versions that look even more novel and interesting (many thanks to Rishi for sharing samples to try), but we're in the middle of a cold snap in Bangkok (down to 20 C or so at night, finally into the 60s F here).  It's too cold for lighter teas, probably about time I try out making a batch of masala chai again.  This weather has been perfect for running, a subject I wrote a bit about here recently.

 

Gopaldhara Everest Orchid – Second Flush 2021

This amazing and rare second flush black tea from Gopaldhara Tea Estate is one of the best muscatel black tea in Darjeeling hills, made by AV2 bushes. The tea is expertly fully oxidized to extract all the flavour. It takes a lot of different processes to oxidize, without crushing and cutting the leaf.

This rare second flush black tea has brownish dry leaves with abundant golden tips that brew into a red aromatic liquor. You will find a honey-sweet and very well-rounded muscatel finish with the notes of ripe fruits, almost like red wine. This tea is very clean with absolutely no hints of astringency and harshness.

It has astringency in the sense of feel structure but not harshness, so that last part works.  It's cool that I just read that description during the final post edit, after adding pictures to the notes, with their description and mine both mentioning red wine.  I said that it tastes more like brandy to me, but had even mentioned that the effect could be interpreted as either red wine or brandy.  It must seem like I go back and change the notes instead.

Gopaldhara Rare Muscatel Gold – Second Flush 2021

It is a tippy tea made from more than 130 years old high-quality china bushes planted by the British. It brews into a rich orange cup which gives abundant sweet muscatel character and mouthful flavor with a woody taste and notes of ripe fruits. It is a dense tea and is well layered. It is very smooth to drink and is not astringency is not apparent. It is definitely one of the best second flush produced by Gopaldhara Tea Estate from the old bushes. You will like it more if you like the old-style Muscatel tea from Chinary bushes.

That last part is a reference to how some standard tea plant types used in Darjeeling are relatively directly derived from Chinese tea plants, and some are hybrids of variety Sinensis and Assamica.  I was thinking that AV2 was a hybrid, variety Sinensis mixed with Assamica genetic input, but it may not be simple whether it is or not.  This research paper covers how it really is a variety Sinensis tea (a "Chinese type," as it's sometimes described), but what they mean in discussing genetic variation I'm not clear on.  

I suppose it doesn't matter; information about the inputs can be interesting, about plant types, elevation, or processing steps, but the results are the thing, described as follows.  AV2 plant type versions tend to have a distinctive and refined character, and that's the mapping that matters, one that can help you set expectations.

Review:

Everest Orchid Black:  very nice, of course.  It's typical black tea, fully oxidized, in the normal flavor and feel range, which is pleasant.  Warm tones and fruit are primary.  Fruit seems to include citrus but a main flavor is more like dried dark cherry, which is really nice.  With the other warm tones including cocoa this is as close to a chocolate covered cherry as a tea will ever naturally be.  It has astringency and feel structure related to the warm tone flavor range (earthy and including warm mineral), but it balances well.

This reminds me of seeing a Reddit post about how a Marriages Freres flavored tea is the best black tea in the world, their seemingly standard "Marco Polo" version.  How could that be, based on what I've just experienced and said?  This tea I've not even dialed in for infusion strength yet, and it's just getting started, but these are well-balanced, refined, very pleasant natural flavors, derived from exceptional tea plant material (related to plant genetics and growing conditions), being processed in a relatively optimum way.  

I don't know what that "Marco Polo" tea is.  From looking at a few references online, including the Marriages Freres web page, it's not clear what country the tea leaves are from, or what the flavoring is, seemingly just "floral and fruit."  Responding to a post like that I commented that while the tea probably is good that tea experience is broad, and no matter what one experiences it's always too soon to say that you have already covered the full scope.

Rare Muscatel Gold:  this tea is very subtle compared to the other; it will take longer to "get going." I used a greater volume than for the other but it probably will work out to very similar wet leaves volume after a few more rounds.  This version will probably prove more durable, brewing out slower, rather than it having less flavor to offer than the other.  The other tea will extract much faster for being fine leaves with less buds, and it was brewed at double the infusion strength level of this one using the same timing.  I won't adjust timing by offsetting what I use for both just yet, just doing a fast round next time and seeing if that is necessary.

This is softer for being much lighter, and it lacks the warm earthy tone range the other had.  There's a nice sweetness, not completely unlike the cocoa / cacao flavor in the other, but spanning that and also malt range.  Honey flavor also comes across in the sweetness, and it seems like other subtle flavor tones will develop from starting points that are a bit vague so far, maybe light floral and spice.  It should develop to fruit as well, which I'm not really noticing yet.  It's as well to describe that more after another round instead.

Everest Orchid Black second infusion:  even more floral, with more flavor depth, but astringency did ramp up too.  I brewed this fast, the way that you moderate astringency using this brewing approach, but it could've been all but a flash brew instead and flavor intensity would seemingly still be fine.  It did brew for 10 seconds or less, more or less a standard approach for sheng or oolong versions, kind of fast for black teas prepared this way, but adjusting timing for results instead of type is standard.

The feel is cool, rich and syrupy.  There's a bit of dryness too but not so much that it's all that negative.  That "warm mineral" flavor is so intense and distinct that it's in between ink and brandy.  There's a lot going on in this tea, with the earlier fruit and cacao still present, but floral range (rich like rose) and warm tones ramping up.  The brandy part one might interpret as closer to a red wine, but to me it's definitely closer to brandy.  I suppose the astringency and touch of sour / bitter effect that results from feel mapping over to flavor range is somewhat negative, just really moderate, and not entirely negative, since it provides a base for the rest.  That is exactly the feel aspect that people identify as bitterness, when really it's not that, it just comes across in a similar way.  Here it's more an addition of feel structure than a pronounced roughness though, lighter and in good balance.  It's quite good.

Rare Muscatel Gold:  it's interesting trying these together for there being no related astringency at all in this version, at the opposite extreme.  It probably makes the first seem a little rougher and this version seem even smoother, or maybe even thin, in one sense.  After hundreds of comparison tastings it's no problem tasting dissimilar tea versions, and I can separate the effects just fine.  Fruit does ramp up in this, as expected.  Intensity does too, but it's subtle.  The feel for this is rich and creamy, intense in a very mild and distinct form.  

Back to flavor, citrus picks up as dried orange peel.  There's a mild but sweet and rich tone that one might connect with butter or caramel.  I still get a sense that mild and non-distinct floral range is filling in complexity, that something along the line of chrysanthemum is giving this the effect of greater intensity and depth, even though it's hard to isolate.  It's not that far off a mild root spice range, in between sassafras and ginseng, so pegging it as that instead would make sense. 

It probably will make sense to stick with a fast infusion for the first tea and go a bit longer for this one; I'll try that next round.  Longer here only means 15-20 seconds, which is an extended time for this high proportion.  Judging from still partly wetted leaves there is slightly more material in the first sample; guessing out completely different forms of leaves should result in that more than it typically does.  The first sample will be 90% full or so unfurled and this only 80-some.

Everest third infusion:  it's interesting how that warm mineral tone, astringency, dryness, and complex flavor range all balance together.  For someone into conventional black teas this would be just perfect, better than anything remotely standard, never mind comparisons to flavored teas.  For a mild Chinese black tea drinker it might be a bit much, that edge.  I can easily appreciate it for what it is, but I suppose the milder and varied flavor set in typical Dian Hong (Yunnan) is still a better match to my preference, teas that can be fruity but often build on a cool roasted yam or sweet potato base, with dried fruit or cocoa flavors complementing and layering on top of that.  For the style this tea is it's just perfect; it's important to give credit where credit is due.  If warm tones and astringency could back off just a little it might be slightly better, to me, but it's already as high quality, complex, refined, and balanced an example as it can be, so that's more a comment about style than quality level.

Muscatel Gold:  more of the same.  I don't want to overstate how slight shifts in balance come across in this; the flavors I mentioned will change in proportion over rounds, and eventually one or two more will join that set.  This does live up to the name "muscatel" but it's a mild version of it, closer to citrus fruit than the rest of what muscatel tends to mean (towards grape or grape based liquor).

Conclusions:

I left off taking notes there, for whatever reason, but I did drink a number of additional positive infusions.  It can be hard to do hour long tasting sessions on busy weekend mornings and for teas that tend to evolve and transition less (black teas or even oolongs in comparison with sheng, mostly) three rounds is enough to describe where it's going.

The subject of trying two very dissimilar sheng versions reminded me of how it might be interesting to mix these two teas, to try them as a blend.  I don't remember if I actually did or not, but I think so.  I really prefer experiencing narrower range of aspects, not appreciating the trade-off of greater balance of character that comes at the cost of muddling together a range of distinctive aspects.  For teas with more in the way of flaws that's something else; it would help a lot to mix inputs to work around problematic astringency or unbalanced flavors, or thinness across some range, like a lack of sweetness.  In one sense mixing these two teas would pull both towards more of a middle range for style, mixing the light body of one and higher level of feel structure of the other, for example, but the distinctiveness would be lost.

Cindy, of Wuyi Origin, a Wuyishan oolong and black tea producer, sent some Jin Jun Mei to try, the style of which overlaps a little with this Muscatel Gold version.  Only so much; I'm not saying this tasted or seemed like JJM.  That light body, touch of creaminess versus structure, and subtle flavor range are what I mean.  I don't know how well I can hold an impression of this tea in memory for weeks but I can say more about parallels whenever I try that.

perfect weather for riding bikes at a local replica park, in Ancient Siam

I did eventually tighten up her bike helmet strap for her

Gopaldhara Thor and Maharaja of Darjeeling (second flush)

 

Thor left, Maharaja of Darjeeling right, in all photos

Trying two additional teas from the set sent by Gopaldhara, really more for sharing than review, but both.  Thanks to them again for that!

There isn't much background to pass on so I'll introduce these teas with their descriptions and then include tasting notes here, largely as I wrote them prior to seeing any description, beyond the tea name and type.

Gopaldhara Gold (Thor) – Rare Hand Rolled Second Flush 2021

Gopaldhara Gold (Thor) is one of the best second flush teas in the Darjeeling hills, made by AV2 bushes. The tea is extremely full and expertly fully oxidized to extract all the flavor. It takes a lot of different processes to oxidize, without crushing and cutting the leaf. Every time you crush and cut the leaf you introduce harshness to the cup. This tea is very clean with absolutely no hints of astringency and harshness. It is honey-sweet with a very well-rounded Muscatel finish and notes of ripe fruits. It has been the best lot in the second flush muscatel category.

It is 100% handpicked with no machinery involved. The garden workers are very careful in their plucking to make sure only the best shoots with prominent buds are plucked. The top elevation of Gopaldhara Tea Estate which stretches up to 5500-7000 Ft is planted with the best quality AV2 bushes, the most preferred clones in Darjeeling.

That pretty much matches the description that follows, with a bit more on experienced aspects, with a lot implied about moderate oxidation level as an input, but not explicitly discussed.  They list the oxidation level as "semi-oxidized" on a table of information along with that text.

Gopaldhara Maharaja of Darjeeling – Second Flush Muscatel 2021

Maharaja of Darjeeling is one of the best second flush teas in the Darjeeling hills, made by AV2 bushes... 

It is 100% handpicked with no machinery involved. The garden workers are very careful in their plucking to make sure only the best shoots with prominent buds are plucked. The top elevation of Gopaldhara Tea Estate which stretches up to 5500-7000 Ft is planted with the best quality AV2 bushes, the most preferred clones in Darjeeling.

..It brews into a very bright orange and clear cup having smooth fruity taste and muscatel character. The finish is long, honey sweet & captivating... 

These notes don't say anything about that whole-leaf issue, which I've went into before.  This version seems slightly more oxidized than the "Thor" but it also lists as "semi-oxidized," which would span a range.

Thor left, Maharaj right

Review:

Thor:  lighter than the other; it looks like I got proportion slightly wrong (not identical), and this version is significantly less oxidized than the other.  It's lighter in flavor than I expected, which I take to be needing a round to get going.  The character it does show is just great, as usual.  It's smooth and rich, complex, with good sweetness, and only positive aspects.  The range is warm, like rich scented flowers and dried fruit, with a bit of extra earthiness adding depth.  Probably it will all shift a bit by the time I get to a fuller flavor list description next round, but I'll hold off on details until then.

Maharaja:  completely different; that should make this interesting.  Even for being a somewhat light initial round astringency edge stands out in this, a pleasant feel structure and dryness.  In that sense it's much closer to a conventional black tea.  Flavor complexity is also evident, just in a warmer range.  Where the other might have included dried apricot this is more like date, which I'll clarify more in the listing next round.

I'm tasting this outside (it's too loud in the house, with the television blaring and my wife yelling at the kids, our normal routine) and that earthy edge is from a scent from the garden; interesting that doesn't come up more.  It seemed faint and in the background at first but my wife's mother is watering the garden now, and it's easier to flag.  It shouldn't throw things off.

Thor, second infusion:  this is a really interesting style.  It's listed as a second flush tea but it's really in between what I'm accustomed to in first and second flush character, a lot lighter and brighter than second flush usually is, probably mainly due to being lower in oxidation level.  Smoothness and richness stands out, and usually those are the kinds of things you notice second, after flavor and astringency edge.  It has some of that bright, fresh character of first flush Darjeeling, that bright floral range, and also some of the warmer richness of second flush, leading into heavier flavors.  It settles into a range like bright sweet fruit, like dried apricot, and complex floral range that's in the middle, not bright and light or warm, heavy, and rich, but balanced in the middle.  It's a cool effect.

Astringency is limited but that is what's giving it that rich and full feel.  Dried apricot and complex floral doesn't seem like enough of a flavor list, for how complex the flavor range is.  Some warm mineral base adds to the effect of complexity, and beyond that it's hard to "split apart" the fruit and floral range further, which I'll get back to next round.

Maharaja:  I went a little faster on this version this round and the brewed intensity level balances.  For both these teas you get a sense of a lot of complexity and balance along with the initial impression; they're refined, and have a lot going on.  I tried a tea not long ago that I thought was quite pleasant but it seemed like part of the normal range was missing, as if there was a gap in complexity across some aspect range, which was hard to pin down or describe.  The effect with these is the opposite, that they are not only covering a complex range but are also quite intense, refined, and well-balanced across the entire range.

Back to that flavor list:  citrus stands out.  Maybe this is related to muscatel, maybe not; I've been questioning what that even means.  I take it to be exactly that, a citrus-like range of heavy flavor that leans a bit towards grape and brandy.  Warm, rich fruit seems to fill in beyond that, not in a form that's easy to identify.  That early guess of date isn't too far off, although maybe closer to dried Chinese date than the Middle Eastern version more familiar in "the West."  

I think Chinese dates, jubube, is really a category, not a single fruit, with dried versions seeming much different than fresh ones.  Interpreting this as closer to dried longan would also work, not that the description would add much for American readers.  I just had one of my favorite deserts yesterday, a Chinese ice and beans dish, that includes both dried Chinese date and dried longan juice (and a mix of beans, and dried candied lotus root; it's so nice).  Maybe that's influencing this general warm dried fruit range interpretation. To me it all leans a bit towards cocoa but that's not it.

Thor, third infusion:  honey flavor and sweetness bumped up a good bit.  I suppose it tasted a bit like honey before too, filling in that rich flavor effect, but it's hard to miss in this round.  That other flavor is pretty close to dried apricot but that may well not be it.  It's harder to identify for so much rich, mid-range floral tone filling in as well.  A bit of citrus edge supports it, as does a warm mineral tone.  

It all integrates so well that it doesn't come across as that set of things at all, but as one unified experience.  Breaking it down to parts almost adds error, describing it in a way that it really doesn't come across.  Some of that fruitiness isn't far off a bubble-gum flavor, the non-distinct pink cube kind, Bubbalicious and such.  It's more refined than that description probably makes it sound.

Maharaja:  this is great for tasting like one would expect from second flush Darjeeling, maybe just projected in a better form than is typical.  The flavor complexity, in particular fruit edge, intensity, feel structure, and slight edge all balance perfectly.  Where the other is cool for being something novel this is great for being a better version of something familiar than is familiar.  The flavors are so complex that the right person could just keep on free-associating, and no interpretation would necessarily be wrong.  

I'm noticing more raisin in this round, and a hint of cinnamon spice.  It's impossible to describe the effect of those warm tones being offset by lighter fruit and floral range, then balancing with just the right amount of feel structure.  It's a higher level effect, one that emerges from all the other layers of experience.

Even though these are great teas, and are evolving, I'll probably do one more round with detailed notes and a second I barely mention and move on with my morning, now almost onto afternoon.  Ten small cups of tea is about my normal dose but it's really about demands on my time, things to do.

Thor, fourth infusion:  more of the same; the last description still works.  Balance and overall pleasantness really stands out, which I think I've covered enough.

Maharaja:  the same is true of this version, that it hasn't shifted enough to warrant a new description, and that I've already went on and on about the complexity and layers of aspects working well together.  

Conclusions:

Really nice teas, just different in character.  I think citrus changed form and picked up even more for the Maharaja over the next couple of rounds.  The Thor stayed relatively consistent, with a nice toffee flavor picking up in place of the honey, and brewed a good bit more pleasant tea.

Even though throwing 3 grams of either of these in an infuser basket for two somewhat intense brewed rounds wouldn't really optimize results these both would work ok that way.  The warmer tones of the Maharaja, as a more conventional black tea, with slightly more edge and feel structure, seems better suited for a breakfast tea role to me.  

These two teas stood out for being complex, well-defined, refined, and well-balanced.  That doesn't necessarily come across as intensity, but it all adds a fullness to the experience, an extra dimension, beyond novel and positive flavor range already doing that.  There was nothing negative to balance out or brew around; that helps too.  

I didn't really mention aftertaste effect for these I'm reviewing, and it's not something that stands out, although there was something to that.  Feel was nice for both these teas, in two different ways, just with moderate "structure" effect, full but still on the soft side.  

As I see it Darjeeling of this quality level are underappreciated in "tea circles," because they're not usually this good, or this isn't the most typical character / style.  Someone could drink Darjeeling for decades and not have any idea that this general style for this "Thor" version even exists, never mind experiencing and appreciating this degree of success in a version in this style.  Maybe it just didn't exist 5 years ago; that seems quite likely to me.  

I'm not sure that Western style brewing would really bring across just how good this tea is; shifting brewing style over to the Chinese Gongfu approach probably draws out extra potential.  It would be possible to notice that these are better than conventional Darjeeling prepared Western style, and a really dialed-in Western brewing approach probably would get most of the potential out of them.

Gopaldhara Darjeeling Jethikupi and Thor, 1st and 2nd flush

I'm reviewing two more samples sent for review by Gopaldhara.  All the others have been really exceptional, some about as good as conventional first and second flush versions seem to ever get, some really novel oolong versions.  

Picking what I'm reviewing as sets randomly hasn't led to natural type-overlap themes, and again that holds up, again comparing first and second flush versions (so contrasting them?).  Luckily I can review two dissimilar teas without that throwing me off, an outcome from trying to do that a few dozen times in the past.  If the two (or more) versions don't share much for common ground the experience of one doesn't inform much about the other, eg. highlighting a feel difference, or minor flavor character, but it doesn't really hinder the review process either.

I'll cite the vendor descriptions for these and get straight to the review notes, since it does add up.

Rohini Jethikupi White – First Flush 2020

...Rohini is mostly the first garden to produce the first flush teas in Darjeeling. The workers carefully pluck the tea leaves while making sure that only the best shoots with eminent buds are plucked. This season the growth of Darjeeling tea is very slow and the workers could only bring in a very small quantity of leaves that are very special. The plucking of tea leaves is of such fine quality that the tea is mostly hand sorted with very fewer machinery works involved.

The tea bushes are grown and harvested at an elevation between 1500-3000 feet. The bushes are fresh as they have just come out of an extended period of remaining inactive cause of the prolonged winters of almost about 3 months from the month of November to January.  The low temperature experienced during winters has given a very well defined character to the tea.

This tea is made from the best quality P-157 clones which is one of the best clones planted in Darjeeling. The dry leaves are bright green in appearance and consist of two whole leaves and a bud. The teas are very mildly oxidized and are delicately processed to induce minimal damage. All oxidation done is overnight and natural with nothing being induced vigorously.

This Darjeeling fresh First Flush Tea is very light on the palette, having a very mouthful flavor that leaves a clean note with smooth finish having an abundant flavor. The flavor is full and leaves a very pleasant and distinct aftertaste with zero astringencies. The infusion has to be kept absolutely green.

In some past reviews I've talked through typical first and second flush character but I skipped that in these notes; no need to keep going through it.

Gold (Thor) – Rare Hand Rolled Second Flush 2020

The tea is extremely full and expertly fully oxidized to extract all the flavor. It takes a lot of different processes to oxidize, without crushing and cutting the leaf. Every time you crush and cut the leaf you introduce harshness to the cup. This tea is very clean with absolute no hints of astringency and harshness. It is honey sweet with a very well rounded Muscatel finish and notes of ripe fruits. It has been the best lot in the second flush muscatel category.

It is 100% handpicked with no machinery involved. The garden workers are very careful in their plucking to make sure only the best shoots with prominent buds are plucked. The top elevation of Gopaldhara Tea Estate which stretches up to 5500-7000 Ft is planted with the best quality AV2 bushes, the most preferred clones in Darjeeling.

This Darjeeling muscatel tea is super fine to taste and has all the characteristics of a premium tea. It brews into a very bright orange and clear cup having smooth fruity taste and muscatel character. The finish is long, honey sweet & captivating. It is one of our finest second flush teas and a must try for every summer tea lovers. 

I don't really make a big deal of these not including much for astringency in the notes, just enough feel to give them richness of body.  Again that's because I'm doing the third or fourth review, and I've just went through all that in others.  In doing dis-similar combined tea reviews I tend to narrow aspect focus down more just to flavor, usually mentioning mouthfeel and aftertaste aspects, but not much.  Probably what I consciously experience of those aspects narrows in trying to take more in too, and to write it all down.

Review:

I skipped taking the dry leaf photo; strange.  This is an earlier 1st and 2nd flush set.

Jethikupi: interesting for tasting like spice, like fennel seed. These are offset a lot in oxidation level, so this isn't a normal comparison of similar versions [with them being 1st and 2nd flush, as one might expect].  This is quite pleasant, although match to personal preference at this stage would relate to a take on that spice flavor.  Richness and fullness fills in general character, and the flavor is complex. One light part leans towards lemon zest. Some light mineral gives it a nice base. Something like cured hay fills in some range in between, with all that integrating well.

Thor:  a bit unusual. Warm tones I expected from the color, and some fruit and floral range, all present. There is a but of other earthy range that I didn't expect, towards cured tree bark. It's not bad, not musty or off, just not part of the profile that a expected, a light, sweeter, citrus range. Since these early rounds are still evolving I'll break that to more of a flavor list next time.

2, Jethikupi:  evolving well; the fennel seed spice is still present but a lot of citrus kicked in. This is now mainly lemon range citrus with light floral and some fennel spice supporting that, instead of the other way around.  That distinctive brightness and intensity I had expected is there. The feel even has a fullness to it, and the citrus trails a bit as aftertaste. There is no astringency to contend with; whole leaf processing seems to drop almost all that out. This doesn't have a lot of feel structure to it but the rich fullness works, versus that being a lot more edgy.

Thor: this ties together and evolves to be better too. A bit of earthy edge drops back to be a base, with sweeter tones filling in complexity.  There is some citrus but it's not dominant at all, like a light blood orange tone, a milder variation of ruby grapefruit. Warm floral is along the line of rose. It seems a hint of spice joins, or maybe it's that an initial earthiness has already transitioned to warm spice. For these both shifting that much early the next round should be different too.  Feel is full and pleasant, with no astringency beyond that fullness.

3 Jethikupi: richness ramped up, and the citrus; this is much more intense. Probably brewed a few seconds longer too, although in both cases it seemed just under 10 seconds to me. For using a much lower proportion that short timing would need to be doubled. The same flavor list in last round applies, but the proportion of those flavors is different. This is really citrus intensive now. Given that I love fruit flavor in tea best that works well for me. 

You can't even notice a spice aspect in this now but it seems likely that input range gives it a complex effect. Even though it's mostly lemon citrus it doesn't come across as one dimensional. Probably that light tone of warm cured hay fills in the experience of depth too. This is relatively sweet and very clean in character, but how it all balances stands out more than any one input. It's good.

Thor: this version is more balanced across a broader range of flavor aspects. It's not the same as last round; it is shifting. A warm, sweet, rich flavor range like apple cider stands out. It's natural to try to interpret the current round in terms of the last round so it could seem like warm citrus, rich floral, and spice instead. To me it's onto apple cider range, with a trace of brown bread relating to the evolving earthier range.

This reminds me of a tea reviewer who writes long, round by round reviews, in which he seems to describe different teas each round, Mattcha's blog. I think he's focused on the opposite theme, on changes, and is mostly communicating only what is different, even though commonality runs through the infusions. It's probably both a bias towards noticing change and a communication issue. Taken for what it probably really means it seems likely to be accurate, and is interesting. 

The other side of that is that imagination does come into play when reviewing teas. You need to disassociate with expectations, to some extent, and to connect experiential and analytic (verbal) parts of your experience that more typically never link. Interpretive bias never fully drops out, so you need to try to work around it instead, to make allowance for it, and factor it in.

4 Jethikupi: richness and warmth picks up; the range shifts. That fruit tone is still mostly citrus but a bit of watermelon joins that. The neutral-tone depth I've described as cured hay picks up. Seeing that as similar to crysanthemum instead would make sense, as a relatively neutral floral tone. It integrates better than it might sound, citrus, watermelon, chrysanthemum, and cured hay.

Thor: a bit more malt tone pulls this towards a more standard black tea profile. It's interesting how citrus is present but it doesn't dominate, how lots of range balances. Again feel is pleasant, and overall balance. A hint more dryness might join that malt tone but it's on the opposite extreme of being astringent. 

I'll give these a slightly longer soak and leave off; my patience for writing notes is running out.

5 Jethikupi: integrating even better maybe. Mineral depth bumps up a bit brewed just a touch stronger. No negative aspects show through at all; that's nice. Citrus input, the balance, is lower but it's still a main flavor.

Thor: I could almost write a new flavor list for this, like "Matt" does in that other blog that I mentioned. A number of inputs all balance, with none standing out. It's not so different than the earlier list but the effect is different, the way it shifts to not emphasize any one or two parts. That list again: citrus (just not much of it), warm floral, touch of soft malt, some underling warm mineral, fruit. To me the fruit is more like dried mango at this point.

Conclusions:

All in all good teas. They did brew a number of additional rounds, that was just a good place to leave off taking notes.  They were not exactly what I expected, more complex and novel, not just sticking with those dominant citrus and floral tones. That's probably a good thing, Gopaldhara's tea versions including that diversity of outcomes. This description probably doesn't convey how integrated and well balanced those flavor lists came across, or how the feel contributed, but so it goes with verbal description of experiences.  

I think as with the last Wuyi Yancha version I just wrote about I tend to be more blown away when I try a version within a different range again, then after reviewing some it just seems normal for one to be so exceptional.  These two tea versions really could re-write what Darjeeling potential is all about for someone, but since I've reviewed a half dozen recently it's just the range that they all fall in.  

They are right that whole-leaf preparation, versus the more conventional chopped leaf form, makes a huge difference.  There is no "brewing around" astringency, or liking the tea in spite of that harsh edge.  It would never cross anyone's mind to put milk in them.  For the lower oxidation level first flush range that wouldn't even match very well, but it just wouldn't make sense for the Thor second flush version either.  They are just right as they are.  Probably best brewed Gong Fu style, but I would imagine these would be great prepared Western style too, it just wouldn't optimize them, per my preference.

I just saw a post about their fall harvest teas, just now released.  It wasn't in this set, of course, but their Red Thunder has probably been my favorite among all their teas in the past.  It's hard to say why, and really not fair to comment a lot on a tea version I've not tried from this year.  People who are a fan of autumn harvest Darjeeling already know what I'm talking about though.  They might give up a bit of intensity to first and second flush but they can gain even more back in complex and well-balanced character.  

Their Red Thunder description is a biased take (of course) but it will pass on some idea of that:

A limited-edition Darjeeling Autumn flush produced from frosted leaves from the best clone of Darjeeling also known as AV2. It is the rarely special as not many bushes of AV2 can be found at these high peaks. Extreme cold weather conditions which in the night can touch 0 degrees at the high elevations of Gopaldhara induces special and complex flavour of ripe fruits into the tea. The tea brews into a bright orange cup with a very rich character and full rounded and dense fruity flavour. The aftertaste is very clean and sweet with a prominent finish of Honey.

a recent biking outing in a Bangkok park (rot fai, railroad park)

lots of that park is beautiful but these trees stand out as interesting

my tea circle (photo credit to Suzana)

both kids had birthdays this month (7 and 12 now); here giving alms to monks in observance

Gopaldhara winter harvest and Emperor's Choice

 

winter harvest left, Emperor's Choice right (in all photos)

Two more interesting teas from Gopaldhara.  The last teas I reviewed from them were really novel, two Indian oolong versions, among the best Darjeeling teas I have yet to try.  The Summer Beauty Muscatel and China Muscatel were also really exceptional.  Two others before that were closer to standard styles for Darjeeling, but again quite nice.

One of these is a little unusual in background, an early season tea made from the old leaves of winter growth, trimmed to clear the plants for new growth for the true first flush harvest.  It wouldn't be listed on the Gopaldhara website, more something different to try.

The Emperor's Choice was unusual for there being two samples of it included in that set (provided for review).  A second sample--that I didn't try yet--was listed as "rare," with their descriptions saying more about that:

Emperor's Choice:

Emperor’s Choice is a unique Darjeeling finest First Flush Tea from Gopaldhara Tea Estates, located in Mirik, is one of the highest elevated tea garden in this region & stretches up to 7,000 feet...

This Darjeeling finest First Flush Tea has a bright, rich, sweet, balanced cup layered with honey sweetness, in the floral range & is balanced by a complex flavor structure.The tastes is very clean & refined, simple in a way, but complex in a different sense. There is no astringency in the tea, and the flavor comes across as full with many notes.

The top elevation of Gopaldhara Tea Estates which stretches from 5500 to 7000 FT is planted with the best quality clone AV2. Also the bushes are fresh as they have just come out of hibernation from the prolonged winter of almost 4 months from December to March. During the first flush which also known as spring flush we have 100% growing shoots and get excellent buds with either single leaf or two leaves and a bud. The flavor is prominent as the weather is also very dry and cool which ensures very slow growth.

...The garden workers are very careful in their plucking by hand to make sure only the best shoots with prominent buds are plucked. Darjeeling First Flush Teas are known to be slightly oxidized. This tea is also made in the same way but it is sufficiently oxidized to ensure that all the exquisite flavors are prominently present.

I don't really get far with the theme in this review but that last part was a little unusual, placing this tea, because it's not as lightly oxidized as first flush tends to be, or as fully oxidized as second flush often are.  It doesn't include the heavier flavors of a typical second flush, but the character is different than a typical first flush for it being just a little more oxidized.  Not much more, as you can see from leaf and brewed tea colors, and flavor description.

A sample set description covers what the other "rare" sample is, that I didn't try yet:

Rare Emperor’s Choice White – Finest Darjeeling First Flush Tea Made from the best quality AV2 bushes at Rohini Tea Estates, finely plucked tippy whole leaf with a silvery appearance, A lively cup with traditional spring character having a tantalizing sweet aroma of ripe fruits with a finish of honey...

So from Rohini instead, a related estate, and white tea instead, so probably a bit lighter and fruitier.

In discussing this other "winter" version with the head of the plantation the character isn't typical of either first or second flush Darjeeling, because of the material type difference.  I didn't know that prior to tasting, and these tasting notes covered both without any background review first.  And they were a little rushed, because I was off to a swim class with my daughter

Review:

winter harvest:  bright and sweet.  This has an unusual combination of floral and vegetal tones going on.  It's pleasant, just not what I would've expected.  Straight-floral and high level of citrus have been standard in a lot of the other versions, but the vegetal range carries a lot of this experience.  It's like how a dandelion smells, the vegetal part, that edge.  

That's towards a spice too, something like fennel seed.  With the rest being light and floral, and it all being clean, it works better than that description would indicate, but then I feel like I have been spoiled by the blasts of sweet floral and citrus tones in their other teas.  I might stop short of saying this isn't as good, but it doesn't match my preference as well, at this stage.  The fennel seed part is interesting; mineral towards actual salt is probably pulling my impression in that direction, along with other flavor range.  It will be interesting to see how it changes.

Emperor's Choice:  warmer; in a completely different range.  A good bit of honey flavor comes across in this; it's rare for that to stand forward as a main flavor as it does in this.  Rich, complex floral tones fill in the rest.  From the look I thought this would be the normal story about one tea being more oxidized than the other, and warmer in tone, covering deeper flavor range, etc., and some of that story line plays out, but it's not just that.  This is pretty light in tone too.  

Interpreting this as fruit and floral range would work, along the lines of very ripe pear.  I say "very ripe" because the light, bright-flavored Asian pears are something else; this is the deeper, richer flavor that only ripe versions of Bosch pears bring across.  And floral, and warmer supporting tones.

Second infusion:

winter harvest:  very interesting.  This gains depth and complexity but across a similar flavor scope.  A bit of lemon fills in at the higher end; that works well. The fennel seed / trace of salt eases up, and vegetal range gives way to the floral scope.  It's better.  

There's a lot going on.  Floral range is probably the strongest, but that vegetal-into-spice range is on par with that.  Feel gains depth; there's a richness and smoothness to this.  A bit more sweetness might shift impression a lot, making it seem a lot more floral.  That being moderate (for their teas; still high in relation to some others) makes the other range stand out more.  An unusual form of mineral depth rounds all that out, making for a very complex experience.

Emperor's Choice:  also really interesting, also quite complex.  This also includes a lot of mineral depth that rounds out a lot of the rest.  It's hard to place this floral tone, and the other supporting range, although it does taste distinctively like Darjeeling to me.  I've not been saying terms like citrus and muscatel, and to some extent that applies, but not in relation to their other versions blasting out that range.  This seems closer to the grape input than the grape-wine input I take to represent muscatel (wine made from a muscat grape).  

It works well, the overall balance.  I'm not sure it's quite on the level of what else I've tried in earlier samples, but those had set a bar really high, being among some of the more positive Darjeeling versions I've ever tried.  These are both quite good, and only suffer in that particular comparison.  [This last statement seems more like a quality level assessment than it was probably intended; more at the end covers how a style issue changed interpretation of this tea experience.]

Third infusion:

surely brewed stronger, but using my old phone throws off consistent light interpretation

winter harvest:  maybe filling in just a little more.  It's interesting the way that fennel seed spice aspect combines with the rest, the floral tone.  This doesn't remind me of any other tea I've ever tried.  It wouldn't be for everyone but to me this balance works.  It's clean and well balanced, with decent sweetness, just not a lot of it compared to the others I've tried from them.  The feel is positive.  

I can't count that fennel spice aspect as a flaw, but it is unusual, and how someone takes it would depend on preference.  Other floral tone fills in beyond that, harder to split out, with a nice mineral base adding depth.

Emperor's Choice:  there's a nice warmth to this.  That could be interpreted as coming from warm floral tone range, like sunflower, but warmer.  Or from a warm mineral input.  Extended in the same direction by a lot it might tie to a dry feel, but it just doesn't in this.  The balance is really nice in this tea.  Including just a bit more sweetness than the other really shifts the overall effect.  The flavors are just completely different though, so it doesn't work well to compare the two.

Conclusions:

It's a little early for conclusions, based on writing this as notes before trying more rounds later.  These are still transitioning in interesting ways, and to some extent still improving.  I'll probably drink a couple of rounds and get back to write final notes, but I'm off to swimming class so I'll do the main editing while here, filling in the vendor description, smoothing out errors in the notes.

The main take-away, for me, is that the other versions of Gopaldhara teas I've tried recently were so exceptional that it just wasn't going to work to keep liking versions more and more.  These are good examples of Darjeeling, very positive and distinctive, and pleasant to experience.  To me they're not quite as much so as the last two rounds of other teas that I reviewed.  Then again to some extent different is better, and it doesn't really work to just expect more sweetness, more mellow character and fullness of feel, more citrus and muscatel.  

To experience that a few times is novel and very positive, the dialed-up range of most pleasant Darjeeling aspects, but variety is what makes teas interesting, and pleasant to drink and explore every single day.  

[Later]:  I tried both again for a number of additional rounds, and the first version fared less well through those for astringency picking up with extending the infusion times.  The leaves being a bit more broken would tend to lead to that.  It wasn't anything like the "this needs milk added" level; I mean in relation to teas I tend to drink.  Feel thickness was fine though, countering some of that for filling in depth of experience.  The Emporer's Choice stayed quite positive, maybe not really transitioning in any way, beyond fading later.

I never really did get around to sorting out the second version related to first or second flush character.  The oxidation level threw off a cue I tend to expect, with first flush being very low and second relatively complete.  It worked for where it was, in the middle, with "warmth" placed between the two.  

I suppose someone could potentially like that better, or feel that it didn't match up well with one or the other sets of expectations.  It might have seemed slightly more subdued, as it turned out, since typical first flush range character includes bright, light intensity, and second includes heavier fruit and deeper sweetness, with this splitting the difference, to some extent, and not necessarily achieving either.  I liked it, but maybe not as much as the last four offerings I've reviewed.

The other tea demanded a more complete reset for expectations; it wasn't exactly in the broader range for typical Darjeeling character.  I liked it too, but it will be nice to get back to trying other samples more on full blast for sweetness, intensity, and fruit character.

Gopaldhara Maharani and Maharaja of Darjeeling (1st and 2nd flush)

 

Maharani left, Maharaja right, in all photos

It's been awhile since I've been on this subject, reviewing Darjeeling, and I've heard of changes since I was.  Peter Jones, a coffee and tea expert and manager at the Trident Booksellers and Cafe in Boulder (probably a good place to grab some tea), has mentioned how Gopaldhara has been working with plucking standards, and new harvesting and tea processing methods.  A little off standard theme here, Peter was just cited in an interesting article on using plant based milk versions for coffee drinks.  Gopaldhara's earlier, standard teas had been some of the best Darjeeling versions I've tried, so any improvement on that level sounded promising.

What kind of changes, one might wonder.  Harvesting more whole leaf material, for a start.  This has long since been a main difference between Chinese and Indian teas, although in rare cases Indian producers have been changing that.  I've tried a lot of whole-leaf Assam versions in the past couple of years, with varying results for processing styles and quality level, some quite impressive.

The subject of Indian oolong comes up again.  The earlier versions I've tried from India were nothing like oolong, only semi-oxidized black teas instead.  That's fine, as long as that processing works out well, if results justify making a tea in that style.  Matching Chinese processing and final results never would be possible, due to plant type and terroir differences; the outcome would vary.  It will be really interesting to check on more recent progress in semi-oxidized tea range.  

Of course first flush Darjeeling most often isn't fully oxidized, leaving it somewhere between black, white, green, and oolong range for inputs and final style.  And that works; backing off oxidation level lets the freshness and floral intensity shine through much better.  The point in these changes, as I understand it, isn't to copy any other style, but instead to maximize the potential of the leaves and to create a unique, distinctive range of new Darjeeling styles, based on what worked well in the past.  I'll have to do an interview post on that, since the philosophy of tea and historical tie-in all sound as interesting as the results themselves.  The details of processing differences alone is a fascinating sub-theme.  

Those stories being relevant depends on those results; making a new range of uninteresting or only somewhat pleasant teas could only be a stepping stone towards doing better.  But I think Gopaldhara is well beyond that point, that this status describes "Indian oolong" attempts in the past better.  Not to say it never worked; in the past I've loved one Indian oolong version that just landed close to second flush Darjeeling for style.

I really need to research what these tea types are since they are labeled by brand names.  A few are a little familiar, but in general it's mostly completely new to me.  Only one actually says "oolong," and only one references being first flush tea.  So I picked two with unfamiliar names, which I'll get back to describing further in an edit addition to the notes.  These are Maharani and Maharaja of Darjeeling.  I'd assume that means something like "king and queen of Darjeeling," but even the term doesn't ring a bell.  I live in a country heavily influenced by Indian culture, in Thailand, but it's also equally or more influenced by Chinese culture and modernization, so not much for traditional Indian terminology carries over. 

I'll brew these Gongfu style.  In very rare cases brewing Western style does actually work better, but it's more common for it to not make a difference, in cases when Gongfu brewing doesn't produce clearly better results.  For some black and green teas it seems not to matter, for example.  It's hard to pin down exactly when either approach makes the most sense; as you try brewing lots of types of teas in different ways the patterns seem clearer to you.  But of course that depends on personal preference, with quality of tea factoring in.  

It's easy to keep obtaining decent, but less than well-above-average quality, or not-true-to-type versions of teas, even if you try the same sub-type of tea many times.  For using a narrow sourcing approach that should happen; it would be expected.  It's just as common for people discussing teas online to mention that they've only ever tried 2 or 3 versions of a type (or even 1), and then continue on about how that type works out, extending that to the rest of the range (related to source area origin, unusual tea type, aging as an input; whatever it is).  That's fine for people to work with the information they have, but in learning about any subject you need to be able to filter or adjust weighting of sources, or factor in biases, or personal judgment error.  For some of these versions pushing into new stylistic territory the whole point is that the character is new, but I'll see how these two versions match up as I try them.

Gopaldhara's site input on those teas:

Gopaldhara Maharani of Darjeeling – First Flush 2020

The name itself signifies queen of all teas, the best Darjeeling First Flush tea from Gopaldhara Tea Estate which stretches up to 7000 Ft. The pluckers are very careful while plucking the leaves and make sure only best shoots with prominent buds are plucked. The leaves are mostly comprising of single or two whole leaves and a bud. The leaves undergo mild oxidation process to ensure all the exquisite flavors are prominently present. Then they are gently rolled which helps them in opening up by the pot when brewed. The dry leaves look greenish with lots of tips which gives a smooth and perfectly balanced cup. The texture is light yellow and bight amber cup liquor which will remind you of the freshness of Darjeeling hills. With each sip you can immediately fell the fruity and sweet clean flavor. The tea is smooth with no astringency and has taste of very matured and fruity tea.

The top elevation of Gopaldhara which stretches from 5500 to 7000 FT is planted with the best quality clones. Also the bushes are fresh as they have just come out of hibernation from the prolonged winter of almost 4 months from December to March. During the first flush also known as spring flush we have 100% growing shoots and get excellent buds with either single leaf or two leaves and a bud. The flavor is prominent as the weather is also very dry and cool which ensures very slow growth.

First Flush teas are known to be slightly oxidized. This tea is also made in the same way but it is sufficiently oxidized to ensure that all the exquisite flavors are prominently present. That Fresh Feeling of Darjeeling Tea is naturally available.

The plucking is of such fine quality that the tea is only needs to be hand sorted and the machines used to make the tea are very less. It is a true delight and one of our First Flush Darjeeling tea.

Gopaldhara Maharaja of Darjeeling – Second Flush Muscatel 2020

Maharaja of Darjeeling is one of the best second flush teas in the Darjeeling hills, made by AV2 bushes. This is a finest & rare Darjeeling muscatel tea from the highest elevated garden of Gopaldhara Tea Estate.

It is 100% handpicked with no machinery involved. The garden workers are very careful in their plucking to make sure only the best shoots with prominent buds are plucked. The top elevation of Gopaldhara Tea Estate which stretches up to 5500-7000 Ft is planted with the best quality AV2 bushes, the most preferred clones in Darjeeling.

The tea is super fine to taste and has all the characteristics of a premium tea. It brews into a very bright orange and clear cup having smooth fruity taste and muscatel character. The finish is long, honey sweet & captivating. It is one of our finest second flush teas and a must try for every summer tea lovers. With all these qualities it definitely qualifies to be named as the King of Teas.

Nice that I won't have to go back and change any of those notes then.  Just kidding; I would probably explain it if I hadn't said that's what these are, but I would leave the notes as they were.

Review:

I could start to write this review based on scent alone, and then carry that further based on appearance.  The first whiff of Maharani of Darjeeling shows a lot of intense muscatel, a flavor I've not experienced in this intensity for a long time.  Beyond that there's a freshness, a bright floral and vegetal edge, with a clean depth to the scent range.  I tend to never talk about dry leaf scent because it can not match brewed results, so to some extent it doesn't matter.  

The Maharaja is warmer, richer, and probably a little sweeter, but also with pleasant muscatel range, probably oxidized more.  You can tell that it likely is from the color, but also from scent alone.  These will be good.  Not good as in "pleasant tea," and not bad; good as in a unique experience, on a quality level that you can put time, effort, and resources into finding and still not run across.

I'm not going to discard a rinse of these teas.  That sort of goes without saying, but given that people with different backgrounds might read this I might as well be clear on it.  That's recommended for sheng and shu pu'er, and hei cha, and not uncommon for rolled oolongs, and from there it just depends.  It comes up a lot in Chinese brewing process, for some people almost universally applied.  I tend to draw that line after sheng, shu, and hei cha, and not even rinse rolled oolongs, but it does help the first infusion get going for those.

Maharani of Darjeeling:  a fascinating experience.  Muscatel does stand out, and some floral nature, and the rest is going to be hard to describe as clearly.  There's a thickness and a creaminess to this tea; that almost shouldn't be there, for this first infusion just getting going, since it's too soon for that positive range on this level to set in.  There's a slight edge of astringency and vegetal flavor to this, the kind of thing that would be dominant in a lot of Darjeeling experience, that would challenge a taster to really appreciate the tea for it standing out so much.  Here it's complementary, a secondary context-range level.  The overall effect is very balanced and clean.  Sweetness is good, flavor complexity is good, there are no negative aspects, and it all hangs together well.

For as much as I've said that description doesn't do the experience justice.  There's a creaminess to the floral tone (flavor) that matches the feel, a warm and rich tone, as I'd imagine sun-flowers to smell, but I don't recall ever smelling those.  Part of the bright freshness leads to a lemony citrus, beyond a citrus range being warmer with more depth, the muscatel effect.  It's quite good; unusually so.

Maharaja of Darjeeling:  warmer and richer, all the differences one would expect for oxidation level being ramped up quite a bit.  I guess that sort of maps onto expectations for first and second flush versions [later edit:  because that's what they are].  This version is a little more muted at this early stage, more as I would've expected the other to be for this being a fast first infusion.  I suppose a lot of the same aspects in the other tea are copied over to this, the citrus, a thick feel, good balance, sweetness, and depth, just in a completely different range.  I love true black teas; it definitely works for me.  There is no significant edge of astringency in this, although a hint of warm mineral and very light malt add a bit of complexity, again in a complementary fashion, as with very different light edge in the other version.

It seems like intuition (guessing) made for a great introduction to these teas, related to selecting these two.  In a sense these are the two sides of Darjeeling teas, how first and second flush tend to work out, just in a very high level form.  Third flush is closer to second, at best, more often relatively fully oxidized, but with a different subtlety and depth, trading out intensity for other range that can be very positive.  Maybe even more so, if the balance works perfectly.  Really that's what I remember most about Gopaldhara teas from trying them a few years back, that one third flush version (Red Thunder).  It definitely worked.  That 2019 listing called Red Thunder an oolong; regardless of name or type identification if it's as good as I remember it previously it's worth picking up a lot of it.

I'll hold off on describing this second tea further until the aspects show better next round.

Second infusion:

Maharani:  this picked up a lot of intensity and depth.  That astringency edge ramped up too, but the balance is still great.  The vegetal flavor and astringency I speak of is like biting a flower stem, nothing like grass or green beans or the rest.  Floral tones warm up; this is leaning a little towards dried fruit range at this point.  It's not there; it just shifts from bright floral tone closer to one like lavender.  I don't think you could brew lavender and get it to taste this much like floral range, even if it was edible.  I just looked that up, you can eat lavender, but need to be careful about quantity or else a soapy aftertaste joins the positive flavor (Wikipedia's take, not mine).

Citrus covers a lot of range in this, again.  What I interpret as muscatel and brighter lemon is joined by what tastes like orange peel zest to me.  This tea is so intense that a positive aftertaste trails after, joining the creamy feel in adding depth to overall experience.  This is clearly one of the best Darjeeling versions I've ever tried.  Sometimes a tea range never makes sense to you until you try a really good version of one, then you have an "I get it!" moment, and later even lesser quality versions seem better, they make more sense.  This tea is more than good enough to trigger that kind of experience.

Maharaja:  this is a really nice tea too, I just feel a bit blown away by the other to appreciate it as much as I otherwise might.  It's very positive, but in a range that seems more standard to me.  Warm, rich tones cover positive flavor range, and the feel works well, smooth and full, with a bit of supporting structure.  The second part is towards dryness but not dry, just adding body.  Flavor depth carries more of the weight of the experience, consisting of richer citrus and floral tones, supported by some warm underlying mineral tone that is easy to miss.  

This is really good tea, but the novelty and added intensity of the other version outshines it, per my take on the experiences.  This might work better to drink more of as a beverage, that warmer, richer, deeper range.  I guess that could sort of relate to how if you take a sip of Pepsi and of Coke the brighter, sweeter flavor of Pepsi will seem more positive, but to drink a can of either Coke might work better for many, as an experience that repeats a lot.  

Sweetness is really positive in both of these teas, just in a different range in both.  A lack of negative aspects also is; that can be harder to place.  It would be very normal for a different, heavier, challenging astringency edge to join both experiences, but it's not there.

Third infusion:

I'll have to go to a yoga class soon, so this will be a final take until after a break.

Maharani: transitioning; all those flavor aspects are different.  I'll not do justice to how, for being in a rush, and the difference is so subtle description wouldn't go far anyway.  A caramel sweetness seemed to pick up in this, and rich warm tone.  That very mild astringency dropped back, from a minor supporting aspect to hardly present at all.  This is a smooth as a light rolled Chinese oolong, not at all what you would expect for a Darjeeling in this oxidation level and other flavor range.  They can be smooth but not like this.  Floral range and citrus combine in a wonderful way, not so different than as described before.

Maharaja:  more of the same; clean, complex, well balanced, interesting.  Warmer citrus and floral tones play a similar role but in a different form and different context.  That overall balance stands out; amazing to have all those aspects work so well, and then integrate this well together.  These are truly exceptional tea examples.  And I'm just getting started.

I used slightly more of the Maharaja leaf, an error in judging quantity by eye (how I always do it), but that worked out somehow, the intensities match each other perfectly.  This second tea will probably "brew out" as fast as the first too; you give up a little duration in trading out flavor and other aspect range with oxidation like that.

from a couple of infusions later, but I never did get back to taking notes

Conclusions:

Just fantastic teas.  I drank at least 4 or 5 more very pleasant infusions, and the leaves aren't finished yet, but I didn't take notes about those.  It seemed similar, probably just with some slight transition in aspects.  Not enough that it left out a lot of the story in skipping that part.  It definitely held up well, continuing to produce very positive infusions, without aspect range transitioning in any negative way.

It's cool that these turned out to be first and second flush examples.  It's not the most impressive blind tasting feat to have noticed that, but still a good start for getting back into Darjeeling.  I probably did review versions of at least one of these teas 3 or 4 years ago, which is probably why it seemed like those terms might mean king and queen.  I doubt the mapping to flush (harvest season) was stored anywhere in residual memory, but that part was simpler to spot, even from dry leaves.

I may have evaluated the first flush version more positively for not having tried a tea like that for awhile, with the second flush (standard black tea) more comparable to drinking a lot of black teas over a long period of time.  I end up drinking some really exceptional black teas too, from lots of countries; the benchmark range I'd be expecting would be pretty high in quality level.  Dian Hong, or Yunnan black teas, are a personal favorite, so just not matching that style and range might come across as less positive.  Make no mistake though; that Maharaja version seemed like very good tea.

Rohini Enigma and Enigma Gold, Darjeeling second flush teas

Enigma Gold left, Enigma right

I'm comparison tasting Rohini Enigma and Enigma Gold.   These are good teas.  They're completely different than the lighter style of the first flush versions I've been reviewing, reminding me a little of the effect of Oriental Beauty, a nice range.  Both are a bit more oxidized than typical lighter Darjeeling first flush styles but not completely in the range of black tea, maybe not as oxidized as second flush teas tend to be, but then styles vary.


They really don't remind me of a second flush tea in terms of other aspect character either.  The citrus element could relate to muscatel, although it seemed different to me, a bit lighter and brighter, and there's quite a bit of bright fruit range.  The Gopaldhara site, that lists some versions produced by Rohini, a related plantation, doesn't list these.  I'll say at the end what it is, and what the producer mentioned about it, but for now I'll leave it as a riddle wrapped in a mystery.

Review

The Enigma version is nice.  The base flavors are warm and sweet, with light, clean earthy aspects, with a bit of bright citrus balancing that.  One taste aspect is just a bit off cinnamon, maybe in between cinnamon and nutmeg.  Fruitiness is hard to summarize, complex, a bit like cooked mango, but with more range.  It all really works.

teaberry!

The Enigma Gold pushes all that to the next level (although of course that's partly my interpretation; they're similar but not the same).  There's one taste aspect that really takes me back:  teaberry.   Those grow wild where I'm from--in Pennsylvania--and nothing has ever tasted like that, until now.  That taste is bright and sweet, and distinctive.  It tastes a little like those sweeter tones in the old scratch and sniff kid's products, which I haven't seen for a long time.




There's a lot more going on than just teaberry.  The aspects set takes what the Enigma version was doing and extends it.  One part is a little like cinnamon, and another a brighter citrus tone.  A bit of mineral balances all that,  not presented as astringency, not even as feel or structure; it's in the range of taste.  It gives up a little of that cooked mango fruit range for adding those layers but has more going on, and is probably a little fruitier, just in a different range.

Enigma Gold left, Enigma right

On the next infusion the Enigma doesn't transition much, still well balanced, not different.  The feel is nice, with good lingering flavor after, even brewed lightly.  That mango aspect reminds me a little more of pineapple this time, a little brighter.  It definitely includes citrus too, just not as heavy as muscatel typically comes across, in a lighter range.  I could guess an orange type to attribute it to but that would just be making something up to get an idea across:  blood orange?

The warmth picks up in the Gold version.  How those aspects balance really can't be described, it has to be experienced, but of course I'll start in.  It shares some of the feel of a lighter black tea, more in a Chinese style range, but it's not exactly like that, with a brightness and complexity coupled with flavors depth and range that only compares to Oriental Beauty (Taiwanese oolong, Bai Hao, Dong Fang Mei Ren, you know).

Enigma brewed leaves, colorful

If this was sold as a Darjeeling attempt at OB it would seem like they had some success with matching that style, or at least in interpreting it.  It wasn't; I'm just using that to help explain it.  The set of flavors--citrus, spice, other fruit--is the same, and the mid-level oxidation isn't far off either.  This must be slightly less oxidized than a typical OB (70-80% oxidized for those, as I recall, as much as specifying that even makes sense).


Brewing these a little longer to keep the intensity up--on the fourth infusion--the mineral and earthiness of the Enigma extends to a light dryness, picking up a trace of wood, but it still works well.  The sweetness and citrus balances those aspects.  The citrus aspect still isn't completely different than muscatel, maybe drawing closer, but it doesn't seem identical to that, to me.


The intensity of the Gold version picks up, brewed a little longer, along with the mineral element and feel.  Brewed stronger these resemble black tea more, but per my preference their optimum is to be prepared a little lighter. It's not as if you need to work around astringency or bitterness, they would be fine prepared in different ways.  It is strange to prepare them Gongfu style in the first place but as I keep saying it's just the page I'm on now; it's interesting to keep messing with that.  With transitions a bit limited it wouldn't change much to use Western style brewing, although I'd expect the aspects range to shift just a little based on even a minor parameters change.  A tea like this one would probably change character quite a bit brewed at different temperatures, for example.

The Enigma tea was nice, unique, positive, well-balanced, with great characteristics, it just suffered a little in comparison since the Enigma Gold had just a little more going on.  The Gold was a little fruitier, slightly more complex, with a little more spice, a combination that was interesting and positive.  Both were great teas, not exactly like any others I've tried, but the Gold really stood out as something different.

wild turkeys (where that teaberry picture was taken, in PA, the same day)

It's a bit of a tangent, but I ran across this looking up teaberry background:


The fruits of G. procumbens, considered its actual "teaberries", are edible, with a taste of mildy sweet wintergreen. The leaves and branches make a fine herbal tea, through normal drying and infusion process. For the leaves to yield significant amounts of their essential oil, they need to be fermented for at least three days.

Those do taste a little like wintergreen!  Too bad no one living in that house in the picture is remotely as obsessed with tea as I am; those plants in the other picture are growing almost in the frame, a few steps from that one turkey, with lots more around.  This part was interesting too:

White-tailed deer browse wintergreen throughout its range, and in some localities it is an important winter food. Other animals that eat wintergreen are wild turkey, sharp-tailed grouse, northern bobwhite, ring-necked pheasant, black bear, white-footed mouse, and red fox. 

Those turkeys might have been snacking on it.  It is tasty; I ate a few of the berries that day too.

What the teas are

Per the Gopaldhara manager the harvest timing is really in between first and second flush.  These are made from AV2, the plant type I'm familiar with from other Gopaldhara types, capable of making some amazing, soft, fruity, complex teas.

The preparation style seemed in between what's typical of first and second flush to me as well, which was interesting.  According to him the oxidation level is unusual, more medium than is typical, low for second flush.  You just never see that much fruit and that much spice from the same tea, unless it is a Taiwanese Oriental Beauty, and then that would be typical.

Shiv Saria, tea man (credit FB profile)

I asked the manager of the Rohini plantation, Shiv Saria, about the teas,  (a really nice guy, and unusually knowledgeable, probably even as tea-makers go), and he mentioned some background:



Enigma is made in 2nd Flush from AV2 leaves.

Unlike other Darjeelings, it is lightly rolled in small batches in China rollers to avoid heat generation and prevent the cup from being opaque and coloury. 

I visited Taiwan and imported oolong machinery including a panner, from there.  Prof Kunzo Sakata, of Kyoto, Japan, was trying to get us to produce OB teas in Darjeeling.

The withered leaves are fixed before rolling and final drying is also done in a panner.

Enigma Gold, is slightly lighter withered, for a more coloury cup and is made from leaf from section no 5, AV2- higher elevation and weaker bushes due to poor soils.

We do not sun the plucked leaf, as is required in oolong manufacture


Fascinating stuff!  Some of that would mean more to me if I actually made tea but it's still interesting.

In further discussion he confirmed this production processing is still far removed from that of oolong, but per this input it draws on processing experimentation and equipment use from different sources, and lots of experience.

Based on drinking those teas it all seemed to work out nicely.