Vivek Lochan on status of Indian tea industry

Doke tea images provided by Vivek

After talking with Vivek Lochan recently about how social media group discussion goes, mostly on Facebook, I asked if he could fill in some background on the Indian tea industry in a Q & A form.  These are the kinds of ideas that should come up in online discussion, but it's hard to get starting points to develop to that.  

Most vendors and producers are posting online related to marketing, and tea enthusiasts might just show what they're drinking.  Marketing is fine, and it's interesting hearing about different tea types, or preferences, but it tends to not extend to a deeper level.  

This partly relates to me being the only moderator for a large Facebook tea group, International Tea Talk.  There had been interesting discussions there about a range of themes in the past, but it has shifted to occurring more in other places now, as tends to happen.  Reddit and Discord are active, for example.

For introduction Vivek is from a well-known tea producer family that owns and runs the Doke tea plantation.  His father, a main founder, is Rajiv Lochan, who has been very familiar in specialty tea circles for quite awhile.

This is their Doke website; there is more background there, and it lists some related social media channel contacts.  This blog post works as an intro to that background story.  This is a review in this blog about their Black Fusion flagship product, or one version of it, from back in 2021.

There is always a chance that different people could see different aspects or shifts in local tea industries differently, but to me it's quite interesting to consider thoughts from someone with more local area exposure than almost any of us will ever have, even given that kind of interpretation concern.  

I've discussed local tea industry themes in India quite a bit over the years, most in relation to discussions with Suzana Syiem, a close friend.  We even talked to Rajiv once about related themes, back in 2021 when Covid disruptions made talking to people online seem like a helpful outlet.  Most of this matches and extends what I'd heard before.

Vivek's input on tea industry status in India

How is specialty tea uptake going in India?  Do you see differences in how preferences are changing in other places?

Specialty tea is slowing increasing in demand and interest with customer across the country. People are willing to experiment more and with better buying power, they can easily afford to try more than once. The increase in availability of teas with flavours – natural like fruits and herbs or like mocktails kind of stuff – also helps attracting a newer audience of tea lovers who can’t necessarily be called tea lovers.

Specialty tea quality development often seems to relate to two different factors, to small, private producers developing a more artisan approach to making tea, and to experimentation and development by larger producers.  Is one of these inputs having the most impact, or others?

I think the abundance of small, private producers is having more impact. The larger producer is usually under economic pressure to produce more and sell more. The smaller producer usually doesn’t have as much pressure and is more open to experimentation to set himself apart from the crowd. 

These small growers sometimes mimic styles from other countries / areas but that is only apparent to a person who is well versed with teas from foreign nations. Most people are appreciative of efforts to partially ‘copy’ production styles while keeping the end result unique. Something like our Black Fusion from Doke seems to be well appreciated. 

Black Fusion, from that earlier review

In different places different approaches to promote awareness seem to work, eg. public tastings, or media articles.  What seems to make a difference there, and what doesn’t work?

Media articles, semi private tasting sessions, food pairings and free sample distributions seems to be working quite well. We are trying to get more hotels involved with setting up tea tasting and food pairing sessions so we can attract more people to the tea world. Larger public tastings don’t seem to work because then it can be difficult to engage with people. Engagement is important to have both the drinker and the brewer understand what each other are looking for - kind of like wine tasting sessions. 

Are cultivars in use continually evolving?  Can you add a bit about that?

The TRA is always working to introduce new cultivars or better the current crop of cultivars available [the Tea Research Association, a government run institution under the Tea Board of India]. They have certainly come a very long way in the past decade or so in making the tea crops more pest / insect resistant and sturdier against drought. Constant evolvement of the cultivars is very important.

I seem to recall mention of a specially designed sprinkler system doubling as irrigation and offsetting high temperature impact on tea plants at Doke.  Is that accurate?  Can you describe this more?

Yes – we have a new government sponsored irrigation system at Doke which has been working wonders for us for the past couple of years. Upkeep has been a little bit expensive at the beginning with sprinklers failing and pipes bursting but overall, it has been a great addition. The new sprinkler system has all its piping underground, so they are permanently placed unlike the old system which needed everything moved as and when required. Set up time and wastage is almost nil now. 

The older sprinklers had a larger coverage area per sprinkler with a stronger throw while the new system relies on smaller sprinklers creating an almost mist like situation. This results in better absorption of water in the leaves and in the ground. The sprinklers are situated according to a design generated by a computer program that takes into account terrain features like trees and elevation changes.

Are changes related to climate change impacting tea production?

Climate change has very severely impacted tea production throughout the country this year. A dry winter coupled with a very hot and dry summer had decreased growth very sharply up till May. The situation started getting better end May onwards with some rain showers. June and July has been much better with constant rain and some sunshine in between. The tea bushes are still under stress due to almost 6 months of rain deficiency, but the situation seems to be improving. 

How many flushes or harvest periods can you harvest from tea plants?

In North India, the tea season usually starts in March and ends in November end. Old hands like to say that it starts with the Holi Festival and ends with the Diwali Festival. This is true as both festivals are based on the lunar calendar. When either festival goes up or down in the date range, the tea harvest season seems to follow. Of course it is not an exact science but has been pretty accurate.

Can you add some description of background on major plantations in Darjeeling transferring from family ownership to corporate ownership?  Is this a concern for continuity of Darjeeling tea production?

Almost all the tea gardens in Darjeeling today are corporate owned with a head office in Siliguri or Kolkata and a managerial team at the garden itself. The only family owned and family run tea garden in Darjeeling today is Giddapahar. Both brothers look after all the aspects of the tea estate directly without employing any manager level employees. They make it seem easy to sustain a tea garden in the current economic situation but I know that it is anything but!

What factors are changing the local tea industry there most, among new themes like sustainability, fair trade, and safety (related to pesticide use and testing)?

The Food Safety Authority of India has recently highlighted the pesticide use but that is a very difficult situation to tackle. The Tea Board regulates what pesticides can be used in tea gardens and the dosage as well. A blanket ban is not possible as some pesticides banned by the Tea Board are allowed in other fields. Pesticide use also cannot be checked regularly at the field level. Soil testing takes time and labs are not very common. Made tea testing can be expensive and not every lot can be tested. People are becoming more aware about these things.

Are public sales platforms like Amazon—different variations of that—changing the tea sales landscape in India?

Amazon and other online platforms are certainly extremely helpful to market teas and find retail customers. We are seeing more and more of our customers moving online even if it is just to have an online presence. People are willing to purchase online and can find a wider range online compared to physical stores. 

What potential changes or developments could best improve the lives of tea plantation workers?

The biggest change would be to increase the wages of the workers, but the producer is barely able to make ends meet at the moment anyway. The consumer, the middleman, the wholesale buyer is certainly not interested at all in increasing their prices or reducing their margins. The tea gardens already provide subsidized rations, medical facilities and housing facilities but those can be a bit basic sometimes. The government could do more to help –  most of their programs don’t seem to be able to reach the right people.

Smoked Indian teas, Niroulla Darjeeling and Ketlee Manipur

Niroulla Darjeeling left, Ketlee Manipur black right

I won't add much intro about these; they're smoked Indian black teas, provided by the Lochans for tasting (the Niroulla) and also by Susmit of Ketlee.  Many thanks to them!  To me warm toned teas are a nice winter theme, so I guess this relates to observing winter, even though the weather here isn't on that page.  

It's been in the low 30s lately / low 90s F, so summer weather everywhere else, even though it's supposedly the end of our cool season, or maybe the start of the hot season now, not that it matters.  It feels cool to me anyway because it's breezy and not humid; I went to a water park with the kids yesterday and it felt a little cool out, at roughly that same temperature.

Niroulla's Smoky Wonder Black Tea (a Tea Swan outlet link, to a 2020 2nd flush version, with this 2021)

This hand-picked fresh leaves from the terrain of Darjeeling during the second flush is a wonder wrapped in your cup! The tea leaves are processed through the pine smoke chamber to get the smoky aroma and flavour. Having the air-filled around you with the aroma of delicate fruity notes, Niroula’s Smoky Wonder black tea tastes smoky and fresh! 

Orthodox Smoked Black Tea

Orthodox Village Style Smoked Black tea from Manipur. [I think it's that]

Processing : This tea is handpicked, withered, hand-rolled, oxidised, sundried and then smoked in forest firewood. The rolled leaf will not be fully sun dried and the complete drying will take place on top of the kitchen fireplace for several days until the desired smokiness level is achieved... 

Taste : Smoke, muscatel, raisins, peppermint...

Grade : Wild Gushu Spring Harvest 2019

I always take gushu (plant age) claims with a grain of salt, but if old plant forest based sources are used some would be older, or maybe all the material could be.  I suppose it's possible that this is a related version from a different harvest, or it could be something else, but it's probably close to that.  If it's a similar but different version the description probably wouldn't match.

Review:

Niroulla left; it came across as much lighter, matching the color difference

Niroulla Darjeeling:  not all that smoky; in general I expected the opposite concern, although the smoke scent is a lot weaker in this dry tea version than the other.  It would be possible to miss that this is even a smoked tea.  The overall experience is pleasant, and positive, just not overwhelmingly so related to complexity and balance of the tea.  Quality seems generally good; not much for flaws stands out either.  There is just a lack of distinctness to the experience, not much jumps out at you beyond a general earthiness.  

Sweetness level is ok, and flavors that are present are fine.  For a breakfast tea this would be fine, well above average.  I think sometimes a lot can get missed related to the range within which I'm evaluating teas.  Compared to a loose Twinings English Breakfast tea this is on another level, that much more positive, complex, and refined.  I suppose comparing it to a Twinings Lapsang Souchong might make sense, but it's not as if I have either profile in mind, so I can contrast or match up aspects.  I've not drank Twinings teas in a few years, and don't plan on resolving that to re-establish a baseline.

Some general fruitiness stands out beyond the very light smoke input.  It's not exactly clearly in any one range, a bit non-distinct, but towards citrus or maybe dried fruit, or maybe both.  For "dried fruit" maybe dried cherry and tamarind, so including some complexity.  Really that description as an aspect list sounds good, and the tea is pleasant, it's just limited in how it all comes together and comes across.  

For sounding a little negative about it I should clarify that I'd describing it using really exceptional Indian and Chinese black teas as a baseline threshold.  This is better than a generic Darjeeling tea bag tea, for sure, but really good versions of better Darjeeling (or Assam, or from elsewhere) are two full levels beyond that.  This doesn't quite make it to that highest level, the range where very positive aspects stand out, and overall complexity, and refinement is great, all experienced without notable flaws.  This lacks the flaws, and complexity isn't bad, a good start.  A touch more smoke really would've blotted out experiencing the rest, so that would be a significant trade-off, but it would match my expectations better.  Of course one infusion in is too early for a final judgment.

Ketlee Manipur:  there's that punch of smoke.  For people not into smoked teas it would be just awful, like leaning over a campfire, but for people on that page it's never clearly enough until it's too much, and this isn't there yet, not too much.  I think they nailed it for smoke input level.  It's not like I'm a smoke expert but at a guess this is pine smoke; it has that nice sharp edge to it.  I suppose other tree wood could also lend that.  My grandfather smoked a lot of food and he would never use pine, instead maple, cherry, or hickory, and those all provide really nice range for smoking foods, and would've worked well for tea.

It's going to be harder to identify what is going on beyond the smoke, which is fine for me, since it's kind of the part of the experience I'm signed on for.  My impression is that the tea base is good, that they didn't cut any corners on what they used, although to an extent they could've and it wouldn't change much.  No flaws stand out, no noteworthy astringency, or thinness of body, or off flavor aspect.  Richness and depth is good.  

Flavor range seems to add more of a warm mineral and toffee note than for the other, which is lighter and more into fruit.  Feel is definitely fuller, but it might give up a bit of sharp feel edge, a light astringency dryness in the other.  The other is so soft and balanced it's wrong to say that without adding context; I'm still talking about the range of very good tea, not how chopped leaf versions come across, and that astringency level and version is positive.  It doesn't cross my mind to see if a splash of milk will counter that aspect in the other, because it lends a fullness and structure to the tea, not a harsh edge.

Kind of a strange idea I've been encountering these days, mixing these two teas they might be better than either alone.  Ordinarily I love the distinctness of narrow aspect types of teas, for better and worse for balancing a broad range of aspect inputs, but the smoke and richness in the second version and light edge and fruit in the first might work together.  Oddly the second is just as sweet, not a direct match to other descriptions, but it's easy to miss that for how the heavier savory smoke input shifts interpretation.

I just did try mixing them; in terms of balance and complexity it's better, but it does come across as muddled for blending too much range together.  In a sense that failure to be better is comforting, reassuring a general perspective about teas I most typically only hold as an assumption, even though I've been discussing it a lot lately, about blends versus narrower origin and aspect versions.  I suppose them mixed together is more like what any tin of smoked black tea would be like.

Niroulla left

Niroulla, second round:  the smoke is essentially gone, not that it was so clear that it was present initially.  This tea is better this round; the fruit really shines through.  Citrus might have picked up a bit in the balance of the fruit.  Astringency edge is just different, not more or less, and a touch of woodiness enters in, but the overall balance is nice.  Judged as a smoked tea it's just not like that this round, but it's quite good.  This would be especially good as a tea type to have with food, the way that fruit and sweetness could link up with a food input, or counter it, with the light astringency edge just perfect to clear your palate.  

Tea and food pairing isn't necessarily one of my things but I just tried an orange cake (like plain cake with marmalade on it; kind of odd but nice) along with a Shui Xian, an inexpensive version from that one local Chinatown shop I always go to, Jip Eu, and both were fantastic together, much better than either alone.  I think that worked much better for the tea containing no citrus trace, just countering it well, with the overlap between this Darjeeling and that marmalade probably not working out as well.  With this being so sweet it might pair well with something that's not quite as sweet.

Ketlee Manipur:  it's cool how the smoke effect shifted in this, but it didn't really diminish.  If anything it's slightly stronger, reminding me of the scent of coal or charcoal.  The balance is still ok, with a lighter, twangier smoke edge replaced by this deeper smoke range, just with less coming through from the tea.  Back to the pairing idea, this would be perfect with something sweet, for adding contrast, maybe something like a chocolate cake with a creamy frosting, or a raisin danish.  I think the connection between that wuyi yancha oolong and the orange flavored cake related to the inky mineral tone pairing really well with citrus sweetness, and that this probably wouldn't offset that orange cake in a comparable way.

Conclusions:

Both nice, both very different.  I'm wondering where these stand in relation to a smoked Gopaldhara Darjeeling I tried half a year ago, but of course I don't have the memory to place that.  At a guess that was closer to this Darjeeling version but with slightly heavier smoke.  I never did get much of a read on the tea input for the Ketlee Manipur version, but again for liking smoked teas with smoke a bit heavy that seemed fine.  That's what they're about.  If it's too strong aftertaste gets to be a bit too much, and this Manipur version didn't go that far.

Judged as a fruity, balanced Darjeeling version the Niroulla works better, versus representing a typical smoked tea.  It may be that they intentionally backed off the smoke level to allow that tea quality and character to shine through, which makes sense, given how good the tea was, and for it being a bit on the delicate side (or refined, to add a more positive framing).  It balanced.

Arya Ruby and Giddapahar Second Flush Darjeelings

 

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:

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.

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.   

a birthday celebration at a local restaurant, a family tradition

everyone takes a better picture than me, even aside from the strange movie-villain long hair look

just days prior; their birthdays are close, and we don't get observation on the actual date right

Tasting Jungpana and Giddapahar first flush Darjeeling

Giddapahar first flush

Jungpana First Flush

Lochan teas sent some samples of different producers' teas, related to them functioning as both a producer (at Doke) and a reseller.  Many thanks for that!  I reviewed their own Doke black fusion tea a month ago; just exceptional, quite unique.

It makes for a good chance to do a relatively blind tasting.  I recognize these producers but really not on the level of expecting specifics from these teas.  The teas were labeled as follows, but from here on out I'll just use the plantation names:

Giddapahar AV 2 Clonal Wonder First Flush 2017 Darjeeling Exclusive

Jungpana FTGFOP First Flush 2017 Darjeeling Organic


It goes without saying that all the Darjeeling plantations make lots of different batches of tea, and that lots of factors vary how each turns out:  plant type, growing lot location, sun exposure, rainfall, local drainage affecting water availability, harvest time and conditions, processing variations, etc.  I wouldn't think these two versions could really be indicative of all the versions both produce, because it wouldn't work that way.  Then again I know about as little about Darjeeling production as anyone else, but all that is near enough to just being common sense.  Vendors provide descriptions of different teas to provide more about those details, and pricing indicates where they stand in relation to other versions, more or less.

Review

Both have bright, fresh, sweet characters based on scent, different in appearance and smell, but I'll start the review with tasting the brewed tea instead.  Straight to it then.

The Jungpana is pleasant, bright and complex, with a lot of complexity.  There is an edge of astringency I've not been used to from drinking Gopaldhara teas for awhile (not sure why those have been as smooth as they are; it wouldn't seem that would relate to just one factor).  It's not "off," definitely not a bad tea, it just has that element that one would take into account in brewing, which is half of what I'm picking up in this infusion.  That structure and feel help shape the experience. The rest of the aspect range is sweet and complex, floral and citrusy with more going on than that.

The Giddapahar has some of the familiar character from drinking Gopaldhara teas, perhaps from sharing the tea-plant type origin, AV2.  It's smooth and round (not a standard tea term, maybe, but it sort of means something to me), complex, sweet, and very fruity.  The fruit tones are close enough to juicyfruit gum, bright and sweet.  In the last review of a Gopaldhara tea I compared it to yellow watermelon; not so far from that.  It's a soft, rich, tea too, not challenging in any way related to astringency.  Mind you some people could see that edge as a necessity, as a compliment to the brightness and sweetness, to round out the experience, as some describe liking the bite of astringency in some Dan Cong.  I'm not attached to astringency in Darjeelings, but then I'm mostly an oolong drinker, and prefer softer, complex black teas, Dian Hong and such.  I suppose liking other AV2 based teas might have set up some bias in preference towards those.

I'm tempted to guess how good this Giddapahar tea is compared to the last Gopaldhara.  That's not really fair to either, since I'm tasting it across time (not that long though), and the styles are likely to vary a little, which might be what I would be judging, relation to preference versus how objectively "good" each is.  It's similar enough I might leave it at that; they're not so different.  That last Gopaldhara version seemed a favorite of what I've tried from them, just outstanding in aspect range and balance, so it's not fair to judge this one against that tea for that reason too; it matched my likes especially well.

Giddapahar left, Jungpana right (different looks)

Brewed quickly, so a bit light--in more of a Gongfu style, the page I'm on these days, even for teas Western style would work just fine for--the Jungpana is better than it was the first infusion.  There's a lot of taste so a light infusion still works well; it's still sweet and complex, and very clean flavored.  The tea shows a nice "round" effect in this aspects balance.  I'm not having luck splitting the taste range into parts but it has complexity, fruit and floral tones, all quite integrated.  There's even a creaminess to it, in the feel and the taste.

The Giddapahar is even better in the next infusion.  That first taste seemed quite like pineapple; not the flat, lifeless character in canned pineapple, the lively, complex, citrusy and bright version in fresh pineapple (of which there are lots of types, that vary quite a bit).  I remember living in Hawaii bringing fresh pineapple to a grad-student outing where an Austrian friend tried that for the first time, and she just marveled at it, as if her world had changed right then.  It really can be that good.  I was slightly addicted to drinking fresh pineapple juice when I lived in Honolulu and it's quite like that.

Related to the immediate novelty of the experience I could drink a lot of this tea. Sometimes when you taste a novel aspect it's hard to isolate it, and it could be different things, or a combination, and later a definition occurs to you, but this just tastes like fresh pineapple.

Giddapahar left, Jungpana right

Next infusion:  these are both really nice teas.  The Jungpana is suffering a little in comparison but it's not at all a so-so version of tea, it's fresh, bright, complex, and sweet.  It has a little astringency going on, mellowing out a bit related to that, a version that's like the mild bite if you taste a fresh tree bud (anyone?).  It's vaguely along the same lines as Dan Cong astringency, just different, not that.  That aspect is nothing like CTC black tea at all, a little closer to a green tea astringency, but not really that either.  At any rate it falls back into being a supporting element brewed lighter and works well enough that way.  The Giddapahar is very round and approachable, just as complex related to flavors, and just as sweet.

That one "pineapple" aspect in the Giddapahar still really stands out too, a nice surprise.  It fades back a little on the next infusion, falling into a more integrated role along with other aspect range, seeming less like pineapple presented in that way.  The tea is still nice; I wouldn't be surprised if it brews a number of additional infusions without drifting towards any less of a positive balance.

brewed leaves not so different (G left, J right) 

Conclusion, about preference

I could do a lot more with breaking down aspects and describing further transitions but that's pretty much it already.  Both are nice examples of first flush Darjeeling, nothing like black tea, light and fresh, mid-level oxidized but not like an oolong either in a few different ways.  It just came up in a discussion how a lot of the same adjectives work for first flush Darjeeling and Taiwanese high mountain oolong--aspects are floral and mineral intensive, both can be "rich" in feel in different senses--but the teas themselves don't match.  There's a problem there with specifying characteristics at the finest level of detail; it's hard to break down floral and mineral far enough.  Spice range or other food-related aspects are easier to separate and describe than those.


Personally I like the Giddapahar a lot more but to be fair I think some of that relates to my own personal preference, related to how one takes that mild astringency.  Then again that pineapple aspect was cool.  I think I've picked up a preference for that AV2 general profile along the way, although I don't know what plant type the Jungpana is made from.  There was a little on that AV2 plant type in this review but I don't feel like I ever did get to the bottom of that.

Doke black fusion

This tea needs no introduction, but I'll mention a little background anyway.  It's probably the one specific tea I've heard most about through other review and online discussion, the Lochan family / Doke plantation's development of their own signature style of black tea.  From the name alone it's a hybrid style, which I won't be investigating further in this write-up.  I'll keep it simple, a description of a tea.  That never works, but this time it will.


I should add that this tea was provided by the producer for review (many thanks for that).  I tried some teas from them awhile back, in 2013, provided as samples back then too, but scanning back I only reviewed one.  Their tea production is new enough that I've followed them online related to developing new styles since, but I've been all over the map trying teas from different countries since then, with no proper focus on any one of them.

Review

The smell of the dry tea is nice, rich, sweet, a bit complex, with raisin or date undertones along with a bit of earthiness and other fruit, and probably some citrus.  The tea is small twisted leaves or leaf parts with some buds.

The first infusion I went a little light, brewing the tea essentially in between Gongfu style and Western style in a gaiwan, kind of typical for me.  I just tried brewing Longjing using a straight Western approach, and I'm sort of off that page so I liked it better a second time as I'm used to making teas now, which varies by type.  This tea would be different prepared in a conventional Western style, although in general that tends to just switch aspects balance around a little.  Vendors often recommend the style they think works best, or provide options, which is advice based on lots of relevant experience, but it could never fully account for individual preference differences.

The initial taste is really nice, sweet, with plenty of fruit (raisin, towards muscatel but not exactly like that, probably more I'll get to later).  It has a soft maltiness, nothing like an edgy Assam, but towards that, maybe better described as toasted pastry, similar but softer.  From there lots of description might fit, and that general range might extend a little towards cocoa; the tea is complex.  The flavors balance is definitely nice, without astringency to work around, and decent feel / structure.  It's no wonder people go on about this tea, especially given that it's just getting started.

The next infusion is a nice coppery reddish brown, at normal infusion strength, maybe a touch lighter than some would like their black tea prepared.  Brewed a little stronger the astringency picks up, still limited to more of a feel or structure, still not edgy.  That strikes a nice balance with the sweetness and flavor complexity.  It's enough structure that the tea wouldn't work as well brewed at significantly higher infusion strengths, not like some of the softer Chinese black teas that have no limit related to that, so you can keep going with range of concentration depending on preference.  In the range where I would prefer this tea related to flavors balance the feel is also positive, complimenting the flavors and the rest of the experience.

There is just more of the same related to those flavors mentioned earlier, a nice intensity.  There isn't really one dominant flavor; a number of aspects integrate and balance.  Raisin and cocoa does underlie the rest, and there is some citrus, maybe across a range of very light muscatel and a bright citrus tone, more like zest spray from a Thai juice orange, bright but not as bright as navel orange zest tone.  A general richness more or less relates to toasted pastry in flavor.  An underlying mineral tone does remind me a little of the taste of copper, going all the way back to sucking pennies in my childhood.  I even found out from experience what happens when you accidentally swallow one; the doctor said it would probably work its way out, and I've not seen it on a routine health-check x-ray since so it must have.

Those are the basics, as I interpret the tea, but with the degree of complexity one could probably keep going.  It all really works.  It's not so far off what I expect better Assam than I've ever tasted to be like.  I've tried some decent versions but none that struck this balance, none with this fruit focus and approachable nature.  But I've definitely not tried enough better Assams that invoking a type comparison here--as I just did--makes any sense.  And it's been long enough that I'm tasting this against a different set of preferences and range of experience, with a good bit of transition in brewing preference over the last couple of years.

The next infusion is consistent, not varied.  I might mention that mineral tone does underlie the experience but it really provides the context for it, along with the feel and sweetness, in three different senses.

All this makes me wonder about the "fusion" part.  Is the character so appealing to me because I'm really attached to Chinese black tea styles, and they've moved towards that, likely by adjusting processing steps?  I'd look into it but I really do feel bored with my posts going on forever.

The next infusion (four, I think) improves a little, the best one yet; that's a nice surprise.  The fruit brightens a good bit, not that it was at all earthy or murky before.  The character has been clean and well balanced throughout, but all that range extends a little towards that bright fruit nature in Juicyfruit gum (not that far from Fruit Loops cereal of pandan leaf, since that product reference is a bit dated).  I think other fruit description may have been warranted before too, it just would have been a supporting aspect, and it's easier for me to list out main elements than to extend that to a long list as some reviewers can.  It reminds me a bit of persimmon, in addition to what I'd already mentioned, maybe spanning the range of fresh persimmon with the raisin effect touching on that of dried persimmon, but surely even that's not the end of it.

The feel of the tea had been interesting before but that steps up just a little too.  I'm not all that attached to feel in tea; a bit of fullness to support the complexity of the experience is enough for me.  But it's worth noting this one is doing something different, related to the way your tongue reacts to it, it feels full, causing some tightness at the rear and sides of the tongue.  It has more aftertaste going on than black teas often do too, a lingering sweetness.  I suppose it is more pronounced at the rear of the tongue but I don't mean that as a comparison to anything else, or as any sort of claim, as people tend to attach to something described in a similar way.  I like tea for the taste, mostly, and this one tastes good.

On to infusion five, this is where better Chinese black teas wouldn't be finished, prepared in this way, but the longer infusion times and natural transition cycle would change their nature, with different elements coming out.  More forward and brighter flavors tend to have dimmed and underlying earthy tones tend to come forward around this point.  A little of that does occur but there's still plenty of brightness to experience.  That coppery mineral tone picks up, and the toasted pastry aspect has changed, moving a bit towards what I think of as tropical hardwood tone.  I'm not actually tasting any tropical hardwoods but I do keep my clothes in a wardrobe--like closet, but a furniture version--that has an interesting scent, like cedar or redwood's laid-back but much more exotic cousin.

This tea should have a few more rounds to offer, it will just be tricky to get the infusion strength right without overdoing it on the mineral.  The astringency could overtake the character too, brewed incorrectly, but it hasn't been in the form of a biting edge, it's expressed as a moderate feel and structure.  This seems like a good place to leave off anyway, maybe extending past a short and simple description as it is.


The tea is nice!  I was concerned it might not fare well in relation to its reputation, since high expectations can make it harder to appreciate a good tea rather than easier, but the novelty and positive character lived up to the build up.  Part of that is about how well a tea style matches up with preferences and this one worked well for me.