Gopaldhara Spring White Teas

Not exactly timely, reviewing spring versions of white teas in January, but I wanted to keep on with trying spare samples, and passing on thoughts on those.  I never did get around to this range trying Gopaldhara versions from a set sent by them to try last year.  They'll be really good, of course, but maybe in some interesting way.  Or maybe I'll just keep writing about them being sweet, complex, fruity, refined, etc., just what I expect.

One is described as a Bai Mu Dan; that might be different.  It's a reference to a Chinese white tea style, of course.  The other referenced something about being an early harvest version, which only became clear later after talking to Rishi about what it was, since that didn't match up with a website marketing name version.  It was something they didn't sell by direct retail, a batch they only sold wholesale.

This review gets a little strange because that earlier guess, from the review notes, that their white teas just repeat in style was completely wrong.  The Bai Mu Dan was really unusual for being processed in a different way than was typical for them, which I've just heard about, but which I'm not really going to try to summarize here.  Processing details tend to go in one ear and out the other, so I wouldn't do that justice.  It was pretty much just left to dry, so it's a standard white tea, but there was a little more to it than that.

The other white tea version was relatively broken.  In these review notes--written while I tried the teas--I guessed that it probably wasn't like that as they sold it, that I probably got the last of a large bag for the sample, broken material that had settled out, and Rishi guessed that's probably what it was too.  To me that makes for an interesting test case, because I've wondered how similar their teas would be to more conventional and more broken leaf Darjeeling, and this will test that.  Of course I could just split a sample that's relatively whole leaf and crush half, and then brew both parts separately, but I never get around to that.  Intuitively astringency level would be higher, and flavors might change just a little, and that's kind of how it worked out.

I'm not changing the contents of these notes based on learning those extra details, but not that much changed in relation to the Bai Mu Dan version anyway.  I think Rishi said that it's from AV2 material, but that's already in the web page description anyway:

As is typical they keep a flavor description limited, which is probably for the best since different people would always interpret flavor aspects differently:

Instead of rolling and oxidizing, this tea is sun-dried in a controlled method that preserves its unforgettable smooth, creamy and fruity texture. The picturesque dry leaves are greenish-grey in appearance with lots of silvery tips which brew into a pale yellow-green coloured liquor. A hint of honey and notes of wildflowers can also be felt in this tea.

Review:

Gopaldhara Early Harvest White (2021):  I might've went with the more typical fast infusion time to adjust for this being more broken than usual, but instead I let it go longer to avoid writing about how I would know better next round.  This is too astringent to really evaluate.  In a sense that works to help identify flaws in the tea, what the rest of the character is really like, but it won't work to evaluate it against preference.  Except that nothing really stands out except the astringency.

This is oxidized more than I expected.  White teas vary a lot related to that; it just depends on how much air contact occurred during processing.  And using broken material would really ramp it up too. This is going to seem more like a black tea than their first flush versions typically do.  I'll try a fast infusion next round and can talk about how it is then.

from their website; I spaced taking dry leaf pictures, which never happens

Bai Mu Dan:  infusion time was just about perfect for this version (towards 20 seconds, quite long for a typical Gongfu first infusion).  This is really unique.  At first it seems like that novel flavor includes a lot of melon, but I might adjust that after considering it.  Yep, melon.  Probably like honeydew or something such; I kind of hate melon so those could be more familiar.  Oddly that really doesn't carry over to disliking teas that taste like melon, so this is nice.  

Beyond that it's hard to describe.  There's a warmth to it that's hard to place, and a depth of fullness to the feel.  Warmth might be a bit like really fresh croissant, with a warm and mild floral tone mixed in, like chrysanthemum.  It's really unlike anything else that comes to mind.  And this range isn't too far from how Bai Mu Dan can be too, which is odd.  I suppose for being this novel it would be atypical but still that's right somehow.

oxidation level difference is easy to see in the brewed liquid

Early Harvest, second infusion:  for normal Darjeeling this would be good; it has plenty of astringency edge, and lots of floral flavor, and it's clean, with good sweetness.  It's hard to even place that in relation to the other Gopaldhara teas I've been trying, for awhile.  It's that astringency bite, which brings with it green wood flavor, or at least seems connected to that to me.  At half this proportion it would be brewing better, even at the same flash infusion I just used.  

It's just not what I expected, the intense, fruity and floral, approachable, very sweet range.  I can't say that a tea that seems like a typical Darjeeling is a complete miss to me; that doesn't seem fair.  It just seems harsh in comparison to their other range.  Most likely if I try another white from what they sent (I think there might be two more in that set) those will be what I expected, and this just isn't.  

It can happen that you get a sample from towards the end of a larger package, that it being this broken isn't really typical of what it's sold as.  Tea reviewers, or customers in general, can end up feeling put out by that, but it is what it is, and results aren't always really negative in relation to that.  Last year a vendor sent me what had to be the end of a batch of Thai Oriental Beauty (an interpretation of that style, really) and that really worked, with the extra astringency and edge supporting the mild style of that tea nicely.  That was a tea I bought a normal amount of, not a sample, but since I liked the tea there was nothing to complain about related to that form.  Looking back at that post the tea in that bag near the top wasn't as broken, with the bottom half just fragments.  Either way, it was nice.

Bai Mu Dan:  warm tones pick up a bit, so that melon doesn't stand out as much.  It's still a bit bright and sweet, but offset from just that in tone.  The way some faint aspects come together is catchy, the general effect.  It wouldn't be completely off to interpret this as including mild citrus, it's just not exactly how I see it.  It's mainly floral tones, but a range of those.  That warm part I mentioned is similar to fresh baked bread of some type, or interpreted differently leaning a bit towards balsa wood.  It all works though.

Early Harvest, third infusion:  getting a lot more pleasant.  That floral range is really intense, and the astringency is really easing up.  Probably next round it will be in an even nicer balance.  "Intense floral" can mean a lot of things but most of those wouldn't be this intense.  A different reviewer might question whether or not this is a flavored tea, but it's absolutely not, since they wouldn't send that, and the difference in effect is clear enough.  

It's odd how this comes across as more oxidized than standard first flush Darjeeling.  Brewed color alone clearly indicates that, and of course warm toned flavor range and astringency.  The next round should indicate what this really is.

Bai Mu Dan:  it's strange how richness picked up a lot, even though the other general aspect range didn't change that much.  It's a little "cleaner," not that it was musty or murky in some sense before, but the flavor range is brighter and clearer now.  No set of words would capture that one "catchy" effect that I mentioned.  It's an emergent property of how the other aspects come across, not one thing, or even clearly tied to a set of a few aspects.  That said I think there might be one main thing causing it that I've not done justice to describing.  Maybe it's how that fruit tone, now harder to identify, mixes with the floral tone and warmer range, what I've described as like fresh baked bread.

Early harvest, fourth infusion:  it's interesting how this reminds me of most Darjeeling first flush versions I experienced in the past.  Heavy floral tone is offset by an astringency edge, which has moderated to a level that's pleasant.  That floral range is so intense that it carries over as a more pronounced aftertaste than most tea types provide.  

This would've been better made using half as much tea; I wasn't thinking that broken leaf effect through.  It's just not the page I'm typically on, and I've been preparing teas more or less on autopilot for awhile now.  Using the same proportion and modifying timing works really well for a broad range of teas, just not necessarily this example.  Or for broken leaf versions in general, really.  This would've been a more positive sounding review if I had dropped dry leaf amount to half this, even though I'm trying to describe how the input changes things.  Or Western brewing probably would've went better.

Bai Mu Dan:  this is going to come across much differently not just for being whole leaf, and a different character of tea, but also because I used less dry tea to make it.  It took up about one and a half times the gaiwan space as the other dry but double would've been more suitable (best achieved by cutting back the first, as described).  Of course I'm adjusting timing to longer for this version than the other to offset that, but I'm still drinking these at two completely different brewed intensity levels.

All that said the description from last round still works.  I'll probably not add any more notes on later rounds, even though these will shift some, because the basic story is already covered.  Some degree of brewing error is part of it in relation to the first, but it's also just broken leaf first flush Darjeeling, which is pleasant enough brewed as fast as I'm making it, just not the type I expected.

Conclusions:

That Bai Mu Dan version was interesting, and novel.  I'm not sure that I like it more than their typical first flush white tea versions, but it's in a similar range for positive aspect character, and sometimes just being different is better.

The other version was interesting for that broken leaf form experiment.  Tried as a whole leaf tea it would've brewed a lot slower, with much lower astringency, and less of a green wood / plant stem sort of flavor input.  Not that all that is so terrible; someone could actually prefer both those inputs, especially if they were acclimated to expect them.  To a limited extent we like what we expect to like.  Only to a limited extent though; people are generally also open to new experiences being positive.

It's drifting way off the subject but let's consider an example from my life; what kinds of things did I experience moving to Thailand that were novel at first, that I liked a lot right away or else needed time to adjust to?  Sticking to foods will keep it simple.  One of my favorite deserts, that I'm reminded that I could eat and enjoy every single day when I have it, is something I didn't like at first, a mix of  Chinese beans, dried fruits, ice, and longan juice.  That's a little different, about a set of flavors and overall food experience being novel.  

Food texture differences stand out a lot more here; lots of things are mushy.  Some mushy foods I absolutely love now, like congee (boiled rice soup), and others I'm still so-so on, like those gelatinous desert cubes they make from rice starch.  I think I loved mango and sticky rice the first time I tried it here, but to me it would seem odd for someone not to.   Those could hardly pair any better, with the sticky rice flavor and texture adjusted by adding coconut, and with an extra coconut sauce.  All of this isn't really supposed to tie back to how Darjeeling style expectations would work out, it's just a tangent.

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.

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.

Gopaldhara Wonder Gold first flush Darjeeling

I've reviewed different versions of Gopaldhara's Wonder Gold before, so I have a good idea what to expect.  But this will be a good way to re-adjust to that type, since I've been all over the map lately, and I might as well take some notes.  One other version they sent, Enigma, has a really cool look to it, so I'll do more with background review when I get around to trying that, or maybe add that to writing about a green tea version.  All those samples were provided for the purpose of review, by the way, many thanks to them for that.


If the tea is as I remember others it will be bright and sweet, with good fullness and richness, and flavors that are both floral and fruity, just a bit hard to separate due to complexity.  There usually was a smoothness and sort of "roundness" to the overall effect, something unique.

Drinking tea horizontally versus vertically

Just a few words on that re-calibration idea first, re-adjusting to a type.  I recently tried some Dan Cong, shared by an online friend visiting, and it was interesting experiencing re-adjusting to a tea type I've not been drinking much of for awhile, since the end of last year (not that long).  Lately I've been drinking more black teas, pu'er (young sheng, mostly, but also aged sheng and shou), white teas, including compressed white teas, Longjing, Darjeeling, Wuyi Yancha (always, really), Taiwanese oolong, and earlier this year teas from Nepal.  The taste and other aspects of those Dan Cong were still familiar, to a limited extent, but blind tasting to determine type and characteristics didn't go so well.  I'd probably review them on a different level of detail if I'd been drinking more of them recently.

I've not exactly been off Darjeeling for awhile (I reviewed another first flush version from Gopaldhara a month ago) but I've really been on lots of different pages in that month.  Who knows, maybe that will help me see this tea differently, to notice something else about them.  The Tea Obsession blog mentioned the idea of exploring tea horizontally or vertically in a recent post, not exactly just related to jumping around between types or focusing on one, although that's basically it.  I can copy the whole post here since it's short:


Tea horizon is broad, visible, reachable.  Vertical tea is how deep one can reach. My perception of exploring tea horizontally can be number of types, regions, varietals, processing, basically as many different teas as one can.  Vertically can be substance within the leaves which is the essential to the quality, grades, climate influence, age, cultivation practice influence, one way to vertical vertical depth is try everything in a region or even one tea of many versions. 

Most of us explore horizontally at the beginning, which can be a lengthy process, some may never get to the vertical stage.  In the vertical stage, one can learn the criteria of tea in depth, with this understanding then explore tea horizontally in depth. 


Nice, a bit philosophical.  Since she specializes in one tea type (Dan Cong) she would have a natural bias towards exploring one type, but biases aside there is something to all that.

I will never know Darjeeling as well if I just try a couple dozen samples a year (or more, but still in that general range), and only pick up random bits about tea plant types, the differences between flushes, input related to micro-climate, and processing differences there.  The same is true of Dan Cong, or Wuyi Yancha, and probably even more true of pu'er.  Touching on those underlying issues and factors in hit-and-miss fashion wouldn't be the same as digging in and specializing on one narrow type.  But for now that's what I'm doing, staying scattered.

Review:

This tea is all that I expected, quite nice.  It's probably mostly floral but to me also fruity.  The richness of that range is part of what makes it so exceptional.  Breaking it down to a list of aspects is almost a flawed approach, since it doesn't come across that way at all, covering a complex range of flavors but with those integrated integrated, nothing like a half dozen aspects mixed together.  A general impression of brightness and freshness comes across well, not something that's easy to define.

The oxidation level seems perfect for this.  This tea would work well on the "greener" side, picking up a little more brightness and vegetal tone, or on the more oxidized side, drifting to more earthy, deeper tone complexity.  But this level is just right, still quite bright but optimal for complexity.  It is absolutely right in between black tea and green tea in nature, drawing on range from both.  Of course it's nothing like oolong, except feeling a bit full is common with lots of those, but it's different in that regard too.

plumeria

It's problematic but I'll say a little more about that flavors list approach.  The floral tone is sweet but not really bright and sweet like jasmine, a bit milder, more like a daisy, or how I'd imagine a sunflower to smell.  It's not as subdued and earthy as chrysanthemom but in between that and the brightest, sweetest flowers.  I've been smelling plumeria lately, which are very bright, sweet, and fragrant, and it's not exactly that but in a comparable range.


The fruit part is also hard to specify.  That brightness and sweetness reminds me a little of yellow watermelon.  It's not a perfect match but not far off that.  With the range seeming more floral than fruity (but balanced between the two) it's harder to isolate, but it's sort of like juicyfruit gum too, that type of tone.


What mineral is contributing is harder to separate out, but it's important to the overall effect.  It's not mineral intensive like a Taiwanese high mountain oolong but that range is playing a supporting role, helping give it that balance.  Actually tasting it and saying it's like one particular rock doesn't work; it's in the background, something you can sense but not identify.  Or there's always the possibility I make aspects up, that imagination plays a real positive role in identifying impressions that are subtle and hard to define but then it oversteps it's proper bounds.

while still unfurling the leaves show interesting colors

My take is that the mineral plays a similar role as salt in sweet foods; you can't really taste it clearly but without it things wouldn't work.  It couldn't actually be salt but it's not so far off that in effect, just a different mineral, something lighter.  Of course the character of the tea is primarily sweet and bright, with richness and balance filling in beyond that.

There is no astringency at all, and not even a full feel one would call "stucture," but the tea is a bit rich, certainly not thin in any sense.

I went a little longer on the fourth infusion and the tea changes character quite a bit.  It was going to have transitioned to earthier range anyway, most likely, and a slightly longer steep accentuated that.  It seems more like a black tea, although still right in the middle.  The floral tones become even more intense for brewing it a little stronger.  The feel thickens, and that other range gives it more intense complexity, but really the tea works well both ways.

As for flavors they're not so different than in the earlier, lighter brewed infusions, the general effect just shifts.  That mineral tone is interesting, moving towards a woody range, but not really getting there. Now it does taste a little more like rocks, a bit like that earthy, warm tone in slickrock, sandstone that's prevalent in the Utah desert.  It makes for a nice overall effect.  It gives up a little in brightness for balance but it is still sweet and bright, just less so.

I like the tea.  I kind expected that, and even anticipated the general character range, but it's still always a nice experience trying exceptional teas.  It's not exactly as I remember others like it.  This version strikes a really unique balance in character, with a subdued oxidation level bringing out complexity nicely without sacrificing any freshness and brightness.

Gopaldhara Moondrop First Flush Darjeeling White Tea

I'm finally getting my palate back after a rough couple of weeks with a throat infection, so what better way to celebrate than with first flush Darjeeling.  It might even help me re-calibrate.

Tea Background, Gopaldhara Moondrop First Flush Darjeeling White

What to say, it's a first flush Darjeeling.  It doesn't show up on their website, but then they also sell teas through resellers, and there are plenty of versions there.  A random vendor selling it describes it as a black tea, raising the typical problem with sorting Darjeeling first flush into categories.


It seems closer to a green tea than a black tea, and really more like a white.  I spoke with the estate manager about that by message and he passed on more background, which gets a bit complicated related to the processing steps.  It's essentially a white tea that's been oxidized a bit, but not enough for it to seem anything like a black tea.  There's more I could add but as well to get on with review instead.

Review

The tea looks like a first flush white tea.  The leaves are small, a little mixed between broken and whole, with a good number of tips.  The initial scent and taste is bright, fresh, and sweet, just what one would expect.  

This flavor profile is familiar from both Darjeeling and better Nepal white teas, but still not so easy to describe.  The total effect extends well beyond a flavors list, and even that part isn't so simple.  It's all right there to taste, but quite complex, even though it comes across as one element, in a sense.  I suppose a bright, light floral tone might be the starting point, the main range, but it also has a citrusy fruit character, quite bright, like the spray from an orange peel when you bend it, or maybe brighter, a tangerine instead.  The rest of the complexity extends into other range, not vegetal in the sense of spinach, bell peppers, or anything remotely like that, but something light and sweet in that general direction.  

Since the first infusion was fast and light I'll keep trying to pin it all down on the next few.  It would be typical to brew this tea Western style, and it would work well that way.  Out of habit and due to preference I'm preparing it Gongfu style instead, just not using the flash infusions or heavy proportion I might for some other types.  Really some teas--like a sheng, or dan cong--would tend to do well brewed very lightly, not using a high proportion or longer times, with longer being relative, towards a minute instead of 10 to 20 seconds.


I just prepared a unique compressed shai hong (sun dried Yunnan black tea) brewed on the stronger side, heavy on proportion, with a bit longer times, and I might make shou that way, if I don't feel like having it prepared lighter just then.  This tea works well brewed lighter or stronger, or maybe best somewhere in the middle, towards lighter since it doesn't need extra infusion strength to be flavorful, to bring the same effect across.

On the next infusion the warmed-up leaves really come to life.  A tea friend just compared this general style of tea to drinking perfume, in a good sense, related to that overall brightness, aromatic nature, and intensity.  That was related to me sharing some Nepal white tea, which is in this general range.  That tea might give up just a little in brightness and freshness to this Darjeeling version, but it's still a good general range to be in.

not so oxidized, a little

The aspect range and term "aromatic" complicates considerations a little past flavors, per my experience it's used in Chinese tea descriptions to contrast scent-intensive teas with flavor intensive character.  This tea covers both.  It strikes a good balance, coming across as simple in nature in one way and complex in others.

Reducing it to a flavors list is still not so simple though.  I'll stick with it tasting floral, but not the heavier floral ranges I've been running across lately in other tea types.  It's definitely not astringent, at all, but there is a bit of dryness and very light edge that reminds me of a light wood tone, more like tasting a fresh and sweet tree bud than the sense I usually use that description in.  But who tastes tree buds, really.


To bring that back to the range of foods that aspect, that feel element, could be like a light, fresh sprout used to make a spring garden mix salad, something sweet and that you almost feel just a little rather than taste it.  Or maybe like a light version of an edible flower, but not an orchid, even lighter.  The citrus is pronounced, maybe towards lemon from tangerine zest, or even lemongrass (not citrus, really, but not far off).

posing

More than all that it's freshness that stands out.  All this sounds almost exactly like the last first flush Darjeeling white I reviewed, doesn't it?  I wouldn't get bored with some degree of repetition, in the tasting, I mean, although I suppose writing the same thing or reading it repeating would get old.  Case in point:  the next infusion didn't shift aspects much, and it's probably better that it didn't.


A bit more depth and warmness may be filling in, lighter floral brightness subsiding a little to make way for a richer complexity, but it's not that different.  On the infusion after that it actually moves towards spice a little instead, close to nutmeg, warming up even more.


A lot of infusions in, maybe at six or so, I let it brew a little longer, and that one element comes across more as pine instead of citrus zest or wood sap tone.  It's possible that would've been a good description all along, and I'm just now doing the matching, but seems likely the transition had something to do with it, that the flavor shifted there.  I like pine needle tea, having reviewed it here, but I don't think everyone would.  The tea keeps on brewing, producing lots of infusions.

I never put pictures of me in this

I suppose as with any tea not everyone would like this one as much as I do.  I tend to especially connect with a range of black teas and oolongs, and most of the range whites too, even though they're completely different.  First flush Darjeelings and fresh Longjing stand out as favorites outside the most typical range of teas I like, and this works as an example of that.

Gopaldhara Wonder Gold, first flush Darjeeling

An exceptional tea, and a unique version of a Darjeeling.  The full name is Gopaldhara FTGFOP1 CL WONDER GOLD, from the first flush (their main site, here, and the tea under a different name, Emperor's Choice, here).


In tasting the tea the general impression stands out more than specific tastes:  bright, rich, sweet, balanced, nuanced.  As to flavors, a rich and layered honey sweetness, in the floral range, is balanced by a complex flavor structure.  There is a hint of muscatel but not much, and a bit of citrus integrates with that.  The tastes are very clean and refined, simple in a way, but complex in a different sense. There is very little astringency in the tea, beyond coming across as full bodied.


An earthiness and mineral background that contributes complexity is hard to describe.  It's like that background context that comes across as a related set of tastes and texture (feel) in white teas, particularly in silver needle style versions.  One might describe it in different ways, with the taste aspect in the range of sunflower seed, a mild light wood tone, or only part of the flavor of chamomile, but what I'm talking about relates to character beyond tastes, in a way those somehow both seem related.


I've been drinking a Peony style white tea from Sri Lanka recently that has a similar effect, from Ebony Springs, a subtlety and richness, an experience not well defined by specific tastes.  It's exhibited much differently in terms of other trace components, in the mineral range instead of sweet floral (with a write up on the first time it crossed my path here).  I'll do more with describing that source and related teas in a later post, since in that one I didn't get beyond mentioning the link for that tea maker.

oxidation level:  a very happy medium

It's nothing like a black tea, not oxidized to that level (although being Darjeeling it might still be considered a black tea, as much as any standard type).  It has none of the vegetal character or bite of relatively greener teas, but it does retain a lot of that freshness.  The fullness is like that of oolongs, full and rich, but in a different flavor range.  The overall effect is nice, bright flavored but subtle, sophisticated, and very pleasant.  As with most better versions of teas description by listing of attributes doesn't really do it justice.


I would normally use this type of comparative description sparingly but it seems a better version of Darjeeling than almost any I've ran across.  It helps that I'm an oolong drinker that has been into lots of white tea lately, so I'm calibrated for this sort of general range.  It seems to represent the best of both worlds as tea types and styles go, in between a number of other typical styles, in a tea that comes across as unique.