We talked to Rajiv Lochan, a well-known tea industry figure, about developing a new tea region in Bihar, the Doke plantation there. That discussion, part of an online meetup series, was summarized here. Not so directly related he was kind enough to send some teas for review, including their signature Doke Black Fusion, which I'm reviewing in this post (many thanks!).
There isn't that much more to say beyond the backstory covered in that post, with the exception of mentioning that they are also related to an online tea outlet, Tea Swan. This and teas mentioned in some following posts might be available there.
There is a second tippy version of a second flush Black Fusion tea in that set, which I've not tried yet, to clarify why a related version mentioned elsewhere might sound a little different. Their description:
The best Indian black tea that has a combination of sweet and malty roast notes with caramel flavour aftertaste... This tea fills the air with its aroma of caramel and a spicy texture that is beyond words to explain! Coming from Bihar, Doke Black Fusion is processed using Assamica tea leaves that compels the tea lovers to explore this tea...
AROMA : Caramel, Currants and a Finish of Grapefruit, Notes of Malt, Spices
FLUSH: 2nd Flush 2020
CAFFEINE: High
SERVING : Hot and Cold - Both
ORGANIC/NON-ORGANIC: Non-Organic
TASTING NOTES : Sweet & Malty Roast Notes With Caramel Flavour Aftertaste
Review:
First infusion: a little light; I tend to brew tea that way, using a fast first infusion to evaluate a tea, then get a more grounded opinion based on a stronger infusion the next round. Intensity seems the main limitation in this infusion, and I can't really separate that effect from the light brewing approach. It seems like it might be a limitation of the tea beyond that, but next round that will be clear.
Flavor that is present is positive. Rich toffee like flavor is primary, with rich dried fruit or heavy floral flavors beyond that. Unpacking those will be easier based on a stronger infusion. A base mineral effect is nice, and aftertaste carries over nicely. There are no notable flaws but sweetness seems limited (although again, next round will tell that part of the story better).
Second infusion: I brewed this a little long to make sure to resolve the intensity issue, in the range of 15 seconds. It might not sound like long but for this infusion proportion it is. The heavy mineral base flavor ramps up considerably, dominating the overall experience. That does connect in a positive way with a toffee sweetness, the actual sweetness level is just moderate.
Some degree of rich dried fruit and heavy floral fills in beyond the mineral taste, and toffee, so it is complex, in a sense. The feel is nice, not astringent, but with significant body that supports the rest in a positive way. I'll try the next round a little lighter and try to place the character better. I would expect the tea aspects to balance out a bit, and maybe for it to evolve to become a little more complex.
Third infusion: it is developing nicely. Sweetness picks up; that does help. It's an unusual form of it, covering more than one flavor that seems sweet. This almost seems like a roasted tea, based on what I'm experiencing, but that also doesn't seem right, given expectations about the type. It might just be that a heavy mineral range comes across, standing out more than a typical underlying base layer.
Flavors are complex; more vegetal range fills in along with warm mineral, toffee sweetness, non-distinct dried fruit, and what I interpret as warm floral range. When people drift off onto talking about a tea seeming like some sort of cookie that applies here, maybe like a graham cracker, or for British people like a digestive. It is good.
Fourth infusion:
Fifth infusion: an interesting spice range flavor picks up; it's a good sign that transitions are positive this far along. At the same time woodiness also increases, and that mineral base flavor range shifts, so the overall change could either be seen as positive or not depending on interpretation. Overall it's distinctive and complex.
Conclusions:
I like the tea. It's complex and balanced, with all positive aspects, as I've described. But I'm also drawn to considering what seemed like a limitation. For having good flavor complexity and a nice base, and decent but moderate sweetness, there is a layer of the overall profile that's limited. It's a richness or depth, maybe a mid-range complexity. It might be that a heavy mineral tone is a pronounced part of the experience, and usually that's experienced as a base for the rest, not a dominant aspect, again almost as if this is a roasted tea.
It really could just be that the style is unfamiliar to me, the region-influenced character, or level of oxidation, and that trying the exact same tea a few more times it would seem to balance better. Dian Hong, my favorite Chinese black tea (from Yunnan) tends to have a rich, complex depth, at times with a "high end" or forward aspect that is light or not very pronounced, and it could just be that difference, emphasis on a different flavor range not matching my own expectations.
This tea might work better brewed Western style; it can be hard to know without trying any one version both ways. Sometimes splitting the experience apart in layers adds an interesting dimension, and in other cases combining those provides a more ideal overall balance. It kept transitioning in positive ways across a number of infusions, beyond the ones with notes listed here, which is a good sign in relation to it being positive brewed across a longer infusion time, the Western approach.
To be clear I'm judging this in relation to good versions of small batch produced tea, and against good versions from the Chinese tradition, or the best of what is made in plantations elsewhere. This is better than any commercial black tea I've tried coming out of Thailand, and probably roughly on par with better limited production versions, or at least better than most of those, again with my own bias towards Yunnan style throwing that off (not far from the North of Thailand). It's quite good, and the one critique here is about placing that in relation to the highest potential for black teas.
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