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.

Ketlee 2020 Manipur (Indian) Spring Wild White Tea

 

Reviewing the last of a set of samples of interesting and novel Indian teas, provided by Susmit of Ketlee for review (many thanks!).  Earlier posts covered trying Indian sheng (a variation of Yunnan pu'er), Sikkim and Manipur origin Indian oolongs, with this a wild origin white.  We met Susmit in a meetup discussion described here, talking about changing Indian tea styles, and shifts in awareness and demand.  I'll add his description before posting this, and get right to the tasting part.

2020 Spring Wild White Tea (the Ketlee site listing)  ($7 per 25 grams)

Grown in the wilderness of Manipur, this tea from very old plants are mother nature's gift to us. It has been one of our most awaited teas yet, after the last years harvest sold out way earlier than expected!

The tea starts floral and fruity with hints of fresh coriander leaves and spearmint. The spice notes are soothing and present just on the finish. The fruit notes are reminiscent of litchi, green apples and kiwi. The flowery notes are dominant in yellow flowers with a hint of honeysuckle. There is a hint of sandalwood in the later steeps which blends seamlessly with the flowery character. The liquor coats your mouth and is extremely silky.

It's cool the way that the general impression and flavor categories are almost a complete match with the review that follows, and not one single individual description is common to both.  That's how that goes.  I don't necessarily see that as a problem with tasting skill or a critical limitation of tasting description, it's just that any impression isn't as specific as the descriptions and associations tend to sound.  It's an interpretation, and those would always vary.  Every part of what I wrote matches in general, about complex fruit and floral range, limited spice range, freshness, transition in character across infusions, warm tones, balanced and integrated individual aspects, and thick feel.

Related to accounting for real change in tasting experience, trying a tea a year later (letting it settle due to aging), brewed with different water, using a slightly different brewing process (proportion and timing) would shift results a little.

Related to value / pricing, $14 per 50 grams is getting up there, but for tea that there is only one version of available that's hard to peg in terms of a market rate.  Related to quality level and positive experience this is probably still a good value; it's that pleasant and unique.

It goes without saying, but for people not so familiar with this scope buying "wild" origin teas is a way to ensure they are not grown using chemicals.  There is no way that a producer is out spraying down the forest to protect tea plants already thriving within a balanced ecosystem.  You have to be careful that teas aren't misrepresented, that they're not really plantation grown tea that sounds better described differently, but I'm pretty sure there is no significant risk of that from this source.  If a vendor is buying and reselling something they didn't work closely with producers to have created they might just be passing on a story they heard, not necessarily making that up themselves.  

Evaluating tea origin stories can be tricky.  Hatvala of Vietnam, Kinnari of Laos (which doesn't necessarily serve as a direct retail outlet, but are out there), and Monsoon of Thailand are other examples of vendors who work closely with local producers.  They could all be relied upon to tell accurate stories about origins, because they all played a role in both sourcing and in initiating specific forms of tea production, working directly with local residents who actually harvest and make the teas.

Review:

First infusion:  there's a touch of smoke in this; that's different.  It's so faint that I don't expect it to hang around long as infusions pass, but it does affect this first infusion quite a bit.  It's relatively positive; in the right form and balance smoke can be nice.  The tea probably came in contact with smoke, versus that being a natural taste.  Beyond that it's sweet, rich, and complex, even for the first infusion often being lighter in flavor.  

I'll do better with a flavor list next round but for now a bit of warm depth compliments lighter and sweeter fruit range nicely.  This might taste a bit like peach and vanilla, with the depth relating to mild mineral tone and aromatic wood, which is towards spice.  Feel is rich, not so unusual for white teas.  It's great how warmth, sweetness and depth all indicate some degree of oxidation and freshness and brightness show that to be limited.  A great start!

Second infusion:  I didn't try to use a longer infusion time to bump up intensity, brewing this for no longer than 10 seconds, including the pours.  Again it's interesting how this covers so much aspect scope.  I suppose going from the appearance slight inconsistency in degrees of oxidation might have led to that (more apparent in wet leaves), probably more an accident than something intentional, which worked out well in this case.  

The smoke isn't noticeable at all, replaced by heavy and complex floral tones; it would probably take at least two flowers to describe that range.  Fruit is also present but less forward and intense, now maybe more towards dried apricot.  The warmer range is pleasant, still a light warm mineral with cedar.  As if that wasn't enough there is a vegetal range of aspects that seems to extend across both, as warm, sweet dried autumn leaf tied to the warm part, and towards an actual vegetable matching the lighter tones, or let's say a lot like holy basil (tulsi, to some).

This seems a good place to guess where this is headed; I'd expect transitions to level off this round and then stay stable for most of the rest.  Even minor difference in timing would change brewed tea effect so that could seem like transitions, but not really represent that, if I shift timing a little to longer or shorter.

Third infusion:  warmth picked up; that range increased.  It's interesting how there's so much going on in this that lots of interpretations would make sense [interesting that I wrote that in notes before reading Susmit's description].  This fruit tone could be regarded as any number of things, like dried mango instead, maybe part of that heading towards pumpkin, including citrus peel (a warm version; maybe even grapefruit).  Same for the warmer range.  To me it's quite close to cedar but it's not that far from dried tamarind, or "on the other side" not completely unlike metallic range.  

The floral range is a bigger part of the story I'll probably not do justice to.  One part is rich and heavy, like lavender.  It's more complex than that though, so a hint of sweet depth might seem like rose, or the brighter range like jasmine, just a subdued and integrated version of jasmine.  On the lighter and sweeter side it's more like orchid.  That's a lot of flowers; the range really does seem to cover a lot of scope.  Still it all makes perfect sense together; it integrates.

This is interesting for being one of the more flavor complex teas I've tried in awhile.  The great versions of Darjeeling I've been trying (most from Gopaldhara) were like that but they seemed to often hit 3 or 4 notes hard, with a couple of supporting aspects, and this seems broader, maybe even to represent a range of processing outcomes.  It's not like a blend though, since they probably "got there" by mixing plant versions that may be slightly different genetically (the plants shift in genetic profile as they grow in the wild, as people change in related background over time).  The leaves could've oxidized just a bit differently, as I mentioned, but were all grown and processed together.  Those Darjeeling got the most out of one type of material processed in one way, accentuating novel, positive aspects through consistent processing, which just happened to include enough diverse supporting aspect range to give those good balance. 

Fourth infusion:  this isn't so different than last round, but it did shift a little.  The fruit picked up, evening up with the floral, or maybe moving past it.  It tastes a little like juicyfruit gum, unusually bright and sweet.  I probably did accidentally brew this a few seconds faster, causing warmer range to drop back, and it probably would've shifted a little without that.  

This is the exact opposite of white teas that suffer from either being too subtle, not tasting like much, or not spanning much range, just covering some warm cinnamon with a touch of floral (for shou mei character), or bai mu dan that's floral and sweet with a good bit of melon, and that's it.  The only way that someone wouldn't like this tea is if they are really into other aspect range and aren't flexible about that.  That's wouldn't be as negative as it might seem; someone could get really hooked on sheng pu'er and only make exceptions for some oolong or black tea range, and that would still be plenty to experience.  And I suppose not everyone loves fruit range in teas like I do.

Oddly a Thai Oriental Beauty variation I tried this year isn't so far off this.  It always had reminded me of a white tea more than an oolong, and was heavy on cinnamon and floral tones, maybe with a touch of citrus or light fruit mixed in, but not covering quite as much range as this.  You would think it would've been much more oxidized, matching that typical style, but it really wasn't.  For being moderate cost tea I thought that was great for quality level and novelty, it just didn't land in the typical OB style range.  Then this part is crazy; I liked that tea even better mixed with another white tea to stretch out the range and give it a bit more depth of feel.

Fifth infusion:  I'll leave off here; it's enough to say about one tea, and later transitions won't change an overall impression by much.  Of course this tea will have good durability and will make another 5 very pleasant rounds, using limited timing and high proportion to prepare it.  Balance is just great, and it's still evolving.  The warmth now reminds me of cinnamon, with fruit on to more like cooked peach.  The earlier floral range gave way to that fruit, and the earlier cedar aromatic aspect faded to become that spice, but hints of both give it great depth (in the sense of complexity).

I've said that the feel is rich but I can add to that; in addition to feeling full there is just a hint of dryness that gives it a pleasant edge.  Aftertaste experience is nice, with parts trailing over to make the experience seem longer, for including an extra dimension.  This probably is one of the better white teas I've ever tried.  I expected it to be novel and pleasant but not this complex and refined.  They really nailed it, which had to start with high quality material suited to this plant type.  The best version of a wild source white Monsoon Thai white tea included some similarities, just not quite the same positive result across so much scope.  I thought that was really good even for that; white tea doesn't usually compete with good Darjeeling and fruity oolong for complexity and intensity.

I've not really said where the level of sweetness stands, but explaining a lot about floral and fruit range implied it was above average in level, as I experienced it.  That makes a lot of difference in final effect.  It's hard to imagine a tea including too much natural sweetness, although I suppose that's possible, but if the level is lower that causes tea aspects to not tie together as well.  For a tea like this it could swap out some sweetness for some savory range, like sundried tomato, and that would still work, it would balance.  In saying that this kind of resembles sundried tomato a little too, but to me this last round is closer to dried persimmon, which is related but different.  In between plum and prune works to approximate that, if dried persimmon isn't familiar.

All in all really nice tea.  I expected it to be pleasant but not like this.

Sikkim and Manipur Indian oolong

Sikkim left, Manipur right, in all photos

Susmit of Ketlee sent a number of interesting and novel Indian teas to try and so far I've only reviewed an Indian (Manipur) version of sheng (which as I see it is a description that doesn't invoke a GI conflict until you also call it "pu'er," which not a convention everyone else would agree on).  These are two Indian oolongs.

Indian oolong is a strange concept, since most often that's used to describe a moderately oxidized version of black tea, not something processed similar to Chinese or Taiwanese oolong, or similar in outcome.  Which is fine, to me; I tend to not get hung up on concept specifics.  That same kind of concern can make it hard to identify Darjeeling first flush versions, which tend to be called black teas sometimes, when they're not really that oxidized, or those might not be assigned any main category designation.  

I don't see it as important where I personally stand on calling any medium level oxidized tea oolong; people can use or reject concept use in any ways they like.  For vendor branding it's a little different because that has to be both descriptive, giving potential customers an idea of what to expect, and positive, related to hopefully leading towards sales.  

Years back Indian oolong was a more novel concept, and now people are just living with it, or else avoiding it.  Kind of off the subject but Halmari (a main Assam producer) does a really nice Indian oolong that seems a lot like second flush Darjeeling, so really more in the range of black tea oxidation, or at least they did a few years ago.  That's a complete miss for style but to me positive outcome more than makes up for that.  It's hard to compare across years and levels of background experience but these are probably the next level up for tea quality, really better than I expected them to be.

before buying a phone with a slightly better camera, 4 years ago (that Halmari oolong post)

Review:

Sikkim:  it's closer to Darjeeling than I expected, that orange / muscatel range.  It's not really a close match for a first or second flush version, kind of in between related to oxidation level (as I suppose it should be, given the oolong theme). It's interesting how the bright, fresh, floral and intense range of first flush Darjeeling comes across, and also the deeper, warmer, citrus (and perhaps touch of grape) black-tea of second flush Darjeeling is also included.  It's a lot of scope.  Flavors are really clean, and feel is nice, with a touch of "greener" range astringency and the warmer base (I mean the flavors that usually connect to feel ranges, and also those feel ranges). 

Setting aside comparison to Darjeeling it's just floral and fruit intensive. Indian oolong can be open to criticism for not seeming like Chinese versions, and this doesn't, but it's pleasant on its own.  

Manipur:  a lot of points go to this for novelty; you don't drink it and think of how it's just like some other tea range.  An aromatic spice note stands out a lot, towards root beer or sassafras. The feel is cool too, in a way that matches, really creamy.  It's like how vanilla is creamy in feel, just not quite that thick. Flavors are pretty clean, and complexity is good, with a nice aftertaste carrying over from that novel spice range.  

There's some woodiness beyond the spice; someone might see that as a flaw but I don't. It connects well with the spice, and it's a novel form of wood, like a creamy and light version of tree sap.  Some of these kinds of comments are probably more accessible to people who spent childhoods splitting wood for heating a home in temperate climates.  I can picture the bark type this smells like, or like the sap inside that tree, but I've lost track of most tree types long ago.  A warm edge is nice, or rather the way it covers range that's light, fresh, and sweet and then also a warmer range.  It could be interpreted as a mineral base, or just as a tree bark flavor. To me that spice tone is really catchy.

To me this also doesn't seem like a Chinese oolong (or Taiwanese, etc.), but I'm fine with that, it's what I expected.

Sikkim, second infusion: this is really nice, it just might seem too much like a Darjeeling to someone.  I don't remember that I've ever tried any Sikkim area tea before; it would seem odd if that close match is normal. There's one distinctive dry, edgy feel and sweet floral and citrus range flavor of first flush Darjeeling and this includes it.  I suppose some of that citrus might apply more to second flush, but it's not a broad variation of theme, tying to a later harvest season and related processing style instead.  

Sweetness, balance, complexity, feel, intensity:  it's all good.  That one flower stem tasting (and dry feel) aspect might not appeal to everyone, but for people into Darjeeling it would.

Manipur:  again for novelty this is way beyond the other; the earlier round's complexity filled in some, along with some depth, but it wasn't thin or lacking range or intensity that first round.  I think floral tone picks up a little in relation to that spice.  It's a sweet, creamy floral range, not so far off plumeria, maybe just slightly warmer.  It's possible a touch of dryness ramps up too, or a little more body.  To me all that works well with the spice range; it makes perfect sense together.  It's a little hard to place in relation to any conventional oolong; it's just not like standard types and versions.  The other version seems more like an Indian tea just set to medium for oxidation level, but again like Darjeeling.  This is novel.

Sikkim, third infusion:  evolving a bit; the citrus picks up, and tone warms.  The dry edge is dropping back a bit, moving to richer feel. It's the best it has been, but that earlier mix worked for me too.  It makes it seem a bit more distinctive.  This would probably work well brewed fast and quite light; I've been infusing these for a bit over 10 seconds, and a very light round would be different, shifting what comes across.  Flavor intensity is nice in this; it would seem normal for a tea version with this much flavor intensity, across this particular range, to be a lot stronger in dry astringency feel than this is.

Manipur:  this doesn't increase in intensity, or shift in character much.  There is an intensity and depth to this sweetness and spice range that's a little like star anise, the way that's so strong, and so sweet, with that much aftertaste range.  

To me that spice is hard to dial in to a right level, so I usually don't use it in masala chai, or haven't added it to one for many years.  I skipped making masala chai last year; strange, given how much time I spent at home.  We were traveling a lot in the last half of the year within Thailand, and I tend to pretend that weather has cooled in the temperate Northern climate fall and winter, even though it's really always hot here.  It's 31 C now, tasting this outside at noon, 88 F, not so hot for us but not cool.  "Real Feel" is 38 in the shade and 41 in the sun (100 or 105), and I'm in the sun but under cloud cover.  They go too far with that correction; high humidity is normal here.  I noticed there was plenty of light to give the pictures a slightly washed out look; so it goes.

This tastes more like star anise, to be clear; it's not just the effect matching that a bit.  I suppose to some extent it did earlier too, but it's impossible to miss in this round.

Sikkim, fourth infusion:  thinned a little for trying this lighter, but it does still work like that.  If there was more astringency to work around dropping intensity like that would make more sense, but it wasn't too strong at an infusion strength more typical for me.  Sweetness is still really nice, and flavor intensity is ok, just thinner in comparison.

Manipur:  kind of the same as the other; it's interesting trying both light, but it doesn't necessarily work better.  It's funny how sweetness level is pronounced in both, and flavor strength is still fine, just seeming quite light and a little thin in comparison.  If I hadn't been blasting my senses with sheng pu'er for the last few years there's a good chance this is how I would always drink tea now, at a lighter intensity than I typically do.  

For dabbling in tisanes again a bit now it's interesting how this complexity, intensity, and feel edge is impossible to mimic in a tisane, no matter what you drink or how those are blended, even with these brewed light.  I can still appreciate tisanes but it's hard to not see that as a gap, like one or more parts are missing.  It's strange saying that mixing herbs with tea can work to cover both concerns, adding new flavor range and also keeping some of that feel and range.  I don't try that often now, but some.

Sikkim, fifth infusion:  I'll close with some final thoughts this round; it's enough. I'll brew this back up at what is a normal infusion strength for me, more like 20 seconds of time this round.  It's similar to before, nicely balancing the same range in a similar way.  It's nice how that dry edge easing up fell into a really nice balance.  This is still dead-center between first and second flush Darjeeling character.  I doubt they were going for that, but if so they nailed it.  This flavor cleanness, intensity, complexity, etc. is pleasant, or impressive even.  This more than holds its own with most Darjeeling I've tried.

Manipur:  thinning just a bit; some of the body is pulling back.  Flavor is still just as intense, maybe coming across stronger for part of the range thinning.  If someone hated star anise this really wouldn't work for them, but it's better than star anise for moderating that flavor, and that cloying sweet edge.  It's still definitely pronounced in both the flavor while you drink it and the aftertaste.

Conclusions:

Good teas!  I'm not so sure about the "oolong" part but these match what I've experienced of Indian oolong in the past, novel and pleasant backed-off oxidation level teas.  Quality stands out as exceptional for both; there is no trace of any flaws in either, and a broad range of positive aspects.  

I suppose the Sikkim seeming like Darjeeling seemed to detract from the novelty factor for me, but it's not as if I'm drinking Darjeeling every week.  For those familiar with Gopaldhara Darjeelings I don't mean like those, the blast of fruit they tend to include.  This one included more of that distinctive floral range and flower stem taste, along with the citrus, which may or may not overlap with muscatel flavor (which is not how I interpreted it, but maybe).

They are better teas than I expected.  Experimental versions just don't get to this level, and it takes established producers years of hard work to achieve the same.  Maybe starting with great plant material gave them an edge, or maybe these are far from early trial rounds.  It's a little late to get to it but I can also include Ketlee's description of these for completeness:

Sikkim Spring Oolong Tea (2021 version)

[Editing note:  the first posted draft included the wrong link and version description, amended here]

Harvested during early spring, this is the fourth batch of the 2021 harvest. Of course, this tea is made at one of our favourite estates, the Bermiok Tea Estate... 

The leaves were shade withered for 24 hours after which it was bruised by hand for oxidation. They are then hand roasted and rolled before the final drying... 

...The liquor has a hint of flowery notes, particularly sweet yellow flower notes. As you sip the tea and it cools down, the fruity notes come to the foreground and there is an abundance of cantaloupe, Indian pear and ripe peach notes. There is also a hint of malt during the initial infusions but the fruity part dominates the profile. The astringency is minimal, just present to greet you at the finish...

Not really much match to this post description, but that's how review interpretations go.  Floral and fruit range interpretations can parallel but it's normal for people to cite different range of flower types or fruits. It seems a good value, listing for $20 for 100 grams.

Manipur Young Tree Oolong

After more than two years of offering exclusively old tree teas from Manipur, we are very excited to bring something new from the region, wild teas from young bushes! Processed exactly like our old tree oolong(2020 Ball Rolled Wild Oolong)...

...The first infusion brings an interesting sweetness resembling the aftertaste of fennel seed along with a spice note dominant in cloves. The second infusion is another interesting one, with notes of lemongrass, vanilla and caramel. The third infusion is rich in sweetness with honey and black raisin notes, there is also a woody undertone to it. There is a mild astringency as well which makes this complex liquor even more refreshing. To us, this astringency along with wood and citrus notes make it seem a lot more closer to assamica teas from various parts of India. While the old tree teas are also of the assamica variety, it clearly has a taste of its own and does not taste like any other assamica we find here. The fourth infusion has even more sweetness with notes of muscat grapes, honey, damp wood and caramel...

Per usual actual tasting notes vary, but we are in agreement that there's an interesting, novel, and primary spice note being expressed in this, along with pleasant sweetness and complexity, and a supporting woody undertone.  I'm not so sure about the citrus part but I bet if I kept tasting this I would unpack some of what they identified as dried fruit range, versus seeing that as a warm floral tone.  That spice stood out as so novel it made it hard to kind of "get past" experiencing and explaining it.

They sell this for more than double the other version, $28 for 100 grams, and it really is that much more novel.  Although the Sikkim version is unique too, so there wouldn't be a market price that's easy to identify, this version is really different.  This doesn't claim to be organic but it wouldn't make sense to spray pesticides on tea plants growing naturally in the forest; it doesn't work like that. 

out running errands, nice to pick up those donuts again

the view from my office building, not quite as iconic from that angle