Mandal Goan Darjeeling and Mawlyngot Indian oolong

first flush Darjeeling left, Mawlyngot Meghalaya oolong right

A friend passed on an Indian tea I've forgotten the background on (that turned out to be an oolong), which I'll try along with a sample of Darjeeling I've been meaning to get to for months, from Tea Leaf Theory.  It's a first flush Darjeeling that looks relatively completely oxidized compared to those sometimes being in between green and black; interesting.  The other tea is made from slightly more whole leaf material, and it's relatively oxidized too.

That background should be clear to most, about how many Darjeeling first flush teas fall in between categories, not fully oxidized as conventional black teas, and definitely not intended as oolong.  Some go by the designation of white tea instead; that would relate to passing on a bruising step, along with limiting oxidation.  This isn't a processing background theme post, more about these teas.

That friend, Suzana Syiem, is the founder of a Facebook Tea group that I'm also an admin for, although I'm not the most active admin there.  A lot of monitoring Facebook groups is about making judgement calls about posts or comments in relation to group rules, and it's easier to do that in the International Tea Talk group where I'm the primary admin, so the judgement call is however I happen to see it.  Even something as seemingly clear-cut as member approval may not be; it's possible to flag which profiles are less "real," typically created for commercial purposes, or maybe for trolling (not so much an issue in tea groups), or some are commercial versus personal accounts.

I met Suzana a couple years back; she's really nice

About the teas, Tea Leaf Theory only lists producer background:

A lush green tea village on the mountain slopes of the Himalaya in Darjeeling at 5500 ft above sea level, known as Mandal Gaon. Like any other small tea grower in Darjeeling Mr Moktan also used to sell green leaves to the nearby tea factory but he hardly had any control over the price. With the liberalisation of the tea plantation laws in Darjeeling, Moktan also took to tea plantation organically.


The other tea is definitely more of an anomaly, produced in a small village in India, Mawlyngot, located in the Meghalaya state.

I reviewed this having no idea what it was.  Indian oolongs tend to never really seem like oolongs to me anyway, more like a black tea with backed-off oxidation level, similar to how first flush Darjeeling comes across.  This "Tale of Two Backpackers" blog post fills in some background (just not about the tea, so much):


The story of Mawlyngot is like that of a phoenix. At about 45 km from Shillong lies this somnolent village in the East Khasi hills of Meghalaya. The locals believe that the people from the Indo-Bangladesh border had migrated down the River Umsong and settled down here. The early villagers cultivated corn, millet, potato, chilli and banana in low yields that were not sufficient for their daily sustenance. And to aggravate the situation, the men were fond of the local country liquor ‘pyrsi’ made from rice and millet. The villagers had very little education and fought with penury. The place was infamous for alcoholism and drunken brawls...

...From a failed village, Mawlyngot is now producing one of the best teas in the North-eastern region of India...  The Urlong Tea Integrated Village Cooperative Society now produces purely organic and high-quality tea and supplying their produce to different parts of India as well as in Australia...


Sounds good; let's check on their results.

Review:

Darjeeling left, oolong right

Mandal Goan first flush (Batch No. TTLT 19, Ramro Cha):  a little smoky; that's different.  Since that's not a natural flavor associated with Darjeeling (as it is with sheng pu'er, for example) I'd assume this has came into contact with smoke.  In the right type and proportion that can be positive, but it is unusual.

Beyond that the tea is very interesting.  Feel has some structure to it, and richness, but it's not astringent, edgy, or dry.  Flavor complexity is good, and the range is interesting.  Dark earthy tones stand out, along the line of dark wood or rust.  To clarify, rust is at the edge of a mineral tone, or is that instead, and dark wood in this isn't mahogany range, more oak tree bark.  A bit of fruit tone fills in behind that, light citrus, or something such.  This may be a much different tea once some of the early round related flavor aspects shift next round.


Mawlyngot oolong:  the color is a lot lighter; this isn't as oxidized a tea version.  Interesting that came up in comparison with a Darjeeling first flush [then again with the missing back-story filled in that makes perfect sense].  I've drank a lot of types and styles of tea and this just isn't familiar; it's cool how that can keep happening.  It doesn't taste like black tea, necessarily, not oxidized to that level, without the astringency edge or structure, with flavors in a different range.  That's not good or bad, just different, but it does make for a double take when you first try it.

The primary flavor range is closest to something like pandan leaf, subtle, complex, rich in flavor, but light enough it's hard to place right away.  I love pandan leaf tisane (herb tea); that's going to help in this case.  Oddly there really is no black tea edge to this at all, no astringency, none of the associated malt and earthy flavor.  Being well off the norm is one thing, not overlapping at all something else.  The feel is rich and smooth, a bit full, as can happen with some herb teas, but typically doesn't.

Flavor intensity is low; that doesn't come up all that often across all tea types.  For white teas it does, and an aged Yiwu had a similar effect not so long ago, diminished in terms of flavor intensity but not body / feel.  Oolongs tend to be milder in character than black teas, with some exceptions where the form is just different, but even most of those contribute more flavor intensity.  Someone not open to a broad range of tea experience wouldn't care for this; it's not within normal range.  Judging it without that as a factor shifts related context to personal preferences.  It works for me; I like it.  I don't love it; it's not pulling off being completely novel in a way that's well above average for match to likes, but then it probably has some character transition yet to go through.

Editing notes:  I really might have guessed that this was intended to be an oolong.  It hardly matters, if it's an oolong or a much less oxidized than usual black tea, since the two are the same thing in the case of Indian oolongs.

Second infusion:

Mandal Goan:  color has evened up; this is slightly lighter, the other slightly redder.  Smoke lightened up in this too, and it never was a dominant flavor aspect, just noteworthy, odd for being present at all.  There's still a faint hint of smoke but it's essentially gone.  It's interesting the way that mild astringency and warm mineral flavor range seem to couple, and carry over to an aftertaste experience.  It's cleaner than that probably sounds; not murky in any way, with a good level of sweetness for balance.  Earthy tone is still slightly cured hardwood tree bark, maybe more along the lines of one year old hickory tree bark than oak.  I worked with a lot of wood as a child; it's interesting how this brings memories of that back.  We grew up a bit like Abraham Lincoln.

"Behind" that there's what I'm interpreting as a light fruit aspect.  It seems to really be a complex range that's hard to distinguish for not being in the forefront, a bit of citrus, along with something like not completely ripe nectarine.  It all works well enough; it makes for an interesting mix.


Mawlyngot oolong:  this really sticks with the tisane character theme but shifts.  Pandan leaf range is still present, but it adds more along the lines of warm root spice, or maybe even mild tree bark.  Now I'm curious what this even is, or how it manages to fall so far from the entire range of Camellia Sinensis scope.  I think it really is "tea," from that plant, but it's odd that versions never get this far out of the normal character scope.  It has the depth and body that very few tisanes ever have, one of the main differences between real tea and every other kind of dried leaf that I've tried.  I want to say it expresses more flavor complexity too, but that's only true in a limited sense.  It hits on more levels but forward facing flavor aspect range is limited.  A tisane blend could match this.  One couldn't match both the flavor complexity and full feel; it tends to not work that way.


Editing notes:  it is close enough to oolong scope, just not like Tie Guan Yin, or Jin Xuan, Wuyi Yancha, Dan Cong, Taiwanese versions, and so on.  Low flavor intensity was different for those first two rounds but that shifts on the next infusion.

Third infusion:

Darjeeing:  quite a bit of shift in how this comes across, probably in part related to pushing the tea a bit, letting it brew for around 15 seconds instead of 10.  Feel is interesting; that one astringency related element definitely ramps up.  The warm mineral starts to take on a salty character a bit stronger.  Optimum for this probably was back in the 10 second range.  Sweetness and other flavor (wood, light fruit) still work, just not as well in this balance.


Indian oolong:  this is at optimum brewed stronger.  One part even starts to resemble black tea more, a warm mineral and woody edge.  It had tasted a little like hardwood before, or hardwood bark, but that's stronger in this round, more of a central aspect, with other complex tisane flavor range now filling in as secondary flavors.  Feel is just right at this level; thick, rich, and full, but still soft.

Again the interesting part of this tea is the novelty; it almost seems like someone's take on novelty would define their reaction to it. 

Fourth infusion:

I think this will tell enough of the story; I'll let the notes go after this.

Darjeeling:  the balance is nice again after returning to a shorter infusion time (around 10 seconds versus 15; it's not that different).  Woodiness and underlying mineral stand out, along with supporting sweetness and other complexity.  Full feel, cleanness, and aftertaste fill in the experience, they support it.  The fruit seems closer to grape now; that probably is transitioning.  Did I just review a Darjeeling version without citing "muscatel?"  Sure, like that.

I like this tea but don't absolutely love this character range.  I'm more a fan of the cocoa / sweeter roasted yam and sweet potato Chinese black tea range.  It's not the astringency edge causing that, just general character overall.  For Darjeeling my favorite experience has probably been Gopaldhara's autumn flush versions, which are a bit mild in terms of feel, with lots of positive flavor aspects, and some degree of overall subtlety.  This particular tea version I'm reviewing would work even better with the wood dialed back a little and the fruit cranked up, but it would still be in the same general range.  It's quite good tea, very positive, balanced, and refined; it just comes down to style preferences.

Indian oolong:  more of the same for this version; it hasn't transitioned.  The flavor and feel structure is a lot closer to a standard tea version than it was for the first two rounds; probably someone brewing this Western style would wonder what I've been going on about, or think I just had it all wrong.  Back to the idea of preference for styles, this works better for me than the other version.  I would imagine that's not a relatively uniform response, that people would vary on that point.

If this had any flaws the entire experience would be quite different.  By that I mean that I'm not interpreting the unusual character as a flaw, which I would assign to an off flavor, sourness or mustiness, texture aspect that doesn't work for some reason, sweetness missing, unbalanced effect from varying oxidation levels, etc.  Including smoke could be seen as a flaw; that would just depend.  Per my interpretation this is just an unconventional tea, not a flawed version, and it's instead very well made, and based on what seems to be good plant material.

both on the green side; that Mawlyngot version is relatively whole-leaf as Indian teas go

Many thanks to both the Tea Leaf Theory vendor and Suzana for passing these on; I might've added that earlier.  It will be interesting messing around with this second version to see how it reacts to parameter changes.  I don't get the sense it's even possible to screw it up, and careful brewing wouldn't seem to be required to work around any limitation (eg. pronounced astringency), but it might change outcome a little.

Oddly not much changes in interpretation or brewing process related expectations for not "getting" the tea category initially.  Some people think oolongs should be brewed using relatively cooler water (kind of a long story), but I'd use essentially the same approach for a black tea or oolong, water not far off boiling point, related to using a heating and dispenser system that doesn't maintain full boiling point temperature.  I always tend to go with a high proportion and base infusion timing off results the last round, across types.

my wife never makes it into photos here, and Keo never smiles for one.

Latumoni Summer Tippy Assam

tippier "Royal Tippy" version left

I'm comparing two of the better looking Assam versions I've ran across, supplied by the Tea Leaf Theory for review.  Of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating; we'll see how they are brewed.  I wrote about a couple of other teas from them in this post; those were great, one Darjeeling and one from Arunachal Pradesh, not far from Assam but not Assam, as I remember.  I'd meant to include more pictures Upamanyu sent of tea plants growing or processing, and didn't get to that, but there are plenty in their Instagram profile.

I tried the best Assam I've probably ever had not so many months ago, two versions from Oiirabot.  In a way that judgement is odd because I liked them for seeming more like Chinese black tea than any Assam I've ever tried, and there's nothing wrong with more conventional Assam style, I like that too.  Some versions I've tried that fall within that range have been really nice.  I just prefer Chinese black teas, as a personal favorite.  To some extent I'd have to reconsider that if these were that good but back towards more conventional style forms.

There is no pricing on the Tea Leaf Theory site, or specific product descriptions, so I won't be addressing any of that, but this seems to be a description of this source:


Latumoni, Assam

It was during the early 90s when the tea plantation rule became liberal and small private farmers were allowed to grow tea plants to sell green leaves to the large factories, Late Mr Ramesh along with his son Mr Sailen took to tea plantation in a small patch of land measuring around 2 acres. Today Mr Sailen adopts natural & sustainable cultivation methods passed on through generations and have been able to set up a micro tea processing unit which as also serves as our experimental station to research on different tea productions. Some of the finest crafts from Assam comes from this farm.


Sounds good.

I'll brew these Gongfu style, even though that's definitely a judgement call.  It's what I'm most used to, and I'm familiar with how the range of difference between the approaches tends to go, even though results vary for that.  It's not completely different.  I'll keep the proportion somewhat moderate and use longer infusion times than I do for sheng pu'er, for which I pack out the gaiwan and tend to go with 5 to 8 second brew times.

Review:

Royal Tippy left, Golden Tippy right, in all following photos

Lautomi Summer Royal Tippy Gold Assam, batch number TTLT 19:  this has some of the longest twisted leaves of any Assam version I've tried, as does the other version.  It's definitely orthodox tea.

The flavor is nice, malty, complex, and sweet.  It tastes like good Assam.  The astringency gives it some structure and feel but it's not astringent.  Beyond malt it includes cocoa and other range that might be interpreted in a range of different ways.  To me it tastes like warm, rich floral tone and a bit of dried fruit, towards dried persimmon.  I'll describe feel difference and work on that flavor breakdown over the following infusions. 


Lautomi Summer Golden Tippy Assam, batch number TTLT 19:  this looks similar, maybe just less tippy.

This is less dry, a bit deeper in tone and sweeter.  Preference for style and aspects is something of a judgement call but I think I like it better.  Cocoa stands out more, and flavors are even deeper and richer.  There is warm mineral supporting what would probably be interpreted as fruit and floral, or maybe just one of those, depending on interpretation. 

Level of malt is a bit lower, the balance of that input.  It's not the harsh form of malt that occurs in CTC teas, to be clear, not paired with a sharp astringency, not overwhelming related to the rest of the flavor profile.  Relation to that flavor and more typical feel would probably determine which of these two versions is better, per this early take. 

The first version is still soft, not dry and astringent, but a higher level of structure and more malt make it more typical for Assam, per my own past experiences.  It doesn't really work to say the second is like Chinese black teas but the style overlaps in some range; it's more like them.  It may well be that the other Assam versions I'd mentioned that seemed that much closer to Chinese tea style may have been made from different plant types; that would make sense, related to the results.

Second infusion:

Royal Tippy Gold:  this round is brewed a lot lighter, for around 10 seconds instead of longer, checking out how that changes things.  The feel softens in this, and warmth picks up.  It tastes even more like cocoa this round.  Maybe that was coming anyway, just how it was going to transition, separate from a difference in infusion strength.  A lot of complexity supports that, as described in the first round, but beyond that relative aspect level shift and feel softening it's unchanged.


Golden Tippy:  this is a bit light made this way, perhaps just under optimum related to that.  The feel still has a lot of thickness, and even a more subtle flavor is pleasant and full.  The first tea is like cocoa related to the scent of dried cocoa powder, this is more like dark chocolate. 

The first version doesn't seem dry at all when you taste it alone but in comparison with this second version that stands out more, both a feel aspect and a mineral undertone (flavor) that seems related. Supporting flavor range for both isn't completely separate but the effect and balance is quite different.  Again warm, rich floral and dried fruit describe both, but a clearer, more complete breakdown would vary.  To me malt is a minor supporting aspect in the second but more on par with the cocoa in the first.

Third infusion:

Royal Tippy Gold:  this tea is really nice; that might be getting lost in this description.  For a tippier version of Assam it really couldn't get much better than this.  That bit of dryness is just how the style of the type goes, along with malt as a main flavor.  Complexity based around cocoa and other range in this case isn't atypical but this is well above average for complexity.  Take that input for what it's worth; I've tried some Assam over the past year, and more over the last 3 or 4, but I've been focusing on other tea types a lot more.


Golden Tippy:  aspects transition, which in part would relate to brewing this stronger, well over 10 seconds (more like 15), versus that shorter time frame last round.  It's not just feel or intensity that changes when you brew a tea to a different intensity, the aspects that stand out most and how you interpret them also shifts.  It surely must be possible to identify character and flaws in teas overbrewed (per a normal preference optimum) using the standard ISO / typical tasting approach, brewing tea for 5 minutes at significant proportion.  But surely some of what I was just talking about must get missed, the range of what is possible to "get out of" a tea, how it comes across within a narrow but varied range of more optimum preparations.

Malt picks up slightly, cocoa (dark chocolate) fades, and background aspects transition towards a wood tone, away from rich floral and dried fruit.  I suppose all of that is more negative than positive, but to some extent it's also just different.  It's still quite pleasant.

Fourth infusion:

This will have to wrap up soon due to the typical deadline of heading out to a standard Sunday morning swim class.

Royal Tippy Gold:  not really changed, so I'll skip repeating the last description.

Golden Tippy:  it's interesting the way that the slightly dry structure in the first contrasts the softer, richer, more subtle feel in this version.  Per some acclimation and preference the first version might already be too soft, it might lack enough astringency structure.  I like the feel of the second better, but it's my impression that it's only a matter of preference, not an objective call.  I like the flavor depth of the second better, versus emphasis on just malt with some cocoa in the first, even though it is more subtle. 

That fruit and floral background I mentioned in the early rounds never did completely fade or develop enough to be easy to describe better.  The general effect was that flavors were complex, that there was more going on, but what that was never became easy to isolate, beyond the malt and cocoa / chocolate.  Wood tones stand out a bit in the second most now, in the cured hardwood range as that goes (versus greener wood, tree bark, autumn leaf, etc.). 

On the next round (fifth) the flavor of the first (Royal Tippy Gold) reminded me a bit of tobacco, a rich, sweet, aromatic version of it.  The malt, cocoa, and feel, that touch of dryness, are all in an even better balance than in earlier rounds; nice when it works out like that.  The Golden Tippy version is still quite pleasant, although picking up wood tone wouldn't be positive for everyone.  I liked the earlier background touch of fruit and floral range better but it's still nice, to me.

These teas aren't finished; made like this they'll produce another 3 or 4 positive infusions.  How they transition in late rounds is an interesting part of the experience, but it's usually a case of either that staying very positive or trailing more into wood tones, and diminishing in complexity.  A positive flavor transition in late rounds can occur, something new showing up that wasn't present, but that's not usually how it goes.

Conclusions:

I don't have much to add to all that, I can just try to place these in relation to what else I've tried.  I did like the Oiirabot versions better, but as mentioned that was because they didn't seem like standard Assam to me, closer to typical of Chinese black tea style.  For being typical Assam style tea (good orthodox versions of it) these are surely as good as anything I've ever tried, quite possibly the best versions.  It was interesting trying two closely related but different versions as I did, and really that general description and quality judgement applies to both.

It's odd not rambling on more.  For reviewing sheng so much lately I always go on and on about aging and storage concerns, value judgments, and style observations related to any number of factors.  This was just quite good tea, familiar in style range, type-typical, but better than those almost ever are. 

If someone wanted to try benchmark best-case versions of Assam style black tea styles these two would work well for that.  It's not unusual for astringency and that touch of dryness in the tippier version to be even more pronounced, or level of malt to be higher, or for versions to include a touch of citrus, which these kind of didn't.  Beyond all that this is just what really good Assam is like.

One might wonder how these would be different in a Spring version, about the "flush" or season issue related to these teas.  I could add a lot more about that but since it's a much less familiar concern in relation to how that tends to go in Darjeeling it's probably best not to.  It seems possible that Spring versions could be slightly different, perhaps even better, maybe slightly more intense, with a bit more light floral aspect standing out versus the slightly richer, heavier flavors in these.  That's really essentially a guess though, and not a very reliable one at that.

Tea Leaf Theory Arunachal and Mandal Gaon (Indian black)

I've been talking with another chance contact based out of Assam, the vendor who operates Tea Leaf Theory, Upamanyu Borkakoty.  He's a friend of Maddhurjya Gorgoi's, another producer and vendor I've met here in Bangkok before, which to me is a good sign, since Maddhurjya is a good guy.

credit his Facebook page

The themes keep repeating, about promoting smaller producer teas, in order to support local farmers and tea industry.  From what I've experienced quality level of small Assam producers has been improving quite a bit over the past few years.  For anyone who tried "more local" Assam in the past, but not recently, the range of offerings has expanded and improved.  I was just saying something related about tea types in general though, that trying a few versions of any given type might not lead to experiencing the above average versions in that range, or even type-typical examples.  Styles of Assam production seem to be evolving, so categorization as a narrow type probably doesn't work very well now.

I'm not completely sure that these are Assam.  I'd assume that, but the locations aren't familiar, and a vendor reselling different teas wouldn't need to narrow them to a range.  I think one sample in the set was a Darjeeling (to be clear Upamanyu provided these for review, and to support further discussion; that's much appreciated).  It ruins the blind-tasting effect for reading context, so I won't say here, but a section at the end covers what they really are.

He has sent enough pictures I should include those in another post instead (with more appearing in Instagram, or as video intro).  I'll skip venturing into prior discussion scope too.  It's what you'd imagine, that different farmers and producers are trying out different models and approaches, and all face similar constraints and problems, how to ramp up quality and consistent production, onto marketing and setting pricing that is sustainable, with a background context of moving towards natural tea production versus liberal use of chemicals.  I'm not making claims for the last related to these teas but their web-page introduction does:


Maintaining the sustainability and natural integrity the Tea Leaf Theory, a small natural tea grower's initiative founded in 2015 trains, support and promote the marginalized tea farmers across Assam and Darjeeling. It has spread to the emerging tea producing regions like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nilgiri, Manipur and Mizoram...

...The farmers enrolled in our group adopts traditional cultivation techniques which were passed on by their ancestors through generations, have shunned the use of harmful and expensive chemicals in order to preserve the soil for the future generations.

Most of our farmers doesn’t have an organic certification as we could not afford to get one owing to very high certification cost however, our cultivation techniques are far above organic standards and have passed chemical tests, hence we call it a natural way of farming...


This an interesting point, about how not all organically produced teas are certified, and not all certified teas are actually organic.  Multiple people have told me that here in Thailand it costs less to "work around" the certification process and still receive the attribution than it would to switch over production methods.  Take that for what it's worth; it is hearsay.  I work in a different field related to compliance and certification auditing myself, with IT ISO systems, so I'm familiar with how in even the best cases things can be less clearly determined than one might expect.


That web-page description context invokes another consistent hurdle, how to get small tea producers and vendors set up as Western-oriented direct sellers, or how to build comparable awareness and demand within the Indian market.  It's a completely different case than in China, where a strong degree of demand is long established.

Onto review though.  It's been nearly two weeks since the last review, related to clearing a sinus infection, which took forever.  Black tea will be a great way to start back in.  Novel, complex, and approachable black teas have always been a personal favorite, even though I've been leaning into sheng exploration quite a bit for the past two years, and was more on oolong prior to that.  I think I'm at least at 90% related to picking up flavors again; I might miss an aspect here or there but these descriptions should be in the ballpark.  I'm never at 100% anyway; funny how that works out.

This is what the teas are (label listings):

(Batch No)  TTLT 19 Pareng Summer Signature Black Arunchai 001

TTLT 19 Mandal Gaon Second Flush Signature Black D 003


This reminds me of a tea-buyer friend criticizing producers for branding teas as one product type per year.  It does work to meet consumers in the middle, to try to recreate large volumes of a single product, to support them being familiar with a single designation, but actual production doesn't work that way.  Teas are produced from very local areas, from farm sections within a specific producer range within a broader but still limited region, identified by harvest lot and time of production.

Those smaller lots could be mixed, with a goal of establishing a consistent, large-volume single-brand product.  But then some of the limitations of blending versus single-origin tea versions would apply, leveling out character and accounting for flaws at the cost of losing distinctiveness.  These tea versions will probably have strengths and weaknesses but unique style should stand out, distinctive flavor and other aspects.  It's not as if either is better, use of extensive blending or only appreciating narrow-range sourcing, but my personal preference and a general tea enthusiast expectation typically favors the most narrow possible type sourcing.

I'll brew these Gongfu style.  If there ever was a natural time to use a Western approach tea tasting an Indian black tea would be it, but it's not the page I'm on, so I won't.  The only way to know which way any given tea would be best is to try both, although of course some generalities for all that apply by broad type.

Arunachal left, Mandal Gaon right; some obvious differences

Review

(Arunachal left, in all) brewing dark for using moderate infusion time

Arunachal:  from the dry tea smell this might be Darjeeling; that citrus scent doesn't usually occur in that form and level for Assam.   The Mandal Gaon version too; it looks like a Darjeeling, the mix of colors (some are like that), broken leaf form, and different but related dry tea scent, heavy on citrus.

The style is a bit unique.  It does include plenty of citrus, but there's a good bit of malt too.  A heavy mineral flavor takes over in this first round, not musty or off, but I get the impression that the tea will "clean up" and be lighter with clearer flavors in the next round.  It's hard to place this related to other Assam or Darjeeling I've tried, but I've been drinking so little Darjeeling for a couple of years that I don't much frame of reference from recent memory.  I'll hold off on a more complete description until the next round since it seems this will change a lot.


Mandal Gaon:  this kind of has to be a Darjeeling; it would be strange if a profile that's essentially just what that is were recreated from elsewhere.  It's stronger; this is going to need shorter infusion times than the other, related to both the broken leaf presentation and the mix of oxidation levels.  I gave these around a 15 second infusion time, long for Gongfu brewing, long enough to get early transition out of the way.  It was too long for this tea version.

The positives and negatives that arise from a lot of Darjeelings come up in this, familiar ground in the past, just not something I've been experiencing recently.  The fruit is nice, the complexity is great, overall feel and balance is fine.  It just has a bit of an edge.  It's nice the way that ties to a warm mineral tone, but it's still a little astringent for my preference optimum.

I should brew both to get to a more ideal balance and then do a longer description.  For the other tea that relates more to early transition, and moving through initial infusion cycle, and for this it relates to backing off the infusion time.  Temperature factors in too, but I'm brewing these at well off boiling point (probably around 90 C, or just over that, but it's not measured), and going cooler would be pushing it, giving up flavor range to adjust feel.

Second infusion

I went with around a 5 second infusion time for the Madal Gaon, with the Arunachal closer to 10, but the first still looks darker (even though the leaves are clearly less oxidized).  I may have to shift the first back down to flash infusions.

Arunachal:  this did change quite a bit, just not how I expected.  The heavy mineral faded back to a more approachable level, with fruit still really pronounced (citrus, close enough to muscatel, but maybe more towards tangerine), with subdued malt at a level and type that balances well.  A touch of mushroom joins in; that may be similar to what I was picking up in the first round.  It doesn't ruin the overall effect but it's not necessarily positive either.  That may transition away in the next round; unusual flavors more or less "burning off" over the first round or two can occur.  Take that away and this is a really positive, balanced, full version.  Sweetness level is nice, feel is soft but a bit thick and works well, complexity is good, etc.

This probably is Assam.  It's not as close to Chinese black tea styles as the ones Jaba passed on (not that they were necessarily "shooting for" that in those, maybe just how it worked out).  But the character is closest to other orthodox Assam versions I've tried, even though it's a bit novel.  I think it will really show it's potential more in the next round, that the natural transition will probably improve it.

Mandal Gaon:  this version is much improved for dialing infusion strength to the right level.  Citrus really pops in this, much more so than in the other version.  It really is straight muscatel, not a slightly warmer, sweeter, more mellow citrus version as in the other tea.  For anyone who loves Darjeeling second flush tea this would be good, and the opposite probably also applies; if that range isn't a favorite this wouldn't be.  Tolerance for a certain degree of astringency comes into play.  It's not remotely near a CTC black tea level, much lighter and better balanced, but for Chinese black tea styles it's quite pronounced (or for better orthodox Assam, for that matter), along with the citrus one of the two main aspects that stands out.

I like it.  The complexity is good; a strong hit of muscatel / citrus supported by mineral range and some other milder earthiness is nice.  Using half as much tea and the same parameters would probably be better; flavor intensity is stronger than it really needs to be, and the feel would soften.  For my personal preference it's right at the top of the range of astringency I would still like; stronger would ruin the tea.  Just backing off infusion time a little more would shift that.

Third infusion

Arunchal:  it is the best it has been.  That heavy mineral shifted to mushroom has now transitioned to a sun-dried tomato sweetness and savory aspect.  That doesn't come up a lot in teas but often enough it's quite familiar.  A hint of dried mushroom remains, but the citrus fruit and malt is just as strong, so it all mixes and balances.  It's hard to say for sure but this might be better brewed Western style; sometimes those layers that you can extract separately using a Gongfu approach are better mixed together.  To me the experience of the tea is more interesting this way, breaking apart what it includes.

It's really quite pleasant and well balanced this round.  Communicating how the sweetness level, feel, overall complexity, and underlying mineral base all combine isn't simple, but all that really works, contributing to a nice overall experience.


Mandal Gaon:  this is probably the best it's been too.  I didn't manage to shorten infusion time since pouring it out takes a few seconds, but the infusion strength works well in this (brewed for around 5-6 seconds).  It would work better cutting the proportion in half, making it easier to adjust that, giving more leeway for using an 8-10 second round instead.  Or using 2 grams per 200 ml, of course, a more standard Western approach.

Often I'll use a heavier proportion than is typical for Western brewing, even when going that route, more like 3-4 grams per that 200 ml (just under 7 fluid ounces), and use shorter infusion times, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, adjusted per round by how the last turned out.

Anyway, muscatel and citrus really stands out.  The astringency ties to a green-wood or tree-bud-tip taste, kind of woody, but not in the conventional cured wood sense.  Sweetness probably also trails into floral range, sweet and heavy, in between rose and lavender, but it's easy to miss for citrus and that other bite standing out.  It's also easy to miss how overall balance helps this be so positive too, the role an underlying mineral tone plays, or that pronounced sweetness level, or the effect a pronounced aftertaste contributes, a trailing sweetness.  It's strange bringing sheng tasting expectations and experience back into evaluating Indian black tea, but it's not as if the experience of these very different tea types doesn't overlap at all.

There's a touch of aromatic, leather related range too, a flavor one might describe as "tastes like tea," something that stands out in Ceylon or even Lipton's.  This tea really spans a much broader range for flavor than the other version, probably tied to variation in oxidation level.  The first version (Arunchal) makes up for some of that with a pleasant and full feel experience, and related to a simpler experience not necessarily being worse.

Fourth infusion

These will keep going for a number of additional infusions, made this way, but I'll cut off notes after this round, since the main story will have been told.

Arunchal:  more of the same, but citrus is standing forward the most it has yet, now a dominant flavor aspect with the rest only supporting.  I can't pick up any mushroom aspect, now faded to more of a supporting earthiness.  This probably would be better prepared Western style, with all that rounding off and citrus standing out more.  Again the feel is really nice, right in a great balance for coming across as full body but not astringency edge.  And sweetness and overall balance too; it's good.

Mandal Gaon:  quite similar to the last round, with little to add related to that.  To me this represents a good example and version of a "greener" or less oxidized second flush Darjeeling.  Often oxidation level is higher for those instead, more towards a "true" black tea, but this style comes up too, and it works.  Anyone who had been drinking a lot of Darjeeling versions could peg this for being similar to other standard, better types, but I've not been on that page.  Awhile back I drank Gopaldhara and Rohini versions regularly (which were very nice), but their teas tend to not be made in this style, with second flush versions more oxidized to be more standard black teas.

If anything citrus pops in this more than would be typical.  That's odd, given that citrus (and muscatel, a grape, raisin, or wine-like flavor range) are primary Darjeeling flavor characteristics, but this is quite strong and distinctive.  It's right in the range of tangerine peel and fruit during this round, maybe just a little stronger and more distinctive than in the last.  Brewing it fast (at this proportion) lets the astringency balance, so sweetness and tangerine are the strongest aspects, with astringency notable but less of a factor than those.

Arunachal Pradesh left, Mandal Gaon (Darjeeling) right

Tea version background

It seemed as well to try the teas without that for context and come back to that.  I didn't find product descriptions of these but the Tea Leaf Theory site does mention who the producers are:

Pareng, Arunachal

A small newly plated tea farm up in the foothills of Himalaya at 3500 feet in the extreme interiors of Arunachal Pradesh has been planted by Mr Tabem in 2011 in a patch of land where he used to cultivate vegetable. Arunachal is a very thinly populated state, therefore the whole farm is looked after by Mr Tabem and his family right from plucking to processing. The farm is surrounded by rivers on 2 sides and covered by dense forests on all the sides. We have set up a micro tea processing unit in 2018 which also serves as the first experimental station for our Arunachal chapter. It does produce a very distinct cup of Black tea.

That was distinctive, not so different than Assam, but not identical.  And pretty good tea for an early attempt at growing and processing; round off a touch of rough edge and it's up there with the most exceptional orthodox Assam (even though it's not Assam).

Mandal Gaon, Darjeeling

A lush green tea village on the mountain slopes of the Himalaya in Darjeeling at 5500 ft above sea level, known as Mandal Gaon. Like any other small tea grower in Darjeeling Mr Moktan also used to sell green leaves to the nearby tea factory but he hardly had any control over the price. With the liberalisation of the tea plantation laws in Darjeeling, Moktan also took to tea plantation organically.


Even if someone isn't interested in local producer Assam versions those web-page stories are interesting, each covering a bit of a local development history of tea production and processing.  Again if this is an early attempt at tea processing (relatively speaking) it's an impressive one.  Tweaking brewing process for both these teas would probably lead to slightly better results, and both were really nice as it was.

Mandal Gaon tea growing (credit the Tea Leaf Theory site)

I would like to include more about their business model, how they sell teas, and what they're trying to do, but it seems to work to leave this post as an introduction that lets two tea versions speak for themselves.  I'll put together a pictures post and get Upamanyu to add detailed captions, and he can add a few sentences about mission statement or whatever else there.

He does have a blog section in his site, but most of that is about tea history, at least so far.  A subject I've been exploring lately is how old tea production is in Assam, which it is very difficult to turn up clear answers for.  No matter what details someone would identify there seems to be a reasonable chance that other historical input might tell a different story.  It seems clear enough that tea was not only growing but also was produced as both a food and beverage in Assam long before the 1830s when the British ramped up tea production there.

Here is Upamanyu's blog post input on parts of that story:

Contrary to the popular misconception, tea was not really an “imported/foreign” crop, but is an indigenous plant of India. If not for thousands of years, tea has been an integral part for atleast 900 years in different parts of India, the most prominent regions being Arunachal Pradesh & Assam which are the homeland for Singphos, the tribe which has been drinking tea since the 12th century...

...There have been documented evidences from the medieval period during which the Singpho King had offered “dark liquid brewed from local wild tea plants” as medicinal drinks to Dutch & Portuguese travelers. This further vindicates the stand that tea, if not as a beverage, has been in use in India as a medicinal drink for hundreds of years...


That's probably not going to be the final, most developed version of that history (and reference citation doesn't clearly justify those points), but this matches my hearsay-based understanding that a deeper tea history did occur.  Even that content matches what I've ran across.

They also mention selling a Singhpo falap in their site, they just don't really list product details, or anything like cost.  I tried a version of that for the first time recently (here), and it was more positive and interesting than I expected.  I thought it would be like a bitter, astringent, smoky form of sheng, but it was really in between sheng and hei cha character, warmer and softer, and more complex in a novel way.  I'm not sure about the Tea Leaf Theory version; of course I mean the one that I tried.

I'll probably be focusing more on developments in the local Indian tea industries over the past decade in further material from Upamanyu, along with letting the tea aspects tell part of that modern story.  But it's still interesting background context, that forgotten-history theme, and the details that do turn up.