DARJEELING COLLECTION | Select Estates, 2025 First Flush

This is a selection of spring 2025 Darjeeling tea leaves curated by Geoff and Raph at our tea bar.

Dorje is thunder in Tibetan. Set in the Himalayas, Dorjeling (Darjeeling, land of thunder) is no less impressive than its name. 

Margaret's Hope SFTGFOP 2025 FF:  

·      Origin:  Darjeeling (Kurseong), West Bengal

·      GPS:  26.92°, 88.27°

·      Tasting Notes: morning glory, capsicum flowers, sandalwood

Mahal Diram Spring Delight 2025 FF:

·      Origin:  Darjeeling (Kurseong), West Bengal

·      GPS:  26.91°, 88.34°, alt. 1900m

·      Tasting Notes:  raw Hazelnuts, pomelo pith, green banana

Sourenee CH Classic 2025 FF:

·      Origin:  Darjeeling (Mirik Valley)

·      GPS:  26.86°, 88.19°

·      Tasting Notes:  sweet cream, ceylon bark, dried orange leaves

Makai Bari FTGFOP 1 2025FF:

·      Origin:  Darjeeling (Kurseong), West Bengal

·      GPS:  26.85°, 88.27°

·      Tasting Notes:  fig skin, grape leaves, nasturtium

Giddapahar SFTGFOP 1 CH SPL DJ 10 2025FF:

·      Origin:  Darjeeling (Kurseong), West Bengal

·      GPS:  26.88°, 88.27°

·      Tasting Notes:  ribwort plantain, muscatel, watermelon rind

History
Tea in this region is a fairly new endeavour. In the 18th century, this land was part of the Kingdom of Sikkim. In a tumultuous 100 years, this territory exchanged landlords several times, until it was annexed by British India between 1865 and 1866.

Among other interests, the British had been growing tea here since 1846; a few seeds smuggled out of China happened to love this land and were producing some very appealing tea, crafted under the supervision of some experts also smuggled out of you know where. 

Today, the area is known for producing some of the best tea in India and is often called the 'champagne of tea'. The region (including neighbouring districts in India and Nepal) does make some outstanding tea that is very different from anything farmed elsewhere. 

How Black is Black? 
A textbook (or Wikipedia) definition of black tea is a any that is more oxidized than oolong and (naturally) green and white. It is often described as 'fully oxidized', which would mean all the leaves are dark brown. 

Darjeelings are usually clasiffied as black tea, but many are not very oxidized.
Some spring flushes seem very lightly oxidized, comparable with fairly green oolongs. Summer and Autumn flushes tend to be more oxidized, but few times are they as oxidized as Assam or prototypical Chinese black teas. 

Should You Care? 
In tea, there is one thing that we really care about: does it make you happy when you drink it? 

Today, we are presenting three delicious teas that made us very happy, regardless of how we choose to classify them. We hope they bring you that same joy!