Darjeeling Black Tea is considered the champagne of teas. Light in color and thin-bodied this gourmet tea has a muscatel flavor and a slightly astringent after taste. There are seasonal differences to note.
- Springtime tea has a light green liquor it is brisk and mildly astringent.
- Summer tea has a fuller flavor, becoming muscatel and with a fruity note.
- Monsoon tea is bolder and stronger yet. It is rarely exported and considerably cheaper.
- The autumnal tea is full-bodied and less spicy.
In order for a tea to bare the name Darjeeling it most come from one of 85 plantations in the Darjeeling region of West Bengal, India. Considering there is four time as much Darjeeling tea sold each year than there is grown in this region. It is important to look for the Darjeeling certification mark and logo.
Unlike the rest of the tea grown in India, Darjeeling Tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. These plants were imported into the area in 1848 by Robert Fortune, who frequently visited China. Fortune viewed the Camellia Sinensis tea of China as superior to India’s Camellia Assamica teas. Camellia Sinensis leaves are smaller than the leaves of the Camellia Assamica plant. In the Darjeeling region they employ a processing method which is unique to that area. They start with what is known as a hard wither. This technique does not allow the leaves to completely oxidize and ferment like other Black teas. So technically speaking Darjeeling Black Tea is actually a form of Oolong Tea. Many Darjeeling Teas are blends and the range of oxidation varies from nearly Green Tea through Oolong to Black Tea.
Once all the tea from Darjeeling Tea Plantations was produced into Black Tea. With the rising popularity of Green, Oolong and White Tea, some of these estates are now producing them as well. These varieties are becoming more common and easier to find on the world market.
