Are Darjeelings really black teas?

[debunix]

I really dislike the bitterness I associate with British-style teas--english and irish breakfast, earl grey, and at least a few teas labeled darjeeling. I've also enjoyed Yunnan gold black teas but not so much keemuns.

Wondering now: is C sinensis v assamica more intrinsically bitter than C sinensis v sinensis, or is it just the processing that brings out the bitter?

In other words, would my bitter-phobic and oolong-adoring taste buds be happy with a darjeeling oolong?

[cyberhoofer]

In other words, would my bitter-phobic and oolong-adoring taste buds be happy with a darjeeling oolong?

Depends on the oolong. Some are roasted & 'heavy' - more like black tea, others are light without any astringency. There are also some Autumnals from 2009 that bring oolong to my mind.

Last year I bought a total of 16,8 kg authentic Darj tea - 2nd Flush & Autumnal single estate Darjeelings - from Thunderbolt, Lochan Tea and Tea Emporium.

If you need any buying hints on darj oolongs (or oolong like teas) from India, I could give you a couple of recommendations

And then, there are also some Nepalese oolongs worth trying!

[slurp]

Last year I bought a total of 16,8 kg authentic Darj tea - 2nd Flush & Autumnal single estate Darjeelings - from Thunderbolt, Lochan Tea and Tea Emporium.

If you need any buying hints on darj oolongs (or oolong like teas) from India, I could give you a couple of recommendations

That's a lot of tea Cyberhoofer. Do you have a shop?

Any hints on buying Indian teas would be great.

[teacast]

I have had both first and second flush Darjeelings, and to me they taste more like Oolong (even daring to say Green here) as well. Though I'm not sure how they process it (going to check the aforementioned links), I bet that it is similar to how green and Oolongs are oxidated.

[Victoria]

In other words, would my bitter-phobic and oolong-adoring taste buds be happy with a darjeeling oolong?

Probably not. Darjeeling oolong has a "bite" of astringency. It is not smooth and mellow. It is greener.

If you like First Flush Darjeelings and you like Oolongs, then yes.
If you only like 2nd flush Darjeelings, then probably not.

But to me bitter and astringent are two different things. Bitter is a black tea that has too much leaf or has been over steeped. Astringency is a naturally occurring aspect of the flavor.

[teacast]

Victoria, I disagree, some second flush aren't TOO dark. I've had some from Thunderbolt Tea and it tasted like a light Oolong (but not quite a green haha). Just my opinion

[Victoria]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply second flushes are dark. I was saying they are milder than First Flushes.

[teacast]

Oh no worries! I was just talking from personal experience

[teacast]

I have to agree, they really have a vastly different taste than your typical black teas. I've never actually test tasted them one by one, but it's just simply too different in my opinion.

[entropyembrace]

Most Darjeelings are actually C sinensis v sinensis and not assamica which sets them apart from other Indian teas. About the bitterness I think that lower grade Darjeelings can become very bitter because of the processing...also there´s the possibility that a low grade Darjeeling has been blended with another lower cost tea...there´s actually more tea sold labeled as Darjeeling than Darjeeling produces!

If you want to give Darjeelings another try I suggest buying from a vendor that stocks the high grade Darjeelings such as Thunderbolt Tea or Tea Emporium...that way you wont get a poorly processed, bitter tea.

I´ve never shopped at Tea Emporium but I´ve heard lots of good things about them...

Thunderbolt Tea I have shopped from and they are a great vendor for sure They have Arya Topaz 2nd Flush Oolong in stock still...I haven´t tried that particular tea but it looks and sounds like a very good oolong...and I was quite impressed with the 2nd Flush Arya Ruby which is a deliciously smooth and sweet black tea I don´t think you´ll find any bitterness in the top grade 2nd flush Arya estate teas.

[teacast]

Very good post Entropy! I totally agree with all your assessments haha, and I actually just had a thunderbolt tea right now, excellent stuff!

[Ron Gilmour]

Some years ago, Salsero (if I remember right) pointed to a discussion of this topic on rec.food.drink.tea. Short answer: hard withering keeps some leaves from really becoming black, even though they go through black-type processing.

Here are some highlights from the discussion:

However, let me try to Demystify the Green in Darjeeling Black.
Traditionally, Darjeeling Planters pluck very fine. And then these
tender shoots, which as it is comes from the tiny chinary varieties,
are subjected to high degree of Withering. Withered Leaf : Made Tea
ratio of 60 % is not uncommon.
What happens due to such high degree of wither is that the shoots have
just sufficient amount of juice concentrates in them to ooze out and
cover itself when rolled under pressure.
Now comes the catch; when the average recovery is 60%, it is but
natural that there would be some shoots which have virtually dried up
during withering. These shoots are the ones which do get cell damage
and subsequent Oxidation, but lack the juices to cover themselves
with.
And hence, they remain Green in spite of being Black!

Jayesh pandya.

Nigel of Teacraft replies:

Jayesh has hit the nail on the head. Very hard wither causes some
fine leaf to be so dry it cannot ferment, so remains green. For those
who are picky about nomenclature these particles are actually White
Tea. The moister, less fine leaf, does ferment to become Black Tea.
Unlike an Oolong which may be 50% fermented overall (all the particles
the same fermentation) the early flush Darjeeling is 50% fermented on
AVERAGE. I resurrect an old post (10 Jan 2004) below - Darjeeling
results from Cause No. 6. Incidenatly the main reason for change from a
fully fermented to a patchily fermented Darjeeling was that Lyons
imported vast amounts of fully fermented Darjeeling into UK for their
Maison Lyon blend - fully fermented as in those days Darjeeling was
taken with milk. When Lyons discontinued their blend (in the 1960s
(?)) the Darjeeling producers had quickly to find a new market - they
found Gemany and had to lighten the cup as it was to be drunk without
milk. Anyone looking for the "old fashioned" Darjeeling taste should
specify an Autumnal flush - for example Darjeeling Autumn Leaves

Nigel in turn anonymously quotes an older post:

There are several ways to make a "green" tea (which is essentially a tea without oxidation) or a "greenish tea" which is a tea with minimal
oxidation. In a tea factory some of these are purposeful methods,
others the results of poor processing.

The main causes are:
1. Inactivate oxidising enzymes before rolling using steam (Japanese
method)= green tea
2. Inactivate oxidising enzymes using dry heat (Chinese panning or
roasting method) = green tea
3. Avoid initiating oxidation by very gentle handling and drying =
white tea (a variant of green).
4. Oxidise for a very short time (minimal rolling, or CTC cutting) -
dry as soon as short rolling or CTC cutting is complete =
insufficient time for full oxidation to black = anything from a green to a
greenish black tea.
5. Oxidise at low temperature - this slows down enzyme action =
partial oxidation only = greenish black.
6. Hard wither (to a very low leaf moisture content) - this inhibits
enzyme action = partial oxidation only = greenish black
7. Insufficient oxygen present during oxidation (fermenting layers
too thick) = partial oxidation only = anything from green to greenish
black

The partially oxidised oolongs fall into group 4. above though they
have other processing inputs (sun withering and leaf agitation and
high firing) that give their unique character.

The "greenish blacks" you find at high elevations in Sri Lanka and
Darjeeling are the result of partial oxidation due to very hard
withers and cool ambient temperature. It is perfectly possible to
make a fully oxidised (black) Uva or Darjeeling, and in fact during the
rains in Darjeeling when a hard wither cannot be achieved, this is
exactly what happens (but these are not exported).

The type of tea and degree of oxidation required is driven by the
market (or the producer's perception of the market). As increasingly
Darjeelings and flavoury high grown Ceylons are bought by non-milked
tea markets, so the dark strong liquors required in the English market
have given way to lighter ones, and the dry leaf shows green colour
rather than jet black . Producers could revert if the market
required - the process is flexible and a skilled manager can alter his teas at will. My point (in my previous posting) was to remind tea lovers that
a tea's characteristics may change with time even if the names stay the
same.

[teacast]

Hmmm, fascinating read. It almost seems semi-random (the withering and fermenting I mean) rather than a consistent pattern, at least from what you have posted