Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


Jun 24th, '11, 17:37
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Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by dzh » Jun 24th, '11, 17:37

I'd greatly appreciate your recommendations, tea connoisseurs, on first flush darjeelings of 2011

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Jun 26th, '11, 00:49
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by SlientSipper » Jun 26th, '11, 00:49

I'm not even certain they are out this year.
but, I'm sure Adagio has some good ones.

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Jun 26th, '11, 12:57
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by siae » Jun 26th, '11, 12:57

Of all FF I've tried this year I think my favorite is the North Tukvar, DJ2. Risheehat exotic spring from thunderbolt was excellent as well.

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Jun 27th, '11, 12:50
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by yshuto » Jun 27th, '11, 12:50

I've tried numerous 2011 FF Teas so far.

Castleton Moonlight (Thunderbolt)
Risheehat Exotic Spring (Thunderbolt)
Arya Premium (Thunderbolt)
Giddapahar Clonal Fine (Thunderbolt)
Margaret's Hope (Upton)
North Tukvar (Mariage Freres)
Namring (Mariage Freres)
Namring Upper (Mariage Freres)

The Namring (the DJ1) and Namring Upper are on the top of my list for the best tasting 2011 FF. Yet "Best" is subjective and what tastes good for some may not be good for others.

Jun 29th, '11, 09:07
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by dzh » Jun 29th, '11, 09:07

yshuto,

thanks for the detailed info. you must have been drinking a lot of tea lately. of the FF teas you listed, which would be your second and third choice? what did you think about Risheehat Exotic Spring?

dzh

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Jun 29th, '11, 13:02
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by yshuto » Jun 29th, '11, 13:02

100g of each goes by rather quickly as my wife likes tea as much as I do. Her specialty is in green tea and she can perform the whole Japanese Tea Ceremony.

I hate to say it, because the teas are expensive, but the Darjeelings from Mariage are on a level above the Upton and Thunderbolt. Mariage charges
a hefty premium on their teas. If I had to rank them,
1 Namring (tied for 1st)
1 Namring Upper (tied for 1st)
3 Arya
4 Risheehat

I also purchased 2010 FF Margaret's Hope, 2010 FF Castleton, and 2010 FF Moodakotee. Even at a year old, they were above the Upton and Thunderbolt in aroma and taste. This is in no way a definitive ranking. They are the opinions of my wife and I.

Jun 29th, '11, 16:28
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by dzh » Jun 29th, '11, 16:28

yshutu,

you must be a real lover of tea. My last tea order has been from Uptontea, so I have a long way to go before I reach Mariage Freres level.
But at least I know what is the goal.
Mariage Freres is sold online in the US by by several vendors, but so far I have found only lousy flavored teas. strange.
thanks a lot.

dzh

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Jun 29th, '11, 22:54
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by Tead Off » Jun 29th, '11, 22:54

yshuto wrote:100g of each goes by rather quickly as my wife likes tea as much as I do. Her specialty is in green tea and she can perform the whole Japanese Tea Ceremony.

I hate to say it, because the teas are expensive, but the Darjeelings from Mariage are on a level above the Upton and Thunderbolt. Mariage charges
a hefty premium on their teas. If I had to rank them,
1 Namring (tied for 1st)
1 Namring Upper (tied for 1st)
3 Arya
4 Risheehat

I also purchased 2010 FF Margaret's Hope, 2010 FF Castleton, and 2010 FF Moodakotee. Even at a year old, they were above the Upton and Thunderbolt in aroma and taste. This is in no way a definitive ranking. They are the opinions of my wife and I.
I'm not sure if I understand you correctly. Are you saying that the same FF Namring is better from Mariage than Thunderbolt? Or, that Mariage has different tea gardens than Thunderbolt and is better?

I know that different invoices of the same tea can produce different qualities. I've experienced this in Darjeeling first hand. With an online vendor, you will usually not get the choice of which invoice the tea is from unless you specifically ask.

I am also still drinking some FF from 2010 but I can tell they are not the same as when they were fresh.

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Jun 30th, '11, 14:24
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by yshuto » Jun 30th, '11, 14:24

The Namring I had is DJ1 while the invoice number of the Namring Upper is unclear. There is a clear price and ranking difference on the Namring DJ1 SFTGFOP1 and Namring DJ2 FTGFOP1. The Namring Upper, by the way is SFTGFOP1. Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1 if I remember correctly.

Thunderbolt and Mariage offer different teas from different estates and as you stated, different estates, different invoices will vary in taste even if it is the same FF Darjeeling. So I "prefer" the taste of the Namring and Namring Upper out of the FF Darjeelings I have had so far. I will try the Mariage FF Castleton, Mariage FF Ambootia, and Mariage FF Moodakotee sometime in the near future. Is there a best tea out of the group? The opinions would most likely differ from person to person

As for the taste of the tea changing due to time, it does happen. The 2010 FF I purchased way back in June 2010 did taste differently from the 2010 FF I purchased in May 2011. The taste may differ yet I would not say it has degraded in any way. On my opinion based on taste, and aroma, I would still rank the Mariage 2010 FF above the Thunderbolt teas.

Thanks for the reply and I enjoy this type of discussion. Have a great day!

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Jun 30th, '11, 23:52
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by Tead Off » Jun 30th, '11, 23:52

yshuto wrote:The Namring I had is DJ1 while the invoice number of the Namring Upper is unclear. There is a clear price and ranking difference on the Namring DJ1 SFTGFOP1 and Namring DJ2 FTGFOP1. The Namring Upper, by the way is SFTGFOP1. Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1 if I remember correctly.

Thunderbolt and Mariage offer different teas from different estates and as you stated, different estates, different invoices will vary in taste even if it is the same FF Darjeeling. So I "prefer" the taste of the Namring and Namring Upper out of the FF Darjeelings I have had so far. I will try the Mariage FF Castleton, Mariage FF Ambootia, and Mariage FF Moodakotee sometime in the near future. Is there a best tea out of the group? The opinions would most likely differ from person to person

As for the taste of the tea changing due to time, it does happen. The 2010 FF I purchased way back in June 2010 did taste differently from the 2010 FF I purchased in May 2011. The taste may differ yet I would not say it has degraded in any way. On my opinion based on taste, and aroma, I would still rank the Mariage 2010 FF above the Thunderbolt teas.

Thanks for the reply and I enjoy this type of discussion. Have a great day!
Are you able to get any of the Mim's teas at Mariage? These were by far the best teas I had in Darjeeling. But, I had the opportunity to taste these on the spot before buying. Quite a luxury!

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Jul 1st, '11, 12:38
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by yshuto » Jul 1st, '11, 12:38

I travel to Japan about five times a year so I can buy my greens and other Japaneses teas in Tokyo. I travel to Taiwan twice a year so I can buy my Oolongs in Taipei. I've traveled to China and now I am hesitant to buy Chinese tea anywhere. i have not been to India yet and no, unfotunately, Mariage does not carry Mim's tea.

My perenial favorite has been FF Margaret's Hope. For one reason or another, Mariage is not carrying it yet this year. I tried the 2011 FF Margaret's Hope from another retailer and was unpleasantly surprised.

So until i make it to India some day, my favorite Darjeeling teas will be the ones from Mariage.

Jul 1st, '11, 15:10
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by NOESIS » Jul 1st, '11, 15:10

In the past, I've been quite happy with FF Darjeeling from Tea Emporium. Didn't get any Darjeeling this year. I'd probably agree that Mariage has the consistently best FF Darjeelings, but the premium one pays, make it a every-few-years splurge for me. I'm very fond of the Namring and Sungma/Turzum estate teas.

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Aug 2nd, '11, 13:14
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by chado.my.teaway » Aug 2nd, '11, 13:14

In this year I bought 10 teas FF.

#1 Arya Ruby [Ex6]
#2 Arya SFTGFOP1 Premium [DJ12]
#3 Castleton Moonlight [Ex4]
#4 Giddapahar SFTGFOP1 Classic Delight [DJ6]
#5 Giddapahar SFTGFOP1 Clonal Fine [Ex2]
#6 Risheehat Exotic Spring Clonal [DJ33]
#7 Risheehat Vintage Spring China [DJ32]
#8 Singbulli China Classic Superfine [DJ24]
#9 Singbulli Clonal Classic Superfine [Ex1]
#10 North Tukvar SFTGFOP1

The best? #3 and #10;)
Last edited by chado.my.teaway on Aug 9th, '11, 07:04, edited 1 time in total.

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Aug 8th, '11, 17:34
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by Victoria » Aug 8th, '11, 17:34

chado.my.teaway wrote:In this year I bought 10 teas FF.

#1 Arya Ruby [nr katalogowy herbaty Ex6]
#2 Arya SFTGFOP1 Premium [DJ12]
#3 Castleton Moonlight [Ex4]
#4 Giddapahar SFTGFOP1 Classic Delight [DJ6]
#5 Giddapahar SFTGFOP1 Clonal Fine [Ex2]
#6 Risheehat Exotic Spring Clonal [DJ33]
#7 Risheehat Vintage Spring China [DJ32]
#8 Singbulli China Classic Superfine [DJ24]
#9 Singbulli Clonal Classic Superfine [Ex1]
#10 North Tukvar SFTGFOP1

The best? #3 and #10;)
And who was the vendor for #3 & #10?

I have been not been wow'd by any FF I have tried so far. Admittedly I have not been to Mariage Freres this year, who never disappoints.

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Aug 9th, '11, 06:59
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Re: Best First Flush Darjeelings of 2011

by chado.my.teaway » Aug 9th, '11, 06:59

Thunderbolt #1-#9

and #10 I bought from Czech friends so I dont know who was the vendor.

#1-#9 (without #3) was in a sampler pack

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