Tea of the week: Namring Upper Estate, 1st Flush Darjeeling (FTGFOP1)

Second flush Darjeelings are the blue Abyssinians of tea: delicate, full of history, and slightly mysterious.  First flushes, then, are your typical ruddy: everything wonderful about the second flush, but with a relatable, worldly edge.  I prefer the muscatel intricacy of the second, but a strong first is an entirely different experience, and with all the hype 2011's Upper Namring's been getting, I had to try it out.

 

I wish the picture did justice to the color of the leaves of this one, because they're really quite nice: very green, almost like an oolong.  The liquor is lovely too, a bit darker than what I'm used to.  The aroma, from leaf to cup, is strong but unmistakably Darjeeling.  From start to finish, you know exactly what you're getting with this one.

The flavor kicks immediately.  There's no way to really explain Darjeeling until you've tasted it.  It's brisk, it's complicated, it's wild, it's refined.  The Namring has none of the muscatel taste prominent in second flushes, but it makes up for the absence in sheer volume and fullness.  It comes off almost a bit too harsh: it forces itself on your palate, and quickly takes over your entire mouth.  This is not a subtle tea in any way.  If you like Darjeelings but have always found them too delicate, this is the tea for you.

Personally, if I'm in the mood for a strong afternoon cup, I'd rather have a good Nilgiri.  This first flush is just a bit too much for me.  I like it, but it's too forceful for my taste.  I want this sort of kick in the morning, not at tea time, and Darjeeling just doesn't feel right to me before noon.  The astringency is a bit much to deal with as well; one has to expect a bit of a tight mouthfeel from Darjeeling, but the Namring almost makes my throat feel dry.  I'm not saying it's at all a bad tea -- on the contrary, it's quite good --it's just, at least for me, not quite what I need.

This one was going strong after two steeps, and I wouldn't be surprised if it lasted for three or four.  A bit about Namring Estate here (and an awesome blog to check out otherwise, if you're interested in this sort of thing).  A lot of people are selling 2011 Namrings; I got mine from TeaSource.   

-Ben "The Best" Tuthill