.png)
What-Cha Darjeeling Second Flush Goomtee Oolong
What-Cha Darjeeling Second Flush Goomtee Oolong
Origin: Darjeeling
So I
decided to try What-Cha’s Darjeeling Second Flush 2014 Goomtee Oolong after
trying What-Cha’s Silver Oolong from Nepal. I still have a couple Indian teas
that I’ve been meaning to try, but I decided to try this first since I haven’t
had many Indian oolongs and I am always willing to try new things, even if it
is from a region I have a sordid relationship with.
Dry Leaves: It doesn’t look very oolong-y, but I am not that familiar
with Indian oolongs. There was a muscatel aroma that I enjoyed; I tend to
prefer second flush and later Indian greens because of the muscatel
aromas/tastes.
First
Steeping
Temperature:
194oF
Brewing
Time: Three Minutes
Aroma: Floral
and Orange
Flavor: Violet,
Citrus and Spice
Tasting
Notes: It reminds me a little of the Nepal Silver Oolong, but much rougher. It
has floral and orange notes, but it is much darker and has a lovely spice
taste. I was not expecting much from this because I am not really all that into
Indian teas, but this was quite nice.
There was a muscatel element to this,
but not strong enough which is not unexpected since this is a second flush
Indian tea. In case you didn’t realize because of my horrible photography I had
a little problem with steam today, I don’t know why steam decided to ruin (well
ruin implies my photography had any intrinsic value beforehand and we all know
my skill as a photographer is piss poor at best) them.
Second
Steeping
Temperature:
194oF
Brewing
Time: Three and a half Minutes
Aroma: Floral and Orange
Flavor: Violet,
Orange, Pepper and Woodsy
Tasting
Notes: There is a new woodsy taste to it and the spice from the last infusion
became distinctly peppery. This was my favorite of the three infusions. I am
starting to warm up to the idea of Indian teas. I rather enjoy the Peppery and
Woodsy tastes mingling while the Violet and Orange are rather sharp.
Otherwise the tea has reached its
strongest point from here on it starts to wane.
Third
Steeping
Temperature:
194oF
Brewing
Time: Four Minutes
Aroma: Floral
and Orange
Flavor: Orange,
Pepper and Woodsy
Tasting
Notes: There still is some life left in
these leaves, but this was my final steeping. It started to become to watery
for me.
I rather enjoyed
this, even though I am not known for my love of Indian teas this was rather
nice. It is a little surprising I tend to dislike Darjeeling teas, but this may
be the exception; regardless I may have to not judge Indian teas as harshly, at
least Indian oolongs. And at the time of writing this it is on sale $10.80 for
50g (original price $13.50), I think it is worth checking out at either the
sale price or the normal price and if Alistair sources the 2015 harvest from
this estate I’ll have to check it out.
0 comments: