Darjeeling-what's the draw?

yes! you probably had a bad darjeeling. try a fancier "first flush"
single estate tea (like Namring or Castleton), and you'll be surprised
how much different and better it tastes!

Don't be surprised if you don't find a good Darjeeling in the Indian
cultural enclaves. I have yet to find anything better than Lipton
"Green Label" in Artesia/Cerritos, my local little India. If you do
find something, color me envious! If it's in Artesia, let me know!

ostaz wrote:
> I tried Darjeeling for the first time yesterday. It was by New Delhi Tea
> and Coffee Co. I didn't find it particularly interesting. It kind of just
> tasted like regular old black tea.....nothing to write home about. Am I
> missing something?
>
> Pete

Everyone has a different taster. I don't care for darjeeling either.
I'm an oolong fan.

Life is short. Drink what you like and don't worry about what other
people think.

P ~

I have never understood what all the fuss about Darjeeling was about.
Granted, I've never had a second flush top-notch Darjeeling, but it's
just not the kind of tea I'm interested in. It's too weak and fruity
for my taste. I don't understand why everyone seems to like it.

I got the basic darjeeling sampler from Upton a while back, had a few
cups of each, and was kind of unimpressed. I just went back to it
yesterday, and the Aray Organic Second flush was just amazing. Natural
sweetness, a wide variety of flavors. I can only guess that Darjeeling
is especially sensitive to amount, water temp, and steep time.

I got the basic darjeeling sampler from Upton a while back, had a few
cups of each, and was kind of unimpressed. I just went back to it
yesterday, and the Aray Organic Second flush was just amazing. Natural
sweetness, a wide variety of flavors. I can only guess that Darjeeling
is especially sensitive to amount, water temp, and steep time.

Justin Holmes <jwh999@> wrote:
>I got the basic darjeeling sampler from Upton a while back, had a few
>cups of each, and was kind of unimpressed. I just went back to it
>yesterday, and the Aray Organic Second flush was just amazing. Natural
>sweetness, a wide variety of flavors. I can only guess that Darjeeling
>is especially sensitive to amount, water temp, and steep time.

This is pretty true of any delicate tea. It's true that it's not always
easy to bring out the best in a tea, but with a little tinkering and a
little care you can often find something good in even cheap teas too.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."