The Darjeeling area is India’s champagne district. It is located in northern India at the high altitude edges of the Himalaya mountains. The main town is called Darjeeling and from the town center on a clear day the peak of Mount Everest can be seen. The genus of the Darjeeling tea bush is the Chinese Jat, which gives it the distinctive muscatel character. Because the tea is grown at such high altitudes and in relatively cool weather the bushes do not grow quickly, and as such the production is limited. The best time of the year for quality is during ‘second-flush’ (end May - end June). During this time Darjeelings are incomparable to any other tea in the world. The fragrance and taste is a complex bouquet that reaches right out of the cup. Some would describe the taste as nutty; others find it reminds them of black currants, but most often it is described as similar to the taste and fragrance of muscat grapes.

Due to the superb taste and limited production of Darjeelings, these teas are quite expensive. There are many who wish to take advantage of the high prices and as a result there are Darjeeling ‘blends’. Regrettably these blends are quite often very poor facsimiles of Darjeeling and in some cases only contain 10% true Darjeeling teas; the balance made up from other production areas. A true estate Darjeeling is your guarantee of quality and genuine Darjeeling tea.

This tea is excellent as a breakfast tea with milk.