Darjeeling Tea

 

Organic Darjeeling Tea finds its way from the tea estates in Darjeeling to your cup to give you the most enriching tea experience!

What is Darjeeling Tea?

In the world of tea, numerous regions grow and manufacture tea. Most of their names refer to the place where it's grown. Darjeeling Tea is one of such tea grown in the Himalayan belt of India, the beautiful hills of Darjeeling. Darjeeling Tea can be defined as one of the most exotic, expensive and exclusively flavored tea. Darjeeling tea is produced in West Bengal from a particular variety of the Camellia Sinensis plant known for making most black, green, white and oolong teas. With five distinct harvests per year, each season brings its own flavor profile and body.

Types of Darjeeling tea

Black Tea

Black tea accounts for over 90% of the tea consumption in the western world. During the production process of black tea the leaves are changed substantially, allowing the characteristic flavors of black tea – ranging from flowery to fruity, nutty and spicy – to emerge.

Craft House recommends: 

 

Oolong Tea 

Also known as partially or semi-fermented tea, the oolongs have some of the qualities of both black and green tea. At their best, oolongs are beautiful, full-bodied tea with a fragrant flavor and fruity, sweet arom

 Craft House recommends 

 

Green Tea

Green tea, for centuries the beverage of choice in Asia, is rapidly gaining popularity in the western world. Its natural aroma and widely acclaimed health benefits make green tea appealing to both the tea lover and previously non-tea drinker. When preparing green tea, it is important to use water below the boiling point and to carefully watch the infusion time to avoid bitterness.

Craft House recommends

 

White Tea

White tea is the most delicate of all tea; the finest varieties are appreciated by tea connoisseurs for their unmatched subtlety, complexity and natural sweetness. The production of the most delicate white tea consists of only two steps: Steaming and drying. The absence of withering, rolling and oxidation leaves the appearance of the leaves essentially unaltered.

Craft House recommends:

 

Blended, Flavored & Scented Tea

Craft House recommends

Flavored Tea: 

Seasonal Blends:

Benefits of Darjeeling Tea 

1. Darjeeling is packed with Antioxidants such as catechins.

2. Fights bad breath and mouth bacteria.

3. Improves the health of your hair and scalp.

4. Darjeeling tea can help reduce the stress levels.

5. May aid in the promotion of weight Loss.

6. Darjeeling tea can help increase the bone mineral density.

 

The Making of Darjeeling Tea

The Four Harvests

FIRST FLUSH (late February to mid-April)

The first harvest, called “first flush,” is performed in the middle of March. Darjeeling tea picked during this part of the year often has a lighter color and aroma than that of other harvests.

 

SECOND FLUSH (May to June)

Some leaves are also picked in May between the first and second flush, although fewer crops are gathered for this harvest. During the second flush In June, the crop is bountiful, and the tea exhibits an especially deep color and a strong muscatel flavor.

MOONSOON OR RAIN FLUSH (July to September)

In August, the tea is once again collected amid heavy monsoons, hence the name “monsoon tea.” These leaves are generally less withered as those harvested at other times of the year, making it an ideal ingredient for spiced tea blends.

AUTUMN FLUSH (October to November)

In the fall, the final harvest, known as autumnal flush, takes place. This tea has a deeper color when steeped and, while less spicy than other harvests, is fuller-bodied.

 


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Process Name

How it done

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1

PLUCKING

1. Tea leaves are plucked fresh very early in the morning when there are the dew drops on the leaves.

2. The leaves are hand-picked with utmost care.

2

WITHERING

1. Withering involves spreading tea leaves in troughs with the sieved bottom, which lets in the airflow that dries the leaves.

2. If the leaves are wet with mist or moisture, which frequently happens during the rainy season, instead of normal air, heated air is passed through the tea leaves to make them dry.

3. By this flavor of the blends starts developing.

4. The withering process is 16-18 hours long, and at the end of withering, the lea leaves have 35-40% of its original weight due to loss of moisture. 

3

ROLLING

1. Rolling is an hour-long process, in which tea leaves are subjected to a roll, between two horizontal discs moving in opposite direction.

2. It is almost like when you place the tea leaves between your palms and rub them in circular movements in the opposite direction.

3. In fact, before rolling machines were invented, that is how tea was rolled.

4. Rolling changes the color of the tea from green to brown coppery color.

4

FERMENTATION

1. Rolled blends are now placed on fermentation racks for oxidation.
 
2. Fermentation is a sensitive and delicate process that takes place at low temperature.

3. Darjeeling brews are very delicate and even a small variation in temperature or time can alter its flavor. Oxidation further deepens the color of the tea.

4. Oxidation process varies according to the type of the blend.

5. For instance, green tea is not at all oxidized, oolong is partially oxidized and black brews are totally oxidized.

5

DRYING

1. Once oxidized, tea leaves are put on a dryer.

2. To have correct dryness, temperature, tray’s speed, air volume and thickness of the spread – everything should be precise.

3. Proper drying or frying reduces the moisture content to 2-3%.

4. It is important to maintain correct balance so that drinkers can enjoy authentic flavor of Darjeeling teas.  

6

Sorting

1. The tea is passed through several sieves of progressively higher sizes to get the different grades of tea, viz: Whole leaf, Broken, Fanning, and Dust.

2. Each step is performed with utmost care and proficiency so that real flavor, aroma and nutritive value of Darjeeling are preserved.

 

Grades of Darjeeling Tea

When Darjeeling tea is packaged, they are done by the grade of tea, i.e. essentially by the size of the tea leaves (full leaf, broken etc). This to a large extent also indicates the quality of the tea and therefore the price. Here are the different grades of Darjeeling tea: 

SFTGFOP: Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. These are whole leaf tea and of highest grade. They can have many tips. The liquors are usually light in color. 

FTGBOP: Fine Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe. Broken leaves but still of high quality. 

GFOF: Golden Flowery Orange Fannings (fannings are smaller than the broken leaves) .

D: Dust. These are Darjeeling tea dust and lowest in price.