Darjeeling First Flush (Samabeong)

 Darjeeling First Flush (Samabeong) | 大吉嶺春摘紅茶 (Samabeong)

 Tasting notes: Muscatel, white grape, green cardamom
 Origin: Samabeong Tea Estate, Darjeeling, India
 Cultivar: AV2 clonal
 Elevation: 2000m
 Oxidation: ⦿⦿○○○


Darjeeling First Flush refers to the first spring harvest of teas grown in 87 certified tea estates in Darjeeling, made of the soft leaves newly grown after winter. It's often called the "Champagne of tea" due to its delicate qualities and distinctive muscatel flavour.

Even though Darjeeling First Flush is lightly oxidised with qualities similar to green tea, it is confusingly labelled a "black tea" by the industry. This is because of its “hard wither” technique that is unique to Darjeeling. Instead of allowing the leaves to wither naturally over time, the moisture content is reduced to 30% using hot air. This slows oxidation throughout the rest of the process, so Darjeeling teas are rarely more than 80% oxidised.

Across the Darjeeling region, although the tea is harvested at similar times and processed in similar ways, the teas from each estate taste different.

This organic Darjeeling First Flush is from Samabeong Tea Estate, the highest organic estate in the region. Its year-round atmospheric conditions create the ideal environment for producing some of the most unique organic Darjeeling teas.

This year's batch contains a lot of furry white buds ("silver tips") which add an extra softness to the tea. The flavour has notes of white grape and green cardamom.


Learn more about Darjeeling Tea.


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