Organic Darjeeling Estate Black Tea from Mighty Leaf Tea

I have just now enjoyed my first taste of 2009′s first flush Darjeelings, courtesy of Mighty Leaf Tea. This year, Mighty Leaf have chosen Mim Estate for their single-estate Darjeeling offering. It’s a great choice: Mim Estate’s first flush serves admirably as a well-rounded black tea and a great example of that quintessential Darjeeling flavour.

Long time readers of Tea Finely Brewed will know I’m a fan of Darjeelings. (If not, you might enjoy digging into my Darjeeling tea archive and reading over the series of reviews of single-estate Darjeelings I wrote earlier this year). This is my first experience with Mim Estate, which is based in the eastern reaches of the Darjeeling region. So far, I’m very pleased.

The tea came bundled in one of Mighty Leaf’s silken tea pouches. This of course simplifies the brewing process, though I must admit I still prefer the classic loose leaf approach. But these tea pouches are a wonderful option for those looking to delve deeper into the world of tea without necessarily wanting to give up the convenience of tea bags.

Anyway, back to the tea. A four minute steep brews the leaf into a dark reddish brown – “a hardy appearance”, I write in my notes. It’s a colour that suggests strength and briskness.

The colour, it turns out, doesn’t lie. This is a tea rich in tannins, with a drying mouth feel and a subdued astringency. The nose had given deep hints of grape and citrus fruits, and these are present in the flavour, though not overwhelmingly so. I am struck by the lack of sweetness in this tea; those fruit flavours lean towards tartiness rather than sweetness, the hind regions of the tongue rather than the front regions.

Organic Darjeeling Estate Black Tea is available from Mighty Leaf Tea. It costs $12.95 for a 3 oz. bag of loose leaf tea, or $9.95 for a pack of 15 pouches.

© eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Darjeeling First Flush 2009 from Mighty Leaf Tea | One comment |
Post categories: Black tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: Darjeeling, first flush 2009, Mighty Leaf Tea, Mim Estate