Taste of Tea :: Darjeeling Black from Frontier Co-Op

Hey there, tea drinkers! I hope you’re having a great weekend. Today’s post is another Taste of Tea entry in which I’ll relay my tea-tasting journal entry for the Darjeeling (FTGFOP version) loose leaf tea from Frontier Co-Op. I purchased some of this tea down at my local Sprouts (supermarket). It is actually the first loose leaf Darjeeling tea that I’ve tried, making it a bit of a special find.

Type of Tea: Black Tea, loose leaf, USDA Organic, Fair Trade

Tasting Notes 

Dry tea: Out of the package, the scent off of the dry tea was light, but had an element of dry hay with a touch of sweetness. The tea leaves were primarily shades of brown, ranging from light yellowish-browns to dark, almost charcoal, browns. The leaves were rolled and appeared to be mostly whole with just a few stems in the mix.

I warmed the teapot and added the dry tea to help further activate its scent. The activated scent was still a light hay-like scent, but also had a little bit more sweetness that had a sort of honey-like quality.

Preparation: 1 teaspoon in approximately 170 mL (5.7 oz) of roughly 85 C (185 F) water for 4 minutes.

Tea liquor: After infusing, the scent coming off of the liquor still had notes of hay and some mild sweetness, but it also had a hint of apricot fruitiness and some light floral, honeysuckle, notes. The color of the liquor was a dark golden honey color.

The taste of the tea was primarily wet hay with lightly sweet minerality. There was also a touch of apricot-like fruitiness in the flavor. The liquor was mildly astringent with a slow and mildly dry finish. And the finish also had a slight sweet minerality.

Quick Summary

• Tea: Darjeeling black, loose, black tea
• Origin: India, Darjeeling district
• Season: Autumn (3rd flush)
• Brand/Retailer: Frontier Co-Op
• Current Price: $50.00 (USD)/ 1 lb
• Flavor Notes: hay, apricot, sweet mineral (wet stone)
• Finish: slow dryness with light sweet and minerally elements

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this tea. It had qualities that reminded me a little of some of the white teas that I’ve tasted, as well as some of the more mild black teas. This was my first experience with a loose leaf Darjeeling tea, and I’m definitely looking forward to trying more Darjeeling teas in the future.

Thanks for reading! As always, these are my tasting notes, and since the perception of taste and aroma can be quite personal your experience will likely, and indeed probably should, differ from mine. But regardless, I hope this post inspires you to get out there and to keep trying new teas. And if you don’t already, I’d encourage you to try making your own tasting notes as you do!

What tea should I try next? Drop me a line down in the comments and share your suggestion.

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That’s it, tea drinkers. Until next time, keep enjoying the wondrous taste of tea! — Blake – the tea drinker behind Blake’s Tea Journal