2010 Puttabong Organic Queen
Posted on 12 June 2010
At the moment I am enjoying a few 2010 first flush Darjeelings. It’s the tea that feels most ‘in season’ to me; its fruitiness, juiciness and refreshing citrus tang matching best with the combination of hot and wet days we’re having here in Poland.
Last year I bought Darjeeling tea from online vendors Lochan (see here for reviews) and Thunderboltreview). With these new 2010s I explored the offer of Tea Emporium (see their website and blog).
The one first flush I’m enjoying most is the Puttabong Organic Queen. A well-sorted leaf with a wide variety of colours, this brews a light orange colour and the wet leaf is deliciously healthy and fragrant.
In the cup this is a very typical first flush tea, fresh as a daisy, fantastically juicy, citrusy, grapefruity, with balanced oxidation and an appealingly medium body. This is not an evanescent first flush – in fact there is quite some substance and gravitas, and when brewed competition style with a long steep this can also be slightly (but cleanly) tannic.
These leaves are so fresh you almost want to eat them in a salad.
But the best way to brew this tea in my opinion is a flash brew with just boiled water. Generous dosage and 30 seconds give a lighter colour in the cup, a fruitier, more lifted profile but more emphasis on that inimitable Darjeeling juiciness that’s like biting into a freshly picked golden apple. It’s a fantastic feeling of freshness that is well worth the asking price of $21 / 100g.
Source of tea: own purchase.