A great name does not always make great tea


5 May 2017
A great name does not always make great tea

In Darjeeling and Nepal, you cannot trust the name of a garden blindly. Of course, plantations such as Turzum, Singbulli, Puttabong, Thurbo, Margaret’s Hope and Castleton have a much higher reputation than others. The same goes for Guranse and Shangri La in Nepal. But it is essential to understand that even the most prestigious gardens cannot produce high-quality teas all the time. At some point in the year they end up selling pretty nondescript ones. During the rainy season, for example, even an experienced planter cannot produce good tea, because the leaves grow too quickly and have no time to develop their essential oils. Also, each plantation has plots that are more or less well oriented, and planted with different cultivars. On Monday you might produce a sublime tea using leaves harvested from an excellent plot, and on Tuesday produce a very ordinary tea from a different part of the plantation. To sum up: yes, some gardens can make remarkable teas, but watch out, as they also produce mediocre ones. So you have to be very selective, and taste a vast amount of tea, to be able to recognise the best.

You like this post?
Comment
0 thoughts on “A great name does not always make great tea
  1. Yes, I agree with you. To make a tea tasteful every component is important, from soil to environment. Even a same brand tea has different taste. In India, tea is the main drink in every home. Our morning starts with a good cup of tea. I am a big fan of tea.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share

Similar articles

On my way to Darjeeling, I often stop at Longview

11 October 2011

I’m on my way to Darjeeling. On my journey, I sometimes stop at Longview Tea Estate, the first tea plantation in this appellation. It doesn’t always produce great teas, as…

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

The art of picking leaves

2 October 2015

To produce a high-quality tea, you must start by harvesting the leaves carefully; in other words, picking off the end shoot, the bud and the next two leaves. If you…

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Making tea requires great precision

25 April 2014

Making tea requires great precision. Scales are used to check the weight of the leaves, then there is a kettle with volume markings , sometimes a thermometer, and a timer. When I’m…

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Horses can be a great help to transport tea

9 April 2010

In Ilam (Nepal), horses are still used to transport tea leaves. These two young men have walked for two hours to reach the place where the tea is processed, so they…

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!