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A lovely and warming golden-red brew, Golden Nepal tea is harvested in several flushes high in the moist and chilly climate of the Antu Valley, located near the Darjeeling plantations. This brew is very sweet and scented with several flowery flavors, including hints of honeysuckle and jasmine. Connoissuers insist that you should drink it straight, without adding milk, cream or lemon but then feel free to experiment with this exceptional loose leaf black tea for your own tastes!
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Steeping instructions:
Amount of water: 6 oz
Amount of Tea: 1 Flat teaspoon
Water Temperature: Boiling
Steeping Time: 3 - 5 minutes.
This interesting specimen offers the sweet scent of red cloves and the visual equivalent to a pine forest floor after a wildfire. The Red Leaf site explains that it originates from the Antu Valley and should be consumed straight. Personally, I drink almost all teas straight.
The aroma following the steep develops into something much closer to a green tea than the sweet black scent of the dry leaves. It's a soft scent. A golden-green hue develops, similar to the tint of traditional American beer. It presents itself humbly, with respect.
The flavor is quiet but polished, and it dances, ranging from an earthy oolong to a honey-splashed rooibus. From start to finish, the flavor evolves countless times. It's sweet with a hint of bitter, warm and twisting, and continues that spiral after the liquid is swallowed.
Physically, it instills a spark. It's almost warms too much, like drinking coffee in a searing sun. It carries a bit of a cloud with it as well, which is simultaneously inspiring and confusing. The texture is cool, rolling off the tongue easily and leaving it thirsty for more. It is a thin consistency, but it holds its lighter weight well, at least partially due to the spark that accompanies it.
This is a very unique tea. It is a chameleon and a pharmacist. I recommend this to any tea drinker willing to brave the frontier.
Brad -Teaviews.com -Reviewer
A Darjeeling tea, this is not. But it's darn close. Like, maybe as close as 10 or 20 miles. Darjeeling teas come exclusively from West Bengal, India - a scant stone's throw from the India/Nepal border. It's gorgeous country, and I'd love to visit someday. Alas, I'll need to settle for living vicariously through the region's teas for now. However, various sources indicate that there is essentially no difference between Darjeeling and Nepalese teas, as they are both grown in identical climates at like altitudes and under similar conditions. One gets a true sense of pride from the myriad Nepal-based companies offering their wares to the world, and that just makes it much nicer overall.
As the ever-reliable Wikipedia mentions, there are four flushes of Nepalese tea: the First flush is light and delicate, Second flush is more flavorful but still delicate, Monsoon flush (very intense and dark) and Autumn flush, (strong similar to non-Darjeeling black teas). Based on these descriptions and with no prior taste-experience with Nepalese teas, I would consider this in the second flush category -- although Red Leaf Tea indicates this tea is harvested in "several flushes", so perhaps it is somewhat of a potpourri of the region's offerings.
The dried leaves of this blend are varied in size and hue - everything from deep mahogany brown leaves to very tippy nearly-full-blown-white leaves pepper the mix alongside average browner shades. The leaves are of medium size, almost all with broken edges. The aroma of the dried blend is subtle and alluring - quite sweet and flowery, but not a strong scent. The post-brew leaves emit a much stronger aroma - slightly perfumey, and more pungent on the flowery notes, but also stronger on the sweet smell. The sweetness aroma comes to the fore in the cup, but flavor-wise the sweet takes a back seat. Interesting.
Red Leaf's recommended brew time was 3-4 minutes at 190-200 degrees. I kept with this mode of brewing, as my sample was limited in size (no doubt due to the somewhat higher price tag of this rare tea -- in fact ALL Nepalese teas are quite rare, as the production is miniscule in comparison with Darjeeling or the majority of other black teas for that matter). JUST as the brew time for my first cup was up, my last.fm library kicked into Thelonious Monk's 'Tea for Two' -- perhaps a sign that I should be sharing this tea with some good company. Alas, I'll have to horde it all myself in the privacy of my own office. Then again, just as I glanced down at the clock after typing that last sentence, it is now 2:22 PM. Folks, I can not make this stuff up. Hmm...
In light of all that mysticism, I dove straight in to this tea, eager to wrap my taste buds around a Nepalese tea. The cup is a light golden hue. Astringency is considerable, becoming more pronounced and slightly more bitter as it cools in the cup. However, overall bitterness is not prevalent, and rather the contrary, as this is a somewhat sweet blend. The astringency comes from woody oaky tones that are also rather prominent. Jasmine seems to come to mind when smelling and quaffing this tea as well. Red Leaf mentions Honeysuckle in the same breath as the Jasmine, too. A second cupping of the same leaves revealed similar results, albeit slightly less potent.
While I found this tea to be enjoyable and intriguing, I couldn't help but think that I would prefer to enjoy each flush on its own, based on their apparent drastically different characteristics. Whether or not this is a hodge-podge of various flushes, estates, origins, etc. I can't be sure, but something "more pure" would probably have been more impressive. I hope to have the opportunity to delve a bit further into Nepalese teas for a true comparison and evaluation.
Dan - Teaviews.com - Reviewer
Black tea,hints of honeysuckle and jasmine
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