Sungma Darjeeling 1st Flush - Upton Tea

Over the past ten years advances have been made to trademark the name "Darjeeling tea," restricting its use to teas grown within a particular geographic region (as occurs in the wine industry), with particular flavor profiles, and processed using orthodox methods (non-CTC). India approved the designation in 2002 and other parts of Europe did previous to that. Efforts are being made to standardize regulations under the World Trade Organization. There have been a number of patent infringement cases being pursued against other countries including France and Japan. There is an interesting case study from the WTO available online.

Now, on to some tea - Darjeeling of course. Today's tea is a 1st Flush Darjeeling from the Sungma Estates, purchased by Upton Tea Imports. I had never tried a 1st Flush so I wasn't certain what to expect. This tea actually shocked me. I am used to Darjeelings with a dark leaves, deep brown liquor and a strong, robust, kick-you-in-the-pants quality. This was definitely not it! This was a gentle, smooth, light tea reminiscent of a light oolong.

First, a little geography: Sungma Estates is part of the Jayashree Tea Company owned by the Dewan Group. (This company also owns the Risheehat and Puttabong tea estates.) It is located about 18 miles southwest of the town of Darjeeling.

Next, grading: The letters - SFTGFOP1 indicates Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1st Flush. This is considered the absolute top grade 1st flush whole leaf Darjeeling.

Now, the tea: The liquor of this tea is a lovely golden. The leaves were long and mostly green in color. The taste was lighter than I anticipated but with a slightly nutty flavor. I have since learned that 1st flush Darjeelings generally are more astringent and lack the traditional muscatel flavor of 2nd flush. I didn't notice the astringency but did note the lack of a muscatel taste. There was more of a floral flavor.

I will have to try more 1st Flush Darjeelings before I can pass any kind of judgment on this tea. I think I will continue to prefer 2nd Flush Darjeelings, but time will tell.

Tea: Sungma Estate 1st Flush Darjeeling SFTGFOP1
Source: Upton Tea Imports
Type: Black tea
Brewing details: 1 1/2 tsp at 212 degrees for 3 1/2 minutes
Comment: The grade indicates that this is an absolutely top quality 1st Flush Darjeeling but I think I prefer dark, strong 2nd Flush Darjeelings.

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