Description
Darjeeling Gopaldhara Autumn Dew is a traditional Autumnal Flush Darjeeling tea from Gopaldhara Tea Estate that is made from leaves harvested from old China bushes, grown at high altitude between 1,700 and 2,100 metres. Picked in late October and early November when the temperatures in the higher elevations start drastically declining, it produces a smooth liquor with a lovely muscatel character. This batch is FTGFOP1 ‘China Muscatel’ grade picked in October 2020.
Like all our Gopaldhara teas, we source this tea directly from Rishi Saria, the owner and director of Gopaldhara and Rohini Tea Estates. Gopaldhara Tea Estate is nestled in the Mirik Valley, in the Himalayan foothills, and is one of the highest tea estates in Darjeeling with elevations of up to 2,100m. It is renowned for producing teas of exceptional quality and very often quite unusual character. The Estate is also known for innovation, with new types of tea that utilise new and traditional production methods being developed every season.
The high altitude location of the estate means that in late autumn the weather turns cold quite quickly. Perhaps the best and most well-known Autumnal tea from Gopaldhara is the Red Thunder Oolong that is picked later in season when the tea leaves already start being frosted by low nighttime temperatures and start withering on the plants. By contrast, this Autumn Dew is picked earlier in the Autumnal Flush season and is processed in a more traditional fashion. This results in a smooth character that is a little bolder and perhaps a little less refined when compared directly to Red Thunder Oolong.
Darjeeling Gopaldhara Autumn Dew tea has a dark leaf with heavier oxidation that is quite neat in appearance. It produces an amber coloured liquor with a light aroma of fruity raw tobacco. The taste is light, with a lovely and inviting fruity and muscatel profile and a lasting lingering sweetness that comes from the Autumnal nature of this tea. There is plenty of smoothness in the character with notes of prunes and grapes. The flavours then move on to a more mineral and slightly earthy aspect that leads to a malty, lightly tannic base note that is present throughout. The overall flavour impression is clean, balanced and refreshing and quite a stark contrast to a First Flush Darjeeling.
We suggest brewing parameters of 90°C for 3-4 minutes according to your taste, brewing multiple times.
This Darjeeling Gopaldhara Autumn Dew black tea was first featured in our April 2021 Curious Tea Subscription Boxes.