Very few tea farmers in Darjeeling are willing to experiment with foreign tea varietals, so mostly the tried and true AV2 and B-157 varietals are grown throughout these Himalayan foothills. Not so with the tea growers at Gopaldhara Estate. This second flush black tea Darjeeling was made from Japan’s famous Saemidori varietal, a cross between the more elegant Asatsuyu and more hardy Yabukita. Being heat resistant, it is grown in the more southern prefectures of Japan, especially Kagoshima, but also seems appropriate for India. This is a very high quality Darjeeling black tea with with signature ripe grape and sweet malty notes carried by a pleasantly smooth and not at all bitter body. A real standout from this year’s harvest, fans of the genre won’t want to miss it.

Second flush Darjeelings are harvested in the summer, after the spring harvest but before the monsoon season. They are traditionally allowed to oxidize fully thus resulting in a black tea.

Origin - Darjeeling, India

Harvest - Summer ‘23

Elevation - 6,300 feet

Tastes Like - Caramel Malts, Ripe Grapes, Wild Honey

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