Rohini 2025 1st flush Darjeeling "Wonder"

General

Darjeeling is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal, on the lower slopes of the mighty Himalayas. The area is particularly famous for its black tea varieties, which are called the champagne of black tea. The tea gardens in the area vary in altitude from a few hundred meters to over two kilometers.

Due to the altitude and cool climate, tea cultivation is seasonal and tea is not picked during the cold season from November to January. This is because when tea picking begins in spring, the leaves have accumulated a large amount of flavorings. The spring harvest is of very high quality. Tea is picked from February to November. The most important time is the first two months of spring. Tea picked during this time is called first flush tea. It has the most delicate aroma, as the smallest leaves are picked from the bushes, which are at their peak of aroma after winter. First-pick teas in particular are dried heavily, which is why the leaf does not oxidize completely during the oxidation stage and often remains very green. This very green style is favored in many Darjeeling tea market areas and for this reason most tea gardens produce first-pick teas in particular as very green. The second harvest (second flush) is carried out during May and June. The tea is often processed a little darker and so they resemble more of a normal black tea. The tea is riper and heavier in aroma and taste than first flush. The second flush is followed by the rainy monsoon season. Tea is picked also during this time, but its quality is usually poorer. After the rains, autumn flush tea is harvested.

This tea

This first flush from the Rohini tea estate from the spring of 2025 is named Wonder. It is produced from the AV2 (Ambari Vegetative 2) bush variety. The variety is highly valued in Darjeeling production due to its fine floral-fruity aroma. The variety was developed in 1967 at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute in India. The tea has been carefully picked and processed and the leaf is very intact.

Taste

The aroma of the dry tea is biscuit-like dry and marmalade-like sweet and fruity. The fruit tones are citrus and apricot. The taste develops slowly. It starts completely soft and its strength slowly increases in the back of the mouth. The beginning has tones such as biscuit-like citrus and sour-sweet. The tea has a nice combination of sweetness and acidity. A longer infusion reveals a honeyed tone.

Infusion

You need about a tablespoon of tea leaves. You can use boiled water or let it cool slightly before pouring it over the leaves. A lower temperature will produce a slightly different result. If the tea is infused in a small teapot of less than 500ml, the same leaves can be brewed a few times. In this case, the brewing time is about 1-3 minutes. In a larger pot, the brewing time must be longer: 3-5 minutes. In this case, you only get one good brew from the leaves.