Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Darjeelings: an experiment in black and white

This week I decided to try a tea tasting with some of the new samples I received from Golden Tips, and it struck me it might be fun to compare these two Darjeelings, one white and one black! On the left I have their Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling, a white tea, and on the right is their Arya Ruby Darjeeling, a black tea.

Loose, the teas looked just as different as you might expect. The Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling tea had a loose, fluffy appearance. It had a slight fragrance of wood shavings. The Arya Ruby Darjeeling had a distinct musky fragrance, and the tea leaves were much heavier and firmer.

Steeped, the Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling had a pleasantly smooth, mellow taste to the pale yellow tea. The Arya Ruby Darjeeling, on the other hand, had an almost grape-like quality and produced a copper-colored brew, definitely my favorite of the two since I tend to like a tea that shows off. I very much enjoyed trying these two teas together. If you'd like to try some of Golden Tips' fine teas for yourself, go here to check out the offerings.

4 comments:

  1. This was fun and interesting to read.I enjoyed :) Thank You -Denise

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  2. Interesting comparison Angela. I had never tried a Darjeeling until I purchased the box of Whittard's recently.
    It says 'best without milk', why is that?

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  3. Thank you for the comparison of white and black teas. I have never tried white tea before thinking it was too light. I am a black tea gal but will try the white next time.

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  4. I would love these teas, they sound delicious.

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