Castleton Premium Darjeeling First Flush Black Tea

An extravagant spring tea with fragrant notes of citrus blossoms and a hint of sweetness of honey.

Quantity

$24.99

3.53oz . 100gm . 40+ Cups

Know your Tea

Tea Type There are primarily 4 tea types i.e Black, Green, Oolong & White. Plucked and produced from the same tea plant Camellia Sinensis, each tea type is differentiated based on the level of fermentation/oxidation they go through during production.

Black Tea

Grade Tea leaf grading is the process of evaluating products based on the quality and condition of the tea leaves. The highest grades are referred to as "orange pekoe" i.e SFTGFOP1, FTGFOP1, and the lowest as "fannings" or "dust".

FTGFOP1

Date of Picking It refers to the date on which this tea was harvested from the tea plant and is not the date of packaging. Date of Packaging is the specific date on which the teas are finally packaged in our unit.

30th March, 2019

Invoice no Tea in Indian plantations specially Darjeeling & Assam are growin in batches which are referred to the invoice number. An invoice numbers enurses that the single estate tea is 100% pure and genuine. The invoice is awarded to every batch by the tea estate itself.

DJ 02

Tasting Notes If you are seeking the crème de la crème of Darjeeling spring teas, look no further. A morning tea that’s recommended for those who begin their day on a light and refreshing note. The leaves are medium sized, well-rolled, and dark green, with few buds and scattered specks of bright green. The infusion is fragrant and fresh, with notes of parsley, cucumber and fresh cut grass in the attack with toasted almonds in the release. Fragrant and engulfing notes, resembling gardenia and citrus blossom ensemble in the cup featuring a honeyed sweetness along with notes of aromatic flowers and nuts. The liquor is mellow and slightly sweet tasting. Flavors of hardwood, nuts and cream are noticeable which are mild in intensity and medium-length in their finish.

Preperation Instructions

Water
CO2 Filtered Water

Temperature
90-100 Degrees C

Serving
0.07 oz | 2 gm

Steep Time
3-5 min

Castleton Tea Estate Castleton could very well be considered as an abode of the gods. Located in the beautiful, misty town of Kurseong in the Darjeeling district. The plantation was set up in the year 1885 by Dr. Charles Graham, its slopes span over an elevation of 980-2300 meters covering the misty slopes of Kurseong and Pankhabari. The cultivated area of the garden is around 170 hectares and this splendid estate produces more than 30,545 kilograms of delectable teas each year. An iconic tea garden, Castleton’s exquisite teas are harvested from pure and select Chinary bushes, offering us the gift of fine muscatel teas. Apart from the muscatels, Castleton also produces select varieties of First Flush Darjeeling and some rare Autumnal teas as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Single Estate Teas?
A single estate tea means that the tea has been sourced from one singular estate only and which has not been blended with other tea.
What is a Signature Blend?
Signature blends are the unique curations of a Master Blender. These blends are specially devised by blenders who go through several combinations and numerous rounds of tasting to curate a unique cup of tea with special flavor profile, aroma, and cup characteristics. Signature blends are trade secrets of the blenders and are mostly classified information.
What is a Tea blend?
Tea blending is the art of mixing a variety of teas together to curate a final blend. The blending of tea involves mixing fixed and measured proportions of various teas in order to get a final blend that has a signature taste, quality, character, and flavour. We look at tea blending as an art as it involves blending teas sourced from different regions and from different harvest seasons, but keeping the final blend's flavor profile a constant.
What is a 'Second Flush' Tea? Is it the same as a 'Summer Tea' ?
Yes, a 'Second-Flush' tea is also known as a 'Summer Tea' for the sole reason that the prime harvest period of the tea falls within the summer months of its place of origin.
What is a 'First Flush Tea'? Is a 'Spring Tea' same as 'First flush' tea?
Yes, a 'First-Flush' tea is also called a 'Spring Tea' as the prime harvest period for these teas falls within the spring months in its place of origin.
Where do you source your teas from?
We source our teas from over 150 renowned tea plantations and small individual farms in India. Within the country, we procure from 5 popular tea-producing regions, namely : Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri, Kangra, and Sikkim.
How are your teas packed?
After sourcing our teas directly from plantations within hours of harvest, we bring them to our state-of-the-art tea facility in New Delhi, India. The teas then go through rigorous rounds of cleaning, sorting, quality testing to remove any impurities/dust/foreign particles. Teas then pass through a final 10+ quality check points for leaf size, aroma, liquor, flavors etc. They are then vacuum-packaged in opaque aluminium-lined bags using sophisticated machinery. These vacuum-bags are then stored in a dehumidified, temperatuere-controlled warehouse which ensures that the teas remain garden-fresh and maintain their character. Upon recieving a consumer's order, we further pack the required quantity of tea in smaller vacuum-sealed packs which are boxed in the retail boxes and then sent over to our own delivery centres located in various parts of the world.

Mildy honey

As I drink it first, I could feel those creamy taste, bit a mild but has a scent of honey. This very scent is similar from those black tea from Yunnan.
As for second, mild, not strong but gentle muscatel aroma comes in my nose.
A proper tea but if you want something bit more strong aroma, you might feel little bit disappointing.

all the tea in India

the tea is so fresh and subtle on the palate and soothing in effect. perfect tea !

Very good

The tea taste is so fragrant and soft, it was a happy tea time👍💓

Redolent of the Great 20th Century Darjeelings

While not especially refined, the first-flush muscatel flavour is the best I've tasted for decades, yet not subject to astringency. Since the collapse of Darjeeling quality after the 90s it's wonderful to experience the essence of what used to make Darjeeling the Champagne of teas.