Plum Muscatel Darjeeling 2023

The Garden

Rohini is a very interesting example of a Darjeeling tea garden. It’s owned by Rishi and his family, who also own Gopaldhara garden. When we started working with them, Gopaldhara was a premium garden and Rohini was considered a mid-range producer. Rishi is a new generation tea grower and has brought fresh ideas, methods, and experiments to Rohini. Over the decade that we’ve worked with them, Rohini has moved from producing mid-range Darjeelings to producing high quality tea including of the most delicious little batches from the whole region of Darjeeling. I hope you will join us in supporting the development of this garden.

This Tea

Batch Ex68 was picked in the 2nd flush season. Darjeeling has two prime seasons: The 1st flush (March and April) and the 2nd flush (May and June). It comes from a section of Rohini garden which has been recently planted with yabukita varietal tea plants, brought in from Japan. The plants are young, fresh, and produce excellent teas in the Darjeeling terroir. The leaves were made in the classic Darjeeling style; picked, withered (evaporation), rolled to oxidise the leaves, and then dried. It may surprise you to know that this batch grew at just 1,000ft above sea level. Traditional tea knowledge is that a high elevation is needed for exceptional Darjeeling tea. Rishi suggests that elevation is a factor, but the plant and soil quality have a stronger influence.

Tasting Notes

This is a masterpiece 10kg batch; an exciting twist on the classic 2nd flush ‘muscatel’ flavour. The tea tastes of chocolate, plums, and grapes, with a natural sweetness up front. This is followed by a light grape-skin dryness in the finish, which builds on the palate with every sip. There are just 10kg available, so make sure to try this new edition from Rohini.

Storage and Ageing

While Darjeelings from the 1st flush season are best young, 2nd flushes are usually on fine form for up to 5 years. Store in a cool dry place.