Tea Adventure: Castleton Moonlight 2nd Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Castleton Moonlight 2nd Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea [More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Another wonderful tea adventures with teas sent to my humans by our buddy Benoy at Thunderbolt Tea. This is a tea harvested after the second period of growth for the season.

The sample, like all he sends, was vacuum packed and heat-sealed. The tea inside is what’s important. No steeping instructions come with these teas, so this intrepid little teapot and his buddies go by past experience. This Little Yellow Teapot did the steeping honors and served up in a delicate bone china teacup and saucer that’s part of my humans’ small but very treasured collection. (These teacups tend to really compete to be chosen for this honor.)

Once again, a nice whiff of the dry tea leaves told us this was a premium Darjeeling tea and that Benoy had sent another winner. The aroma was fruity with a slight hay-like quality, and the broken leaf pieces were a mix of dark brown, tan, and green. We steeped twice in water heated to 190° F for 3 minutes each. The liquid was a golden color with a very fruity flavor and aroma. This wasn’t so much the typical Muscatel character but more of a apricotty and naturally sweet flavor. Hubby human said he detected a hint of lilac-like floral in the aftertaste. There was no bitterness or astringency. A second steep was overall lighter, with the flavor being still fruity but too weak.

A nice tea from Benoy, our tea guy in Darjeeling. Toot!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.