Darjeeling Steinthal First Flush FTGFOP1 ~ TeaGschwendner

Founded in 1852, Steinthal is the oldest real tea Estate in Darjeeling. If you have the money, Singtom Resort is a boutique resort that’s on the grounds of and affiliated with Steinthal Estate. Itself built in 1862 as the bungalow for the Singtom and Steinthal Estate directors, Singtom Resort opened as public resort in 2012 and offers tea preparation tours. *swoon* Singtom has a promotional video, that’s… admittedly a little strange (linked below). Someday I’d really love to visit Singtom and investigate Steinthal further, but wow that doesn’t feel especially likely (and the weather would no doubt be the end of me). Fortunately, Steinthal tea is more or less easy to come by in the West. Let’s see how much those 163 years of experience have done for them…

At first glance, a beautiful representative of this much-sought-after style of tea. Steinthal First Flush FTGFOP1 owns the scent a bit of wet orange blossom and mild sage? I absolutely adore the pale amber liquor, though i’m sure the color translates well through digital photography (i’ve yet to perfect this aspect of my blog). Steinthal FTGFOP1 feels a bit more vegetal than some of its cousins, perhaps owing to its position as the uppermost ranked FTGFOP from Steinthal this April. Surprisingly, Steinthal FTGFOP1 has a woodier, crisp texture than its cousins. In taste, Steinthal FTGFOP1 has a hedy if dry, biscuity flavor with a minute taste of tip. Steinthal FTGFOP1 does have astringency, but it’s not upper-most in my mind. I wouldn’t say Steinthal FTGFOP1 is necessarily the best in its class, but it certainly makes for a well-rounded example of First Flush FTGFOP.

1. Aroma – 92
2. Taste – 91
3. Texture – 92
4. Spunk – 90
5. Price – 89
6. Availability – 92
7. Appearance – 93

Mean score – 91% Definitely recommended, despite somewhat lackluster scores.