Organic Darjeeling by Oteas
Black Tea / Straight
$6.95 for 30g (12 sachets)
Oteas has provided me with Organic Darjeeling for the purposes of providing an honest review.
First Impressions
Oteas’s Organic Darjeeling came in what is now a very familiar cardstock box. Inside was the tea bags inside of a plastic bag for all that freshness. The tea sachets are biodegradable, which is always a feature I like to point out because being environmentally friendly is a good thing.
Darjeeling has an interesting aroma – I find it to be a mix of earthy and nutty notes that is inviting. There’s a nice mix of shade of browns with hints of green in the tea leaves, along with some reddish browns. It’s amazing how many different colours can be found in a single tea.
Preparation
Oteas recommends steeping Organic Darjeeling in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep of this black tea was for 4 minutes.
First Taste
Organic Darjeeling steeps to a golden reddish orange. The aroma of the tea is a lighter earthy fragrance compared to the dry leaf. There’s some roasted nutty notes in the flavour of the tea, and I found it to be mildly astringent when the tea’s been steeped for four minutes. It made for a pleasant cup of tea. If you’re not fond of astringency in your tea, I would add a bit of cream or milk to help temper the tea. As a black tea, it would take sweetener well also.
A Second Cup?
I resteeped Organic Darjeeling twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each steep. Look at how much those leaves opened up! I found that the flavour stayed pretty consistent throughout, with the astringency lessening with each steep – which made it increasingly pleasant.
My Overall Impression
I loved Oteas’s Organic Darjeeling. I love the flavour of Organic Darjeeling has and how it’s reflected in the aroma of the dry leaf. Bonus points for the astringency not being too strong and lessening with each steep – a quality that is easily fixed if you’re not a fan of the astringency. But I enjoyed the roasted nutty flavours throughout, it makes for a nice savoury cup of tea that’s a nice option for afternoon tea.
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