How to choose a Darjeeling orthodox tea

For years, far more tea has been sold under Darjeeling's name than these small hills could ever grow. The name alone settles little. Five questions settle most of it.

What does "orthodox" mean, and how is it different from CTC?

Orthodox tea is leaf kept whole from the pluck to the tin. CTC — crush, tear, curl — is the industrial method: rollers with teeth turn the leaf into uniform granules in minutes. The result is quick to brew, strong and consistent. It is an honest product, and it is not what we do.

The orthodox method runs in five stages: the pluck, withering, rolling, oxidation, and firing and sorting. Each exists to protect the volatile oils and aromatics that carry a hillside's character into the cup. You can taste the difference in the pot. A whole leaf opens as it steeps and gives two, three, sometimes four infusions; a torn leaf has one cup to give.

The full method is on the Process page, and the case for it is in Rolled, Not Torn.

How do I read a flush: first, second and autumn?

A flush is one plucking window in the Darjeeling year, and each gives a tea of a different character. The first is prized for brightness, the second for depth, and the autumn for its mellow close.

First flush, March to April. The season's first pluck, as the gardens wake from winter: delicate, floral and bright, with a pale champagne liquor. It is the freshest expression of the leaf and the most fleeting — the window lasts weeks, not months. Our first flush teas are Spring Chinary Black, Spring Clonal Black, Spring Moonshine Oolong and White Wonder · Silver Needle.

Second flush, June to July. The summer harvest. Fuller leaf and stronger sun give body and layered fruit, and in good summers, from old Chinary bushes, muscatel — the taste of muscat grape. The cup is deep amber, with ripe stone fruit and honey. Our second flush teas are Summer Muscatel Black, Summer Chinary Black and Moonlight Summer White.

Autumn flush, October to November. The year's mellow close, plucked in the clear air after the rains withdraw. Smooth, coppery and rounded, with a gentle warmth that lingers. Our autumn tea is Autumn Chinary Black.

Between the second flush and autumn sits the monsoon flush, July to September — a robust leaf and a bold cup. Our Darjeeling Green Tea belongs to it. All four flushes are set out on the flushes page.

What do the Darjeeling GI logo and certification mark prove?

They prove where a tea comes from. A geographical indication ties a name to a place: only leaf grown and made within the defined hill areas of Darjeeling district, inside a boundary that holds 87 registered gardens, may lawfully be sold as Darjeeling. Darjeeling was the first product in India to receive this protection.

They do not prove that a tea is good. The mark answers one question only, and it is the first: is this actually Darjeeling? Quality remains the garden's burden and the buyer's judgement. What the boundary protects is set out in What GI Certification Actually Protects, and the certifications the house itself holds are listed on Certificates & Compliances.

Why do a named garden and a dated harvest matter?

Because the region's name says where a tea may come from; a garden and a date say where and when it did. Gardens differ, and so do seasons. A garden either produces muscatel in a given summer or it does not, and the same bushes give a different tea in March than they do in June.

The house keeps one promise: we do not blend origins. Where a tin holds a single garden's leaf, it names that garden and dates its harvest. Where it holds more — more than one flush, other registered Darjeeling gardens, or anything that is not leaf — every component is named to its source. Darjeeling Signature Blend is the house's blend: first and second flush Darjeeling, from one registered garden or more, each component named to its source.

When you compare Darjeeling teas, ask two things of any tin: which garden, and which harvest. Where the answer is several, ask that each be named.

How do I brew a Darjeeling orthodox tea?

Whole leaf gives more than one cup, so brew for the leaf rather than the clock. Pour the pot empty each time — leaves left standing in water go bitter. Steep again while the leaves are still warm, add a little time with each infusion, and stop when the leaf has said what it has to say. The figures below are per 150 ml, as on each tea's page.

Black teas — water at 90–95°C, 2.5 g of leaf (about one teaspoon), 5 minutes, two to three infusions. This holds for Spring Chinary Black, Spring Clonal Black, Summer Chinary Black, Summer Muscatel Black, Autumn Chinary Black and Darjeeling Signature Blend.

Oolong — Spring Moonshine Oolong: water at 80–85°C, 4 g, 3–4 minutes, three to four infusions.

White teas — White Wonder · Silver Needle: water at 80–85°C, 3 g, 4–5 minutes, three or more infusions. Moonlight Summer White: water at 80–85°C, 4 g, 4–5 minutes, three or more infusions.

Green tea — Darjeeling Green Tea: water at 80°C, 2.5 g (about one teaspoon), 3 minutes, two to three infusions.

The gently handled teas, the oolong and the whites, repay a further infusion the most.