Spring Chinary Black

From a Single Hillside

The story of this tea.

This is the garden waking up. Through late March and April, as the first warmth reaches the Kurseong valley, the heritage Chinary bushes of Giddapahar push out their first tender shoots of the year — two leaves and a bud, plucked by hand at first light before the sun grows strong.

Chinary is the old seed stock of Darjeeling, slower-growing and smaller-leafed than modern clonal varieties, and it gives the first flush its particular delicacy: a pale, bright liquor that tastes of the cool hillside it came from. The leaf is withered, rolled whole and only lightly oxidised, then fired and sorted to FTGFOP1 — the season, kept intact.

Poured, it is almost spring itself — pale gold, a lift of peach and cut greens, and a finish that leaves the palate cleaner than it found it.

Estate — Giddapahar, Darjeeling  ·  Elevation — ~4,500 ft  ·  Season — First Flush · Spring  ·  Cultivar — Heritage Chinary  ·  Grade — FTGFOP1  ·  Caddy — 100g caddy

How to Brew

A simple ritual.

1. 1Warm the pot
2. 2Measure 3g per 150ml
3. 3Water at 85°C, steep 3 min
4. 4Decant fully, steep again a minute longer, up to 2–3 infusions

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