Darjeeling = Black Tea True or False

A couple of weeks ago there was a discussion on linkedin regarding Darjeeling black tea and whether or not it should be classified as a black tea.  This discussion was under the group Tea Enthusiasts and Entrepreneurs.  If you are a linkedin user you can ask to become a part of this group and participate/follow in any discussions they have.

The argument was that Darjeeling tea is not a fully oxidized tea, and therefore should not be classified as a black tea.  I learned this in my tea course when we tasted the tea from Darjeeling.  They dry leaf, more so in the FF, but also present in the SF was a mixed bag of colour - from green to dark brown.

FF Darjeeling

Some of the contributors stated that Darjeeling tea should be classified as an oolong tea since it is only partially oxidized.  Others argued that oolong has to do with varietal, origin and processing so Darjeeling's don't fall into the oolong category either and perhaps they should be in a class on their own, noting that other areas such as Nepal and Newara Elia also follow similar processing methods.

The rebuttal to the above was:  if it's reclassed to oolong, then we're creating instability to the 'system', and starting to confuse what exactly the two classes are.

There was also discussion around why there is a difference in oxidization levels.  Darjeeling teas are grown at high altitude, and the FF in particular is a slow growth.  The plant has been in a dormant stage for a period of time and it's growth up to the FF plucking is slow.  The tea plants in Darjeeling are also a mix of the Chinese variety sinensis sinensis and the Indian variety sinensis assamica.  All these factors create a very delicate complex flavour to the tea.  In order to capture those subtle nuances in the flavour, the tea is not fully oxidized.

 The discussion goes into much more depth, and I encourage anyone with interest to follow the conversations.  What do you think?  Should Darjeeling black tea be classed into another category?  Or should it be in a category all on its own?

From my limited experience, I know that the big differential about black tea is that they are fully oxidized.  But the Darjeeling, and perhaps some other teas as mentioned above are not.  The tea classes are all about the processing method, and if we are saying that the Darjeeling is not a true black tea because the processing differs, then from what I understand, it can't be an oolong either because there are still differences in the processing methods used.

I've also read the the tea classifications evolved before tea was being processed in the Darjeeling region, so perhaps it is time to add a new class to the standard group and give these groups of high altitude teas a class all their own.  Based on the processing method - not the growing regions.

Does anyone have any comments they would like to share??

The Tastes of India

This week in the Tea Sommelier course we are tasting the teas from India.  Below is a snapshot of the 5 teas that we tasted.  The teas include:  starting at the lightest coloured liquor:  White tea from Darjeeling, 1st flush Darjeeling black, 2nd flush Darjeeling black, Assam Orthodox black and Nilgiri black.

Darjeeling Teas:

The area of Darjeeling is bordered by Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.  The dry leaf is a mix of colours from dark brown to green, which indicates a mixed level of oxidization.  The tea season is typically from April to October and they have 4 picking times:

          First Flush               March to April

          Second Flush          May to June

          Monsoon Season    July to September

          Autumnal Flush      September to October

First flush teas are considered to be some of the most prized teas.  They are light and delicate with a slight muscatel (astringent) character.  I'm not sure if you can tell in the photo above, but the first flush tea is slightly lighter in colour than the second flush.  In my tasting the aroma of the liquor is like sweet fresh honey.  It was smooth for a black tea, and only the tiniest bit of astringency.  It has a creamy almost buttery finish to it.

Second flush teas are more full bodied, and have a heavier muscatel tone to it.  Leaf is generally more oxidized - so the dry leaf would still be a mixed bag of colour, but leaning more towards the brown.  In my tasting I noted that the aroma of the liquor was similar to first flush, but deeper and less 'fresh'.  The flavour was similar, but more full bodied and stronger.

The monsoon teas and Autumnal teas we did not try but they are even more oxidized, with a less complex flavour and darker liquor.  The variety of plant grown in Darjeeling are various hybrids between the indigenous Chinese plant sinensis sinensis and the indigenous Indian plant sinensis assamica.

The Darjeeling area has also started to manufacture other teas such as green, oolong and white.  We tried the white in the course and it was good.  It was the silver tip needle type and was light and sweet in aroma.  The colour of the liquor was similar, a light straw hue, but the flavour has a bit more body and a slight nuttiness to it that sets it apart from the Chinese Fujian white silver needle.  On inspection of the dry leaf, I noted that while similar in shape, the Fujian silver needle was lighter in colour, significantly larger and more 'hairy' than the Darjeeling white.  In this photo the first teas is the Fujian, and the second tea is the Darjeeling.  Upon further inquiry, it is simply how and when the leaf was picked and processed.

Assam Teas:

Assam is bordered by Bhutan and Bangladesh.  It is the worlds largest tea growing area.  It has a tropical climate and is near sea level.  Assam teas are know for body, briskness and strong malty flavours.  It is the main tea used in what we know as blended breakfast teas.  First flush teas are not prized like in Darjeeling since, they don't have the dark colour and complex malt flavour of the Assam that is known all over the world.  It is the second flush that is much more sought after.  While Darjeeling teas are primarily Orthodox teas, Assam is know for both Orthodox and CTC, since so much of their tea makes it into tea bags.  This tea is mostly grown at sea level, as opposed to Darjeeling which is in the foothills of the Himalaya.  The variety of plant grown here is Assamica.

In our sampling we tasted an Orthodox tea.  These are fully oxidized leaves and the dry leaf is very dark in colour, but mixed with some lighter tips.  The liquor as you can see in the photo above is also very dark.  This translates into a very full bodied cup of tea.  The tea has a very complex flavour of malt and caramel.  I really enjoy all that sweetness!!

Nilgiri Teas:

Nilgiri is located at the southernmost point in India on the west side.  Far away from Darjeeling and Assam.  It has year round growing conditions and at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters and is picked year round.  The best teas are plucked in the months from December to March.  It is the second largest tea producing area in India after Assam.  The variety of tea plant here is the Assamica.

In our sampling it was noted that there was nothing really complex or singularly outstanding on this tea, however it has a nice mellow sweet flavour that would be good for blending, or if you don't particularly like astringency or extreme sweetness.  I thought it was good. 

My pick is of course the sweetest of the lot - Assam.  It was definitely easier to tell the differences between the teas from India than the teas from Sri Lanka.  However, I did use Angel Chen's suggestion to brew the black teas at a slightly lower temperature than boiling, so that likely helped.  Thank-you Angel!!