2025 Darjeeling First Flush

Located in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in West Bengal, Darjeeling produces some of the world’s finest and most sought-after teas.

The flush refers to the growth period in which the tea is harvested.  The first flush is the first plucking in the spring after the bush’s winter dormancy period has ended. The spring brings warmer weather, longer days and rain that stimulates new growth. Nutrients stored by the plant all winter long are pushed into the leaves to encourage this growth. This fact, coupled with a concentration of flavors that results from a slower rate of growth at high altitude, makes first flush teas highly desirable, particularly Darjeelings. First flush Darjeelings are typically very delicate, light-bodied, astringent teas with subtle grassy notes. Extremely aromatic, they are bright and complex and full of the flavors of spring.  Our 2025 First Flush Darjeeling is from the Teesta Valley Tea Garden in the eastern region of Darjeeling. Founded in 1841, Teesta Valley is one of the oldest and most celebrated tea gardens in Darjeeling. Plucked from robust clonal bushes, this tea exhibits the characteristic stone fruit and light floral notes that First Flush Darjeelings are so well known for.

Darjeeling currently has 86 licensed tea gardens. Ninety-Nine percent of the tea produced in Darjeeling is black tea; however, the yield is incredibly low. Darjeeling teas make up less than 1% of India’s total tea output.  They are often referred to as the Champagne of teas and since 2004 Darjeeling tea has enjoyed geographical indication status (GI), meaning that only tea grown within the designated boundaries of Darjeeling may be labelled with the coveted Darjeeling logo.

The intricate string of letters and numbers listed after the tea is an acronym used to indicate what is commonly referred to as the grade of the tea.  SFTGFOP1 stands for Special, Finest, Tippy, Golden, Flowery, Orange Pekoe which, in reality, is just a complicated way of describing the size and style of the tea leaf.  Calling it a grade is often misleading because it incorrectly suggests that it is an indicator of the tea’s quality, which is no longer the case. The subjective nature of the system led to significant grade inflation and over the years it has evolved into simply a way to classify black teas according to the size of their leaf.  Generally, the more letters, the larger the leaf style, though larger leaf styles do not always indicate a higher quality tea.  Quality is dependent upon numerous factors, such as: cultivation techniques, plucking method, production standards, the age of the leaf, etc.  In this case, FTGFOP1 indicates a large-leafed Darjeeling that the garden manager chose to denote as “exceptional” with the addition of the 1 at the end.

Our Darjeeling is extremely versatile. It’s astringency allows it to pair very well with rich, creamy foods like cream cheese or clotted cream. It also does well with chocolate, citrus, spicy dishes and red meat. At a recent tea and cheese pairing, we paired our First Flush Darjeeling with a lovely brie. It was a huge hit.

We recommend steeping Darjeeling for 3 minutes at 195°.  Do not mistake its astringency for bitterness.  Well made Darjeelings have a very astringent characteristic that will mellow slightly as the tea cools.

Ingredients: Black tea.