Known as thechampagne of teas, darjeeling tea is famed for its sparkling clarity of taste and crystalline sweetness, benefitting from the steady rainfall, light soil and cool air of the himalayan foothills. The british first established plantations in darjeeling in the 1840s, using seeds smuggled from china, and some of the originalchina jat bushes are still cultivated today. Picked during the second harvest of the year between may and june, thissecond flush darjeeling takes on some of the warmth of late spring, with developed fruit notes coming through in the cup. Youll often hear connoisseurs refer to themuscatel quality of a good second flush variety, and its true that this particular darjeeling tea has a real sense of that delicious dessert wine sweetness. Far lighter than most black teas, darjeeling is best brewed lightly and enjoyed without milk youll find its sublimely refreshing at any time of day.