Darjeeling · second flush
The grape-like sweetness comes from a specific interaction between the tea plant and a leafhopper insect.
The second flush from Darjeeling is everything the first flush is not: darker, fuller, with a distinctive muscatel character that no other tea in the world reproduces. The insect’s feeding triggers a stress response that produces the aromatic compounds behind the flavour. Without the bug, no muscatel.
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This card is active during May 1 — Jun 15.
Comes back each year.