Culinary Specialties CooksShopHere- Black Tea: Darjeeling Thunderbolt 1st Flush

Black

Oolong

Darjeeling Thunderbolt Blend
FTGFOP 1
Non Vintage 1st Flush
Organic

Darjeeling, India
Fully-oxidized black tea
Orthodox manufacture FTGFOP1
Traditional, 100% oxidized leaf, with some tip
Complex, crisp and vivid flavor
Direct and pungently enticing aroma
Clear copper liquor tinged amber

4 oz	8 oz	16 oz
15.00 Buy	30.00 Buy	60.00 Buy

Thunderbolt is the nickname of the Darjeeling region, so to speak. Because of the area's beauty and dramatic landscape, Darjeeling was developed by the British as a hill-town spa. Not only are the waters good there, but plantings that need excellent irrigation with good drainage also thrive in this south-facing, high-altitude paradise.

Because the altitude is so high, and the rainfall plentiful, the conditions are perfect for camellia sinensis plantings. Even though these plants require every hour of the growing season to produce enough leaf to make a crop that is marketable, and the subsequent price for that crop is generally high, the leaf is of excellent quality, and over the years the tea gardens have developed hybrids from the original China bush stock that contribute to the sense of place (terroir) that is so critical there. As in Burgundy, the plantings change dramatically from hillside to hillside, orientation to orientation, so every garden and Estate has a distinctive flavor profile that generally remains quite consistent from year-to-year.

Thunderbolt Blend is one of our favorite Darjeelings. Lacking the finicky-ness of the single-garden lots, Thunderbolt is able to be a reliable Darjeeling for those who love the inherent taste, flavor, and aroma of an excellent Darjeeling, but who want consistency and choose to not keep track of the attributes of the individual gardens from year-to-year, season-to-season. Like a good regional bottling of Burgundy or Bordeaux, there is pleasure to be experienced in this blend.

Consisting entirely of First Flush finished tea and primarily made from China bush leaf, Thunderbolt Blend is a delicious alternative for the tea-drinker who wants lots of crisp Darjeeling flavor, a bit of raisin, some hearty muscatel aroma, and plenty of mid-range body to hold it all together.

Use 2 teaspoons (2-3 grams) per 6 oz of water
Steep 1 infusion at 2 - 4 minutes.
Water temperature should be 185˚ - 195˚ F