I was sent five Golden Tips Darjeelings to review. I tend to drink Chinese blacks or Taiwanese oolongs oxidized into blacks so I’m no Darjeeling super taster. I decided to taste all five Darjeelings together so that I can taste the differences between them.

Assisting with this darjeeling comparison tasting is Black Tea Owl. He knows a thing or two about black tea, since he is made of black tea!

The Darjeelings are:

Oaks Organic – Second Flush, Summer. Grade: SFTGFOP1 MUSK. Picked June 9, 2014

Castleton Muscatel – Second Flush, Summer. Grade: SFTGFOP1 CL CH. Picked July 5, 2014

Arya Classic Organic – Third Flush, Autumn. Grade: FTGFOP1. Picked November 4, 2014

Makaibari Organic – Third Flush, Autumn. Grade: FTGFOP1. Picked November 28th, 2014.

Darjeeling Tea – Golden Tips Luxury Tea Bags, packaged August 2014.

All five teas are product of India, with the four loose leaf teas mentioning the origin and estate it was grown in. I really like how all the teas give you plenty of information on them! For tea bags, I love that there is a packaging date on the Golden Tips Darjeeling tea bags. Often I wonder how old tea bags are and rarely is it mentioned on the packaging.

On the amazon listing, the four loose leaf darjeelings mention they are also fair trade certified.

Steeping Procedure for the Darjeeling Comparison

All five Darjeelings were measured in 2 gram portions and steeped in 6oz of 200F filter water for 3.5 minutes, steeped in a steel filter in mug. (The tea bag was not modified in any way). There was some error here as I don’t have 5 of the same cup so some could be steeped off. Not to mention, some teas might do better with a longer infusion, a different temperature or more leaf.

Golden Tips Darjeeling Comparison Tasting

Oaks Organic Second Flush

Dry Leaf – fragrantly floral, second strongest scented darjeeling out of the five. The leaf here is mostly dark, with some brown reddish hints with some gold highlights.

Steeped – Oaks Organic steeped up a pretty dark reddy brown colour. The scent is fruity sweet and mouth watering.

Flavor – Oaks Organic tastes has a creamy texture, with oak woodsy and stone fruit notes. There is a peachy sweet finish and a hint of dryness after sip. This darjeeling is the 2nd sweetest out of the five. I quite like the combination of oak and peach here, they work very well together.

Castleton Muscatel Second Flush

Dry Leaf – darker than Oaks, with some silver accents. Roasted sweet scent.

Steeped – The colour is also a reddy brown, maybe a touch darker than Oaks Organic, but it’s hard to tell. The scent is of malt and corn.

Flavor – Castleton Muscatel has a lighter flavor despite the color. This black tastes smooth, with caramel and malt hints over corn notes. This black is the 3rd sweetest out of the five.

Arya Classic Organic Third Flush

Dry Leaf – Whoa, interesting tea appearance! This one has green leafy bits, along with dark leaf and reddish highlights. The scent is the strongest with lots of fruity tang.

Steeped – Arya Classic steeped up the lightest of the five, which was unexpected, with a straw and corn roast scent.

Flavor – Arya Classic Organic has a bright flavor, with notes of light agave, roasted corn, and light wood with a tangy finish. The texture is lightly smooth and creamy. This darjeeling was the sweetest out of the five. I found Arya Classic interestingly complex and a surprising in colour and taste, especially for a black tea.

Just out of curiosity, I tried this black cool and it was quite good. It’s sweet and got more fruity once cool. I think Arya Classic would make a great iced tea!

Makaibari Organic Third Flush

Dry Leaf – This one also has some green pieces, but not as much as Arya, but otherwise similar in appearance. The scent is the weakest out of all the teas, with a hint of earthy perfume.

Steeped – The colour is in the middle of Oaks/Castleton/Darjeeling bag and Arya Classic, with a golden medium hue. The scent is very different being mostly tropical fruit like.

Flavor – Makaibari Organic is the smoothest and creamyest mouth feel out of the five. It has a light and mellow even flavor of light woodsy and floral tropical perfume, reminding me of papaya. These flavors sound great and I’m sure there’s someone out there that this appeals to, but unfortunately I could not get out of my head that this darjeeling tastes just like that creamy white hand soap. Sorry!

Darjeeling Tea – Golden Tips Luxury Tea Bags

Dry Leaf – It’s in a bag. The leaf looks more broken up, typical for tea bags. Not strongly scented too, but of roasty and fruit.

Steeped – Out of all the Darjeelings, this bagged tea turned a deep ruddy brown the fastest! I assume the colour changed fast due to the leaves being chopped up for tea bagging. This one also steeped up a little darker than Oaks Organic and Castleton Muscatel. The Darjeeling Tea bag has a malty rich scent, I predict this one will be strong in flavor!

Flavor – As predicted, Golden Tips Darjeeling Tea bag has the strongest flavor. It is dark woodsy and malt with a briskly dry finish. This darjeeling is the least smooth and sweet, as well as not as vibrant as the others. I find the Darjeeling Tea bags do holds up its own as to me, this tastes the most of what I associate Darjeeling to taste like with the rich, woodsy and brisk elements.

Comments

Lining up and trying five Darjeelings at once was an interesting experience! It was neat to see the differences in the flushes as the second flush was darker, whereas the third was lighter with a different leaf appearance.

Out of the five Darjeelings, I quite enjoyed Oaks Organic – I will drink all of it! Arya Classic Organic was also pretty good and I’d rank number two. After that, I’d rank the Darjeelings I tried as #3 Castleton Muscatel, #4 Darjeeling Tea Golden Tips Luxury Tea Bag and finally #5 Makaibari Organic as the one I liked the least.

(teas provided for review. Amazon links are affiliate)

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