Darjeeling’s Finest.

I drink tea. A lot.

It wouldn’t be out of place to say that my day begins and ends with tea. Literally the first item going into my stomach in the morning is my favorite cup of black tea, as strong as it can be. I don’t know if it is good for my health, but I know it is fantastic for my taste buds. That first cup of Darjeeling is what gives me the strength to get up and fight whatever life throws my way. I would be powerless without it.

I have been told by many well-wishers that I have a problem.

They’re wrong.

Tea is amazing. Between the first sip of that glorious amber liquid, and that last slurp at the bottom of the white porcelain cup, lie a host of beautiful emotions, unparalleled in any cup of wine, champagne, or even (gasp) coffee. Tea is more than stellar cup of energy to me; it is what most of my life revolves around.

Now, my obsession has led me to dozens of different tea sellers around the world, always in search of The Perfect Cup™. Most are terrible, some palatable, and two or three amazing.

Lipton Tea

Lipton is not good. Lipton is not even tea. It is the lowest of the low, it is the absolute worst; Lipton is what happens when businessmen whose entire purpose in life consists of cutting corners and appeasing shareholders decide to dabble in a field as nuanced and complex as tea. A quick Google search found me the following gem put down on Quora by someone named Jake Williams:

How would British people rate and review Lipton Tea? If we are comparing it to other non-sparkling soft drinks, I’d give it about a five. Not bad if you’re trying to avoid sugar. If we are comparing it to tea, then I’d rather you give me boiling water with your balls dipped in. At least that way we’re both in pain. Source

My sentiments exactly, Jake Williams.

Twinings Tea

As far as supermarket tea goes, Twinings isn’t terrible at all. I don’t claim to drink it everyday, but I could easily make do with it in a pinch. Their claim to fame isn’t their aroma, or their color, or even their taste. Their quality control, however, is the stuff of legends. I know people who literally drank Twinings in one country, caught a flight to another, drank Twinings there, and couldn’t tell the difference. Most of this has to do with how the vast majority of their tea is sourced from a handful of factories, but serious daps to Twinings for doing what no one else could.

Sometimes, I can be persuaded by my sister to drink some of their Classic Assam Teabags. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of non-pyramid teabags myself, I have to concede that I always enjoy that particular cup of tea; much more than I enjoy that ghastly cup of Lipton she sometimes foists on me, anyway.

I am also an admirer of their Earl Grey and Breakfast blends. They remind me strongly of some of the more expensive blends offered by online specialty retailers such as Adagio or Upton Teas, speaking of which …

Vahdam Tea

And so we come to the online sellers of well sourced and properly transported tea.

I have come to quite enjoy Vahdam Tea. On the surface, there is nothing inherently special about them: they are not the cheapest in the market, they don’t have the widest range, and they were for sure not the first to start selling online. But I am yet to experience a tea from them that leaves me disappointed. Their prices are fair, and they have something for everyone. If someone came up to me and asked for a recommendation as a first time tea drinker, I would probably have few qualms in proposing Vahdam.

I bought their Darjeeling sampler (I’m a Darjeeling fanatic. Guilty as charged.) and was fairly impressed with some of them. Granted, a few of them were not quite up to the mark, but I guess that’s what happens when you buy a sampler: some are good, some aren’t.

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Faya Studio | Finest Teas

Confession time: I did not initially find Faya Studio as a tea company at all. In fact, it was around Christmas of 2017 that someone online recommended them to me … as a gift. I had been talking to a stranger on a forum, when they, without being aware of my love for tea, mentioned Faya Studio as a great gift they had bought for their family for Christmas. I eagerly opened their website, and realized why. They really did go out of their way to present themselves as a luxurious gift. Between the personalized label, and handwritten note in the box, I could see why someone would think to gift it to their family.

Naturally, I was skeptical about the quality of their tea. How could a company that had clearly found it’s niche in the gifting market care about the quality of the tea itself, right? I clicked to the shop page, and immediately crowed in delight. There was no way those prices could be reflective of the tea itself. The markup was, for sure, a tax levied for the exclusive and gourmet impression the canister and box gave. As I read the names, yet another reality dawned on me. They did not mention the garden they had sourced the tea from. I have yet to come across another tea retailer that does that. I ordered their “Presidential” Darjeeling Tea with the instinct of a condemned man. Their tea had to suck, right?

Wrong.

From the second I opened the canister and smelt the leaves, I knew I had a new favorite. They were expensive, but the tea was unlike any other I had seen till then or since. The leaves were a breathtaking shade of green, with hints of black and burgundy. I poured a couple teaspoonfuls into my blending kit cup, added some scalding water on top, covered the concoction, and waited. I could smell the heavenly fumes coming from inside the cup. When my alarm rang, I emptied the cup into it’s accompanying bowl, and took a sip. It was terrific. Hit every note I expect from a great Darjeeling, and then some. The color was a deep, dark yellow. A bit different from that shown in the website, but gorgeous all the same. It may not be The Perfect Cup™ of tea, but it comes pretty freaking close.

Oh, and that daily first cup of Darjeeling I talked about at the beginning? Faya Studio Presidential Darjeeling Tea.

(Faya Studio | Finest Teas - The Most Luxurious Teas In The World)

Conclusion

Thus, as far as tea drinking goes, I guess I really have been through the mill. Most brands I tried have fallen into obscurity; some even went the way of Teavana (RIP). Some of them really managed to leave an impression on me, which are the ones I mentioned in this write-up. And so I wrap up my first Medium article. Time to drink some tea.